A court in Islamabad formally charged a young man with the murder of 17-year-old TikTok sensation Sana Yousuf this Saturday, whose death this year sparked outrage as well as macabre arguments across the country against the backdrop of women, social media, and violence.
Umar Hayat Indicted by Judge After Months of Investigation into Gun Attack against Teenage Influencer
The court tried before Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka, who charged 22-year-old Umar Hayat with murder. Police suspect Hayat of shooting Yousuf last June outside her home when she denied his advances, which he had made repeatedly. He denied the accusation, telling the court, “All the allegations levelled against me are false and baseless.”
When questioned as to whether he had assassinated Yousuf, Hayat denied the allegation. He denied reports of taking her phone after the attack as well. Samaa TV broadcast a clip of the police bringing him handcuffed into the courthouse, a photo that by this time had passed through Pakistani news media and social media.
From Chitral to a Million Screens: How Sana Yousuf Became a TikTok Star
Yousuf, a vlogger from the northern Chitral region, had a significant following for her videos of Chitrali songs, local dress, and her vocal support for girls’ education. Hours before the killing, she had posted photos from her birthday party with her friends.
She had already achieved over half a million followers when she died. News of her death caused her TikTok account to explode a few days later, and the account now has over two million followers. Fans continue sharing tribute updates of grief and shock on her pages, the last updates she shared of her smiling amidst balloons and cake.
Police Classify Crime as ‘Cold-Blooded and Gruesome’ as Social Media Shame Games Expose Patriarchal Mindset
Police described the murder as a “gruesome and cold-blooded murder,” claiming that Hayat had opened fire when Yousuf had spurned his “offers of friendship.” Even though widely condemned everywhere, corners of social media were all too eager to fault the teenager for her own murder. Accusations that she had “brought it upon herself” characterize the poisonous burden of male honor codes, which continue to infest large swathes of Pakistani society.
A Disturbing Trend of Violence Against Women Rejecting Proposals in Pakistan
This is far from an isolated case. In July, a father in Pakistan killed his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. And in 2021, Noor Mukadam’s brutal murder by her former boyfriend became a flashpoint for women’s rights in the country, highlighting a chilling pattern of violence tied to rejected proposals.
TikTok’s Double-Edged Role: A Platform for Women’s Visibility and a Target for Government Crackdowns
TikTok has gone viral in Pakistan, providing millions of users, and young women in particular, with limited opportunities for exposure and economic empowerment in a nation where fewer than one-quarter of women engage actively in the formal economy. The platform has been repeatedly banned by the state, blamed for the proliferation of “immoral” material.
Yousuf’s Drowning Stirs Debate About Freedom, Safety, and Rights for Women in Traditional Society
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has been critical for a long time of the extent of violence against women in the country, particularly those involving rejected proposals for marriage or friendship. The killing of Yousuf fits into the alarming pattern of women receiving retaliation for exercising freedom online or offline. Her demise has now gone one step beyond a mere statistic. It has now been the cause for mobilization amidst the ongoing struggle over whether women in Pakistan can exist and post without fear of violence.
