While we as a nation celebrate rare cases of accountability, like the death sentence in the motorway rape cases after years, we mourn many deaths and attacks on women daily in this country. Women are cut short on life barely for the reason of existing; whether it is at the hands of a man who throws acid on a woman for refusing a relationship, a man killing his wife for refusing sexual intercourse or a man killing his sister-in-law and nieces for making videos on social media. All attacks leave us wondering, what world are we living in where a woman’s life solely depends on a man’s little ego and lack of self-control?
A moment of rage defines whether a woman deserves to live or not; the haunting attack on Quetta’s Dr Mahnoor is the most recent example. The woman, on duty, was attacked with acid in broad daylight because she refused advances from the man. Though the man has met his fate and been killed in a police encounter, the question remains: how many more women are to be targeted before accountability prevails in society? Raising eyebrows on how easily acid can be bought in the market, how no laws are enforced against it, actress Mishi Khan posted:
View this post on Instagram.
Hina Khwaja Bayat, too, urged accountability and posted:
While outrage poured over the acid attack in Quetta, the reaction to a man killing his wife for refusing sex elaborates on what gives men the courage to attack women. The blatant testimony, the grin on his face with no remorse, and other men hailing him for being on the right flip the coin into the reality of women’s state in the country; each praise, boosting the ego of a man with no self-control. A netizen posted:
A 64-year-old man killed his wife because she refused to have s*x with him, and lawyers are encouraging him, saying, you did the right thing. We have sick monsters in this society. pic.twitter.com/k22GsiydwJ
— خان (@khantainer) June 6, 2026
The murder, turning into a national meme, despite a life being lost, advances further into understanding how society enables crimes against women. A woman’s life can become a laughing stock over a man’s unsatisfied sexual desire, quite a reason to laugh over, indeed.
What a time it has been. A 64-year-old man in Karachi told his wife at night that he wanted to have s*x with her.
When she refused, he killed her. But people are currently posting this news as memes on social media, but no one is telling about this pain and whatever was… pic.twitter.com/0apy27VxwP
— Pakistan Ke Kalesh (@startnew347) June 5, 2026
It surely is an awful day to be a woman in Pakistan, as a user posted:
-man in lift throws acid on woman
-another 64 y/o man kills wife bec she refused sex
-male singer thinks short clothing ruins culture
-another man who brutally beheaded a girl still finding ways to avoid the death sentence
All in a few days. What a horrible country for women— a (@arsalanahmedk) June 7, 2026
Whether the doctor in Quetta or the woman in Karachi, or the ones in Malakand, the country has failed its women for decades. Murder, acid, rape- every day, a new headline, a new story; a new campaign of ‘not all men’ and a debate on women’s clothing. All hue and cry on social media, and no fruitful conviction as we wait for several years. As Dr Mahnoor recovers in pain and the rest six feet under, the question remains unanswered: how many more?
