Pakistani woman Arbella Bibi, mother of a six-year-old girl who was raped and murdered, reacts as she mourns with relatives at her home, in Karachi on Tuesday. Crowds took to the streets after the body of the victim was discovered late Monday, blocking a main road in the western suburb of Orangi Town in western Karachi where they hurled stones at riot police. Photo: AFP

A fiery online series about a group of women who unleash revenge on men has sparked a backlash in conservative Pakistan, where tough censorship rules prevent such shows from appearing on television.

Filmed in Karachi but released by an India-based streaming service, "Churails," or "Witches" in English, centers on women who open an underground detective agency under the guise of a store to catch cheating husbands.

The storylines cover often untouched topics such as gay relationships, sexual exploitation, male dominance and Pakistan's obsession with fair skin.

It caused a buzz among much of its audience online - often limited to affluent Pakistanis who can afford the platform's subscription fee - but infuriated conservatives when clips began to circulate on social media.

It is a rare women-centered script for strait-laced Pakistan, where shows are often limited to the stormy relationships between stay-at-home wives and their demanding mothers-in-law.

AFP