The ongoing struggle for women’s rights

By Gulsameen Nauhani,

Women, whether in ancient and modern times, have struggled to have basic rights. They have challenged patriarchal mindsets to have equal rights as men. This struggle for rights had brought better living conditions for women. From being buried after birth in the pre-Islamic era to having the right to life has altered the lifestyle women once had.

It surely could not have been possible without the sacrifices of certain figures who had to be beheaded. Olympe De Gouges published the declaration of women’s right for which she was beheaded in 1793. Despite such sacrifices, the concept of feminism has not yet achieved its core result. Unfortunately, we still live in a society where women do not have the freedom to decide for themselves. This is a global issue where women in every corner are the victims of brutalities. Such atrocities have been levied on women through every mean. They are the victims of violence, rape, torture, only because of the gender and the self-conscious of men cannot tolerate them outside the boundaries. Such a behavior towards women is undeniable.

Over the past few years, situations have worsened creating a more lethal atmosphere for women where the malignant attitude of men has caused suffocation for females. Woefully, we live in a society where when a woman becomes the victim of violence, the only conversation we have afterwards is whether she was wearing revealing clothes or not. Whether she was out late at night. She must have done something that had brought such a situation to her. Blaming women over any inconvenience that happens to them has become a facile and only way to escape from liabilities and getting motivation of doing such heinous crimes again. Because the male figures of our society would rather blame the women who died or became the victim of the brutal ruling than to tether themselves on the victims shoe.

For our society elated concept, it does not matter whether the victim was a minor, a doctor or an influencer as long as she was a woman she deserved what had happened to her.

On 2nd June, 2025, a 17-year old TikToker Sana Yousuf was shot twice causing her death in the capital city of Pakistan. Only because she did not respond to the accused proposal. The response to this incident by our patriarchal society could possibly be: she should not have repudiated the proposal only then she would have been alive”

Humaira Asghar who was a Pakistan actress and model was found dead at her apartment in Karachi. Worst of all she had been dead for 6 months and no one knew until acting on a local court directive, the Gizri police arrived at the flat only to find it locked from inside. When they barged into the apartment with the landlord who had sent her the notice for paying the rents saw her dead body. Her parents refused to accept her body because she had chosen a profession against their will.

Killing women in the name of honor is not something new either. A father shot her daughter only because she did not delete her TikTok account. A husband making her wife drink acid in the name of honor.

And recently a couple in Balochistan were shot dead because they lawfully got married. But it did not suit the dignity of the families hence they killed both of them.

Unfortunately, we have a myriad of such upsetting stories and incidents where women are only seen as a victim, as someone who deserves the harsh ruling. They are raped, assassinated and all sort of lethal brutalities are inflicted upon them. But the worst of all, people in our society still blame them for whatever happens to them. The statement of the victim’s mother of the couple who were killed in Balochistan proved the kind of conservative mindset they have when it comes to women. Astonishing everyone when the mother’s statement calling her daughter’s killing justifiable appeared to be witnessed, or maybe because her son’s honor was more imperative than her daughter’s life, hence we are again back to our same statement “After all she was a woman, an animal is far more capable of amiable treatments than her.”

Although we have laws and the concept of ‘Rule of law’ but only printed. When it comes to women, our country Pakistan ranks in treating them worst of all. Neither they have safe working environment, nor have they protection, making a woman’s life harsher. A woman has basic rights as a man guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan, woefully,.nothing is practical. Only words exist.