Yasmin Agha was an eighteen-year-old National Park ranger when she disappeared while on a nature expedition with her parents and two other female friends. Her body was found the next day by Pakistani authorities and police investigation has since proved that she died from drowning and trauma, but foul play is suspected. There are several theories about the circumstances of her death, all of which are still being investigated, but it is clear that foul play was a possible factor in her death. In this article I will outline some of the more widely held beliefs about what happened to Yasmin Agha and offer suggestions as to how to deal with similar situations. Nationality and age are key factors in the causes of death, with young women (or girls) at greater risk than their husbands or partners.
It is generally accepted that nationality is more important than age in terms of determining the cause of death following a drowning. However, many believe that certain behaviours can be indicators of national origin and could be considered as indicators of an underlying national or ethnic group identity. For example, it is often thought that those with darker hair colouring are from African countries and therefore suggest a darker skinned heritage. While it would be impossible to infer any definite nationalities from the available evidence, it seems reasonable to assume that darker hair colourings may be genetically linked to Africanness.
Yasmin Agha’s death does not necessarily mean that her ethnicity was a contributing factor, but it does raise questions about her potential nationalities and ethnic background. This is especially true if her parents had not made it clear that she was to marry an Arab man when she was very young. This could have been seen as both a parental and sexual mandate according to Shariat law in Pakistan. The lack of communication between parents and children about their intended marriage could also be seen as an opportunity for her family to practise ethnic cleansing, preventing her from marrying an outside member of their culture.