THE hearts of all Pakistanis — the sane ones — are crying over the brutal killing of yet another woman amidst us. Unfortunately, women being slaughtered, killed, maimed, repressed and oppressed, is nothing new in our society. It is the gory manner and the social class of the individuals involved that has shaken the country in Noor’s case. The recent murder of Quratulain, a mother of four children, in Hyderabad, and the murder of Saima in front of her children in Peshawar are recent examples that should leave the nation hanging its head in shame.

It is easy to condemn these incidents and demand punishment for the criminals, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to pre-empt them. Contrary to what one may like to believe and propagate from his position of authority, an abuse stems mainly from deep-rooted societal reasons rather than women’s clothes and attitudes.

The government should get all stakeholders on board and carry out an in-depth analysis into the reasons for increasing assaults on women in Pakistan and find possible ways to ameliorate the grave scenario.

The much-needed legislation process to protect women from the multitude of abuse should begin at once. Nothing should be allowed to hamper the process in the name of these or those norms.

Muhammad Talha Basharat
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2021