EACH time I write a column about yet another Pakistani woman killed because she was a woman, I think of the many others I have written eulogising before her. From when I first began to read this newspaper in primary school to when I began to write for it in graduate school and through the decade and a half since, there have likely been thousands killed in the name of honour. To clarify, honour here means specifically that she is killed by those closest to her — fathers, brothers, husbands, neighbours and even sons all get into the act in Pakistan. They offer all sorts of reasons to cover up their dastardly actions, all of which essentially mean the same thing: her refusal to acquiesce to the authority of a man. Fragile as the male ego is, this is by and large considered acceptable.

The story of Gulaan Bharo is a familiar one. Gulaan was a young mother of two who was being beaten and abused by her husband. For at least the past two years, Gulaan had been living at her father’s house. Afraid that she was going to be forced to return to her husband’s house, Gulaan went to a police station near Rohri railway station in Sindh. There she named the people responsible for her abuse and asked to be sent to the Darul........

© Dawn