A gunman on a motorbike shot dead a well-known Iraqi social media influencer known as Om Fahad outside her Baghad home on Friday. An unidentified attacker shot Om Fahad in her car in the Zayouna district, a security official said, requesting anonymity because he was not cleared to speak to the media. Another security source said the attacker appeared to have pretended to be making a food delivery. Om Fahad had become known for light-hearted TikTok videos of herself dancing to Iraqi music wearing tight-fitting clothes. In February 2023, a court sentenced her to six months in jail for sharing "videos containing indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality".

The Iraqi government launched a campaign last year to clean up social media content that it said breached Iraqi "morals and traditions". An interior ministry committee was established to scour TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms for clips it deemed offensive. Several influencers have since been arrested, according to authorities. Despite years of war and sectarian conflict after the 2003 US invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein, Iraq has returned to a semblance of normality. But civil liberties -- for women, sexual minorities and other groups -- remain constrained in the conservative society. In 2018, model and influencer Tara Fares was shot dead by gunmen in Baghdad.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan