Fact Check: Did Pakistan Parents Padlock Daughter's Grave to Prevent Sick Act to Body?
Newly released details have debunked a viral report claiming Pakistani parents of a deceased girl put a lock on their daughter’s grave to prevent people from abusing her corpse.
Late last month, the Daily Times published an editorial claiming that a rise in necrophilia has led some to install locks on graves in Pakistan to guard against the rape of corpses.
“That a woman is raped every two hours in a country taking great pride in its family-oriented values has been hammered to the point of repetition in our collective conscience. But the heart-wrenching sight of padlocks on the graves of females is enough for the entire society to hang its head in shame and never dare to look at the so-called vessels of honour,” the Daily Times’ editorial read.
“This is being done as a desperate bid to ensure the sanctity of dead bodies in case some randy monsters cherry-pick them to satiate their lust.”
“Considering the rampant rise in necrophilia, one can’t help but understand the urge to protect loved ones,” the article read, before listing statistics on violence against women in Pakistan.
ANI Digital then picked up on the story, saying in their headline: “Pakistani parents lock daughters’ graves to avoid rape.” They added in their article an image of the supposed grave, with it being credited to Twitter.
Did News Agencies & News Channels try to find if this ‘News’ was reported by local channels, Any authentic source? Where exactly is the incident from, Did they speak to the parents? No.
Their articles was based on a tweet by Harris Sultan who had tweeted on Wednesday, April 26th pic.twitter.com/LoCeTUP6Q7— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 30, 2023
Thank you, @zoo_bear, for getting to the bottom of this. While this is not an excuse and I must apologize for the source of my initial information, which was from @SanamBalochfans.
The reason why it was believable is that necrophilia has become a serious issue in Pakistan. It is… https://t.co/1yEm5nSlB5 pic.twitter.com/euL6mei3Np
— Harris Sultan (@TheHarrisSultan) April 30, 2023
The report quickly went viral, with the image of the locked grave being cited in dozens of other media reports and online posts.
Many also cited the report in condemning Pakistan’s treatment of women.
As of writing, the Daily Times has neither removed nor corrected its report, which has since been debunked by multiple other news outlets.
First of all, Alt News revealed that the image cited by the outlets was actually taken in Hyderabad, India, and not Pakistan.
Second, a local Hyderabad resident confirmed to the outlet that the lock on the grave, also known as a grille or jaali, was to prevent others from burying more bodies in the plot.
This Grave is in India not from Pakistan.
It is in DarabJung Colony, Madannapet, Hyderabad, Telangana
And a lock has been put on this grave so that no one should bury someone else in this grave. pic.twitter.com/p1WaUlwDcf
— زماں (@Delhiite_) April 30, 2023
“A lot of people come here and bury bodies over the old graves without permission. The people who already have their close ones resting here have had complaints since they come here to read Fateha,” Muqtar Sahab, a local social worker, told Alt News. “In order to prevent others from burying any bodies further, the families have put the grille there.”
Sahab noted that the grille was also constructed to prevent people from walking on the grave since it’s near the entrance of the cemetery, which is located in the Darab Jung colony of Madannapet.
Another local resident informed Alt News that the grave belonged to an elderly woman who died in her seventies. The woman’s son was the one who reportedly installed the grille on top.
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