When Hira Anwar’s father dropped her off every morning at middle school, she would duck out of his car and scamper up the steps of Public School 16 in Yonkers, N.Y., the Westchester County town where she grew up.

Inside, Hira would greet her principal and catch up with her classmates, sharing tracks by her favorite band, Chase Atlantic, or TikTok videos of the singer Zayn Malik, whom everyone knew she had a particular crush on because he was of Pakistani descent, as she was.

Then, a few months ago, something changed: When her father’s car was out of sight of the school, Hira, 14, would remove her hijab. Hira’s principal took notice, and, concerned that she was being bullied to conform, she pulled Hira aside to check in.

Hira said it was the opposite, according to her principal: She finally felt free to express herself.

That freedom did not last long.

What resulted was the Sumerian Game, an early video game that taught the basics of economic theory to sixth graders. In it, a student would act as the ruler of the Mesopotamian city-state of Lagash,ph444 games in Sumer, in 3500 B.C. In Level One, the primary focus was on growing crops and developing tools; Level Two oversaw a more diversified economy; and in Level Three, Lagash interacted with other city-states. In each round, students responded to prompts issued by Urbaba, the royal steward.

In late January, while on a vacation with her father to his hometown, Quetta, Pakistan, Hira was shot to death in front of her father’s family home. Shortly after, her father, Anwar ul-Haq Rajpoot, tearfully told the police that a random attack had taken his daughter’s life. But the Pakistani police now say that the shooting, and in fact the entire trip, was a trap that he orchestrated.

In a chilling confession, Mr. Rajpoot told investigators he ordered Hira’s execution because her behavior was an embarrassment. Mr. Rajpoot had his daughter killed, he told the police, because “Hira’s clothing choices, lifestyle and social relationships” had brought her family shame.

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