The growing cases of violence against women in Pakistan are is now being described as a ‘femi-cide.’ The past week alone churned out three grisly cases. The murders of Qurratulain, Saima and Noor have left the nation reeling with angst and paranoia. It is as if Mohammad Hanif’s words in Our Lady of Alice Bhatti were penned for today: “most of life’s arguments, it seemed, got settled by doing various things to a woman’s body.”

In the previous week, three unusual cases came to light. Two cases of domestic violence ended in murder. Then there was another pre-meditated murder. #JusticeforQuratulain started trending on July 15 when a mother of four was brutally killed by her husband. Qurratulain’s husband, is a son of a former Sindh government secretary. The family resided in Hyderabad. He was known to have tortured his wife and threatened to take away the children if she ever raised her voice. On July 15, he tortured her to death.

Saima Ali was shot dead by her husband on July 3. However, the case was brought to light later. Her husband had shot her and their children.

On the eve of Eidul Azha, Noor Mukadam was murdered at a friend’s home, in an upscale residential area of Islamabad. The suspect was the chief brand strategist for his father construction business and a therapist. The news was released to the public at 6 in the morning. Since then social media has been ablaze with female rage laden with grief felt for the lives that could have been saved.

According to a report published by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO), 1,422 cases of domestic violence were reported in the last six months of 2020. Women and the society have apparently grown insensitive such news. However, Noor Mukadam ’s grisly murder has left the nation reeling with disbelief. It is primarily because the murderer did not stop at killing her.

The SSDO report, titled Tracking Crimes against People - A Numeric Tale of Human (in)Security, has concluded that there was a considerable increase in the number of cases of violence against women last year. Besides, there was more of manic violence. The core of the concern is that such murderers do not pick the gun upon their first whim, that a series of events, actions and behaviours leads to it. These behaviours go unnoticed in the society, leaving women unsafe. The statistics show that a majority of assault and blackmail cases originate within homes.

It is in the light of these events that women have been calling for change. The current system affords no protection to women.

Khadija Siddique’s case is a telling point. The woman was stabbed 23 times next to her younger sister’s school for rejecting a proposal. A three-year-long legal battle was needed to send her assailant to jail. At one point, he was acquitted by a High Court. Last week, he was released from prison after serving 3.5 years of his 5-year sentence. He was granted remission on account of “donating blood and payment of the requisite fines.”

It should come as no surprise then that Pakistan scored 6.46 out of 10 on the Child Rights Index and ranks 164th amongst 167 countries in the Women, Peace and Security Index. Some of the men in power are making the already grave situation even worse. The prime minister has shown a blatant disregard for the power dynamic in the event of rape and focused on women’s clothing. An entertainer accused of harassment by a colleague was recently asked to host the biggest awards show in the country. A senior police officer’s comments on a rape survivor’s conduct were plain outrageous.

The spike in the cases of grotesque violence against women since the last year may either be an objective rise in the cases or an increase in the cases being reported. It is quite likely that it is the former because no changes have been made recently to encourage reporting which is often seen as counterproductive and traumatic to the victim and their family. In any case, the real number of cases is most likely higher.

The femi-cide in Pakistan has rendered every woman regardless of age, caste or class unsafe. It is incredibly upsetting that a social media highlight has become a prerequisite for any case being taken up swiftly.

Noor Mukadam ’s picture at a protest for the victim of the Motorway gang rape is emblematic. You see a woman in a crowd protesting for another until she becomes the cause for another protest, bringing more women to join the space she left behind. It’s horrifyingly poetic and horrifyingly real.

The writer is a student at LUMS