Had the Islamabad High Court’s gavel lent a sympathetic ear to Zahir Jaffar’s plea in the Noor Muqadam case, the nation’s conscience would have stood guilt-ridden till the end of time. But God is, indeed, great because the law took its course and avenged the death of a 27-year-old whose life was stripped away from her in the most gruesome manner possible. Noor may finally have managed to grimace through her pain because, after innumerable about-turns, diminishing of faith in the country’s justice system, vicious scandalising of her character, her values and her family’s alleged sinister agenda, the bereaved could actually sleep through the night for once.
A crime that shook everyone to the core–prompting people to demand greater rights for women perpetually languishing on the butcher’s block–the murder was enough for the entire country to sit up straight and introspect about the real value of human life. There could not have been a clearer warning to any monster lurking among us than the court awarding a double death sentence to the accused. Because while the odds may be in their favour and the societal notions inclined to hold the gun to the victim’s head (again after again and again), the justice system would see through the biases and roar with all its tenacity. The only fly in the ointment remains our reluctance in standing against these vile creatures and their absolute disregard for our safety and sanctity. Had the state realised the utility of working towards a higher conviction rate while maintaining the decorum demanded by the right to a free trial, Noor and many of her sisters might have still been smiling and kicking. The Noors of our nation could have escaped the lurid roughhouse where everyone from the men walking on the street to those hovering over their heads as their guardians were on a mission to wipe them off the face of the earth. Perhaps, Pakistan too could have escaped the widespread admonishment as no country for women. If only, wishes were horses! *