Another brother obsessed with keeping the familial honour well-rested within the vessel of women decided to abhorrently murder a 22-year-old model in the Okara district because she had dared defy the societal standards of acceptable behaviour. As per the preliminary investigation, the star-crossed victim fell prey to a “heated” debate over her choice of the profession. Yet another promising life lost to the galore of patriarchy that refuses to step down and give up the bejewelled crown while the medievally barbaric society continues to look the other way. What would most likely follow is a no-punches-pulled slander campaign that targets everything from her character to her acquaintances; scratching even the most private of details–layer by layer. What went down in the case of Sidra came hard on the heels of the much-talked-about acquittal of the man responsible for the high-profile Qandeel Baloch murder. The similarities are hard to miss. An overambitious girl leaves the obscurity of her hometown to make it big in a city; becomes mesmerised by the glittering lights, only to get her feathers clipped, head bashed and face wiped off earth by family members who are suddenly not “comfortable” with the bold lifestyle. The jury is still out on the financial circumstances, but the liberty of wild guesses screams out loud how a major chunk of the poor sister’s income might have gone straight into the murderer’s pocket. These cold-blooded killings make a tragic mockery of both our legal system and the “spectacular” cultural norms we all love to take pride in. Early in the year, a report by Sindh SUhai Sath had noted at least 176 people killed on the pretext of honour in Sindh alone. The horror tales that transpired in other provinces were brushed under the rug of local customs in one place and the lily-white concept of “izzat” elsewhere. Going by the shamefully low conviction rate of three per cent in all honour-related cases, the parliamentary revision to plug the compromise loophole in the relevant law did not achieve much other than media buzz and political goodwill. Like it or not, ours is a country that works best when rattled out of complacency by public outrage and this is where the media and the civil society can help shut the doors of empathy on the accused. No judge should be allowed to let his personal biases cloud his judgement and let the men walk free with a slap on the wrist. Similarly, this one-news cycle coverage should be excused in such crises and the news outlets would be better off plastering the face of the villain on their screens. Casting the victim in a bad light is a trick done so often that it has started to lose its oomph. Let’s try respecting the sanctity of human lives for a change. *