News Desk |
The city court has sent the accused woman into police custody till Feb 8 for further investigation into the drowning case. In a heart-wrenching development, Shakila Rashid, a 28-year old woman from Karachi, has admitted to killing her two and half-year-old daughter by drowning her in the sea, a day after committing the crime.
A resident of Golimara, also known as Purana Golimar near Lyari, Shakila Rashid said she also wanted to die after killing her daughter. The little girl Anam Rashid died immediately and her body was discovered by locals as it washed on-shore near Do Darya. The incident occurred near the Farhan Shaheed park on Monday, 4th February.
Women in our society are generally not encouraged to learn skills or get an education for financial stability. And along with that, conservative families discourage daughters to reach out to parents after marital conflicts.
According to local press, Shakila Rashid said she decided to kill her daughter after being abandoned by her husband who works at a private hospital. SHO Sahil Station was handed the culprit by locals who had caught her in the water. The body of the deceased was discovered later in the day. Police found the body of the 2 and half-year-old girl near Do Darya at Karachi beach.
In a video circulating on social media, the murderer said that she had nowhere to go after her father had also refused to accommodate her. In the same video, the 28-year old says that she came out of the water five minutes after drowning the child. The police arrested the mother after being informed by citizens.
The social media users have expressed mixed reaction to the incident. Where some were astonished at the cold-heartedness of mother, others sympathized with mother for her agony and blamed societal norms and traditions for the heinous incident. As much as the culprit needs to be punished, the reasons that led to such crime need serious consideration too.
Read more: Shahid Afridi: A savior for the children of Thar
Women in our society are generally not encouraged to learn skills or get an education for financial stability. And along with that, conservative families discourage daughters to reach out to parents after marital conflicts. In such scenarios, as mentioned above, women are not only blamed for bringing dishonor to family [by divorce/ separation], they are also left on their own with no financial resources. Sometimes, these women end up at shelter houses and sometimes, they take extreme steps like suicide and taking the lives of their children.