Pakistan’s cultural superstructure is dense with patriarchal symbolism; misogyny appears to be one of our core values, dominant across all social institutions and so habitual that it is hardly even noticed. Pakistan ranks 153rd out of 156 countries in the World Economic Forum’s gender index, just above its Taliban-ravaged neighbour Afghanistan. Since its inception, Pakistani women have been entangled in a gender terrorism epidemic that has produced far too many casualties. More women lose their lives to honour killings by close family members than civilians from terrorism. From acid attacks to honour killings to incest, Pakistani women have seen it all. Legal recourse isn’t always an option, especially for those who do not have the financial means to be taken seriously by law enforcement. Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, recorded over 200 cases of sexual abuse this year, the majority involving minors and often ending with murder. Earlier this year, a minor girl was gang-raped at a flood relief camp, prompting Sindh’s Chief Minister to take notice and put her entire family under protective care at a police station. It must be reiterated that these statistics severely misrepresent the real scale of gender-based violence, which typically goes unreported due to law enforcement’s propensity for blaming victims instead of punishing their perpetrators. Just this month, a Pakistani court acquitted a rapist after he married his victim in a decision sanctioned by a council of elders in the country’s northwest. The jirga system, which is entirely at odds with Pakistan’s constitution, operates on archaic notions of honour and customarily treats women as property. Indeed, it was a jirga that decided that Mukhtar Mai should be gang-raped as retribution for her brother’s adultery. The state is more than happy to provide constitutional cover to the jirga system, which it believes is an indispensable feature of tribal life. But parallel legal structures should not exist in a country that claims to be democratic and governed by real laws. Women are routinely told to “not get raped,” as if avoiding sexual violence in a country that venerates misogyny and objectifies its women at every turn is so easy. *