The killing of a teenage girl in Pakistan allegedly by her own father due to her refusal to delete her TikTok account has sent shockwaves through the country and highlighted the ongoing struggles faced by women and girls navigating social media and traditional societal expectations.

Police reports indicate that the father, whose name has not been universally released to protect the family's privacy, is accused of fatally attacking his daughter, whose age has been reported as being between 15 and 17 years old (reports vary slightly), after she resisted his demands to delete her TikTok account.

The specifics of the attack remain under investigation, but the incident underscores the deeply rooted patriarchal norms prevalent in certain parts of Pakistan, where control over women's lives and online activity is often aggressively enforced.

The incident has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation on social media, with many criticizing the lack of protection afforded to women and girls facing violence.

Activists point to the systemic issues that enable such violence, including the often-unpunished nature of domestic abuse, the lack of readily available support systems for victims, and the pervasive societal pressure on women to conform to restrictive norms.

While TikTok itself is not directly responsible for the violence, the case highlights the complexities of balancing personal freedoms online with familial expectations and cultural pressures.

The accessibility of social media, while offering opportunities for self-expression and connection, also presents challenges when individual liberties clash with deeply entrenched traditional values.

The police investigation is ongoing, and while the father has been apprehended, the long-term implications of this case are significant.

It is likely to raise discussions about stricter enforcement of laws protecting women from domestic violence, increased awareness campaigns to address gender-based violence and patriarchal attitudes, and a broader conversation on the intersection of social media, personal autonomy, and cultural expectations within Pakistani society.

The tragic death serves as a potent symbol of the challenges faced by women in navigating their digital lives within the context of their cultural realities.

Pakistan police on Friday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her account on popular video-sharing app TikTok.

In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces.

"The girl's father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her," a police spokesperson told AFP.

According to a police report shared with AFP, investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday "for honor." He was subsequently arrested.

The victim's family initially tried to "portray the murder as a suicide" according to police in the city of Rawalpindi, where the attack happened, next to the capital Islamabad.

Last month, a 17-year-old girl and TikTok influencer with hundreds of thousands of online followers was whose advances she had refused.

Sana Yousaf had racked up more than a million followers on social media accounts including TikTok, where she shared videos of her favorite cafes, skincare products, and traditional outfits.

TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels.

Women have found both audience and income on the app, which is rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of the women participate in the formal economy.

However, only 30 percent of women in Pakistan own a smartphone compared to twice as many men (58 percent), the largest gap in the world, according to the Mobile Gender Gap Report of 2025.

Pakistani telecommunications authorities have repeatedly blocked or threatened to block the app over what it calls "immoral behavior," amid backlash against LGBTQ and sexual content.

In southwestern Balochistan, where tribal law governs many rural areas, a man confessed to orchestrating the murder of his 14-year-old daughter earlier this year over TikTok videos that he said compromised her "honor."

Much of Pakistani society operates under a strict code of "honor," with women beholden to their male relatives over choices around education, employment and who they can marry.

Hundreds of women are in Pakistan every year for allegedly breaching this code.

Last year, a Pakistani man who allegedly filmed his brother strangling their sister to death was as part of an alleged "honor" killing.

In December 2023, authorities arrested four people who allegedly  in the purported name of "honor" after a picture of her sitting with a boyfriend went viral on social media. Police said the photo had been doctored and posted on fake social media accounts.

In 2022, the BBC reported the . He had been sentenced to life in prison after confessing to the 2016 killing, saying it was because the star had brought shame on the family.

In 2021, 27-year-old Noor Mukadam was , Zahir Jaffer, after she rejected his marriage proposal in a case that sparked widespread anger. Jaffer was sentenced to death.