Girl commits suicide over social media ‘blackmailing’

BADIN: A girl in Badin committed suicide by consuming poison due to alleged social media blackmailing. A letter found by the deceased’s family revealed that she was being blackmailed by a boy and his friends over edited pictures.

The group also received Rs50,000 from the girl through blackmailing. Police said that the suspects are on the run and search is underway to catch them. The suspects had earlier sent an edited picture to the girl’s fiancé, following which her engagement was called off.

Women face frequent abuse on social media in Pakistan. According to a report by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) in May 2017, 40 per cent women in the country face various forms of harassment on the internet.

Pakistan has experienced a surge in social media usage with more than 40 million Facebook users. The rapid growth has sparked an online debate about misogyny, with some women highlighting daily hate and pornographic messaging.