WHEN NOWHERE IS SAFE

By Qashf  Aizdi

Violence against women in Pakistan has become so common that there is a chance that it will lead to desensitization among people towards this matter. The daily news contains incidents of women being subjected to rape and murder. People are afraid to interact with strangers, go out of their homes and are even scared inside their homes.

Pakistan recorded 3,172 cases of gender-based violence during the first half of 2026, averaging approximately 528 cases every month or around 17 to 18 reported cases each day. This leads us to realise that we are living in an era that has reached the pinnacle of cruelty. Talking about the life of a woman in Pakistan, it is incontrovertible that they nowhere feel completely safe, be it outside their homes or inside them.

The violence is unrelenting. Almost every day, another case emerges that leaves society perturbed for a moment before another story takes its place. We react, we condemn, we call for justice and then we move on. This is perhaps the most dismal part of the situation because violence against women is slowly becoming something that society now expects to see in the daily news rather than something that shocks it. But what happens after the outrage? Every incident is followed by condemnation, demands for justice and hopes that such incidents will not be repeated. Yet another case emerges and the cycle begins again.

What is even more concerning is the manner in which some of the proposed solutions place restrictions on women instead of addressing the perpetrators. In one recent case, a woman was allegedly subjected to sexual violence inside a police station by a police officer. The response was restricting women’s presence at police stations after Maghrib. Why should the woman be restricted from entering a place meant to protect her because a person responsible for protecting her allegedly violated that trust? If a woman cannot safely seek help from the police, where is she supposed to go? The answer cannot always be to tell women to be more careful, to avoid certain places or to remain inside their homes. Such responses do not address the reason violence occurs; they merely place another restriction on the very people who are already living with fear.

Women are often told that staying inside their homes will keep them safe from the dangers of the outside world. But what happens when the danger is already inside the home? The recent case of Hina Javed is a painful reminder that a woman does not have to step outside her house to become a victim of violence. Hina was reportedly murdered inside her own home, with her husband arrested in connection with her death. The case is particularly disturbing because the person accused was reportedly a university professor, challenging the assumption that education or professional status alone can prevent every type of violence.

A woman should not have to be wary of strangers outside, fearful of people she knows inside her home or afraid to approach the very institutions that are supposed to protect her. The issue is therefore not simply where women should or should not go. The issue is why women continue to face violence wherever they are.

When even a five-year-old child or an 18-month-old baby becomes a victim, questions about clothing, behaviour or being outside the home lose all meaning. Similarly, telling women to remain indoors or avoid certain places cannot be a solution when violence can occur within their own homes or even inside a police station.

Pakistan does have laws dealing with violence against women and mechanisms intended to provide protection and access to justice. The existence of a legal framework means little if its implementation does not provide women with meaningful protection. There is therefore a need for a system that actively works to prevent the harm. Perpetrators must face swift and meaningful consequences. We cannot continue to respond to every tragedy with temporary outrage while waiting for the next one to take its place. At some point, condemnation is no longer enough.

We need to ask ourselves what kind of society we are creating when women have to be constantly wary of where they go, whom they trust and whether they will return safely. We need a society where a woman can walk on the street without fear, enter a public space without fear, seek help from the police without fear, live within a marriage without fear and sleep inside her own home without fear. Every one of us came into this world through a woman. Protecting women should therefore not be treated as a favour or a matter that can be postponed until another tragedy occurs. Safe nowhere should not be the reality of being a woman in Pakistan.