An epidemic of gender-based violence is encompassing the whole country. Women aren’t safe anywhere, not even in their homes. The term ‘femicide’ has taken hold of our vocabulary. The cold-blooded assassination of Noor Mukadam and many others have demonstrated the heinous shape that toxic masculinity can take. Noor’s murder was not a result of a single cause — a brawl in this case — but a build-up of something evil over the years, that goes into the rearing of men in our society. This entails the moral policing of women, control over their body, and severe surveillance of their movements. If these restraints are infringed, naked threats and violence is the usual course taken by men.
A go-to justification of femicide is the story of mythical dishonour that women allegedly bring to the family and community. In every realm of society, women are not only oppressed but are also being deprived of their agency. Even amidst the raging outcry about rampant gender-based violence, it is risible to observe that rather than accepting their responsibility in sustaining the patriarchal structure, men have taken an affront to the expression of infuriation by women on this fatal issue. Thus, the first step towards a safe and gender-inclusive society demands the acknowledgement of the matrix of femicide that is unfolding in our society.
HAMZA WAYNE
MULTAN
