Daily Times

Tortured, tongue cut off, teeth broken, raped, choked to death and hung from ceiling fan to pass off as suicide, there’s little missing from the heart-wrenching death of a 20-year-old mother-of-two to turn it into a harrowing nightmare.

Even when a preliminary forensic report has rubbished all the tragic details revealed by her parents, the public at large refuses to treat it as a depression case. Shocked by the deeply-rooted gender inequalities that plague our society, demands for justice reverberate across the nation.

For a change, it was heartening to see the authorities responding to these calls when Punjab’s chief minister sprung to action with a task force to apprehend the suspects and ensure that justice is served. However, given the distinct difference in the allegations put forward by the aggrieved and the stance of the law enforcement agencies, the situation requires the same commitment to clear the air.

Whether Saniya Zehra left this world as a victim of a premeditated crime or heaviness of heart needs to be established in order to provide closure to her family members and a new hope for society.

The jury may be out on the distressing details but no one, even in their wildest dreams, would play the devil’s advocate and look down upon the seemingly neverending phenomenon. With a prominent anchor reporting an assault and a woman killed over a slight delay in meals, these incidents are a gross reflection of the horrors that women in Pakistan face on a daily basis.

This is where the government would have to step in if it actually wishes to create a safer society for all. Between challenging traditional gender norms and holding every such perpetrator accountable, the state and society would have to join hands to revolutionise the perception of gender equality. *