- By Supratik Das
- Sat, 26 Jul 2025 04:25 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Sumeera Rajput, a Pakistani TikTok creator with over 58,000 fans and one million likes, was discovered dead under mysterious circumstances in her home in the Bago Wah sector of Sindh's Ghotki district on Friday. The news has created outrage across the nation and calls for immediate action to ensure women's protection on the internet. As per a report by Geo News, Rajput's 15-year-old daughter, a TikTok user herself, has claimed that her mother was poisoned by those who had been forcing her to marry against her will. The teenager has accused the suspects of administering Sumeera poisonous tablets, which caused her death.
District Police Officer Anwar Shaikh validated the daughter's statements, but no FIR had been filed till Saturday. But police said investigations were being carried out to ascertain whether foul play was involved or not. Senior Superintendent of Police SSP Muhammad Anwar Khetran informed Arab News that two suspects, namely Babu Rajput and Muhammad Imran, have been taken into custody after the incident. A case has been filed on the basis of a complaint filed by the sister of the deceased. "A post-mortem of Sumeera Rajput has been done, and it was found that she was poisoned to death," SSP Khetran reaffirmed in a statement. "An investigation is ongoing," he added.
Escalating Violence Against Pakistani Women Content Creators
This is the third such case within a span of less than two months where a female TikTok influencer has been killed in Pakistan. On June 2, 17-year-old TikToker Sana Yousaf, who used to promote Chitrali culture and girls' education, was gunned down inside her Islamabad home by 22-year-old Umar Hayat after she turned down his repeated proposals. In a separate incident on July 11, a Rawalpindi father murdered his daughter for not closing her TikTok account. The regular violence has raised alarm over women's safety and liberty while using digital platforms within the country.
Women in Pakistan tend to experience violence and pressure from society for speaking out online. Though sites like TikTok have provided many women with financial independence and popular attention, these benefits come at a cost. According to the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2025, only 30 per cent of women in Pakistan own smartphones, compared to 58% of men—the largest mobile gender gap globally. This divide restricts women’s access to digital opportunities and exacerbates existing gender inequalities.
Moreover, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has frequently threatened to ban TikTok, citing concerns over “immoral content,” which critics argue disproportionately targets female creators. In another case earlier this year in Balochistan, a man admitted to orchestrating the killing of his 14-year-old daughter because of her TikTok activity, saying it brought shame to his family. Such incidents point to the convergence of tribal laws, gender bias, and online censorship in Pakistan. Activists, rights groups, and social media users called for justice for Sumeera Rajput and other women influencers, calling for the government to put safety and legal recourse for women online first. The hashtags #JusticeForSumeera and #StopKillingWomen quickly started trending on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram shortly after the news of her death emerged.
