EDITORIAL: The data presented last week in the National Assembly by Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, in response to a female legislator’s query, is both staggering and deeply distressing.
Over 7,500 women were murdered between 2021 and 2024, including 1,553 killed in the name of ‘honour’. These figures reveal that violence against women remains deeply entrenched in our social, cultural, and institutional structures — despite repeated government assurances and the passage of protective legislation.
According to data compiled by the National Police Bureau, 17,771 cases of rape and gang rape were reported during the same period, underscoring the pervasive nature of sexual violence and the persistent vulnerability of women and girls in both public and private spaces. Particularly alarming is the report that 121 women were sexually assaulted while in police custody — a sickening betrayal of trust by those duty-bound to protect citizens.
When law enforcers become perpetrators, it points to a deeper culture of impunity that allows such crimes to persist unchecked. Domestic violence adds another dark layer to this issue.
Between 2021 and 2024, 9,799 women were subjected to violence by men within their own homes. This number, though official, likely represents only a fraction of the true scale of abuse as countless cases go unreported due to fear, stigma, or economic dependence. Somewhat similar seems to be the situation regarding workplace harassment. The number of such reported cases is 632.
The 127 reported acid attacks during this period further illustrate the extreme cruelty used to control, punish, and silence women. In total, 173,367 cases of violence against women were reported across the country over just four years — a damning reflection of a society still struggling to uphold the most basic principles of human rights and equality. These statistics call into question the credibility of official claims that meaningful steps have been taken to curb gender-based violence.
The persistence of such crimes suggests that existing laws, policies, and awareness campaigns are either insufficient or poorly enforced. More critically, the root causes — patriarchal mindsets, socio-economic inequality, lack of education, and weak implementation of justice — remain largely unaddressed.
What this country urgently needs is a comprehensive approach: gender sensitisation at every level — from police stations to parliament — effective enforcement of protective laws, accessible support services for survivors, and, most importantly, a societal shift in attitudes toward women’s rights and dignity.
Civil society, the media, and educational institutions must play their part in challenging the normalisation of violence and honour-based crimes. To bring about real and lasting change, the state must prioritise women’s safety and equality — not as token promises, but as essential measures of justice and societal progress. The lives of thousands of women cannot continue to be reduced to mere statistics in official reports.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.