In Pakistan today, being a woman or a child often means navigating a life shadowed by fear — fear of being harassed, assaulted, silenced, or even killed. While legal protections exist, the troubling gap between law and implementation persists. The first half of 2025 serves as a grim reminder of how much remains to be done.

In Punjab, reports surfaced of a young woman who was repeatedly assaulted by members of her extended family. Forced to undergo an abortion and later poisoned to death, her story only came to light through social media outrage. In other incidents, two young girls — one just three years old — were sexually assaulted and murdered. In another case, two women killed a man who had blackmailed and harassed them for years — an act of desperation, highlighting systemic failures to protect them.

In Sindh, a schoolteacher was reportedly shot while returning home, allegedly by a man whose marriage proposal she had rejected. In separate incidents, two women were murdered by their husbands — one over suspicion, the........

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