THE recent, brutal murder of 17-year-old TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf in Islamabad is, tragically, not an anomaly—it is merely the latest reminder that for countless women and girls, the most dangerous place remains their own home.
Sana, a vibrant teenager was executed for the false “crime” of saying no to a TikTok follower—a 22-year-old man—who could not accept rejection.
In Pakistan, a minor apparently has no right to decline the advances of a man. For daring to assert her autonomy, Sana paid with her life—murdered in her own home, in front of her mother and aunt. Two bullets to the chest—delivered at point-blank range—were deemed a fitting “punishment” for a bruised male ego.
This grotesque episode is made all the more bitter by its timing. Just days ago, in Islamabad, Pakistan’s President signed legislation banning child marriage, raising the minimum legal age for girls and boys to 18. How ironic, then, that while the ink was still drying on that bill, a child was murdered in the same city for exercising her agency.
When the news first broke, some rushed to brand the murder an “honor killing”—a convenient narrative that attempts to divert blame onto the victim. Critics swiftly condemned Sana for being too active on TikTok, accusing her of dishonoring her family and country. According to this warped logic, her death was not only justified—it was necessary. Some took to social media wagging fingers at young women for using platforms like TikTok, and warning them to stay within the confines of their homes if they wished to remain safe.
Not a word about how Pakistan is becoming a warzone for women and girls. Not a breath about the systemic rot that leaves them unsafe on the streets, online and in their own homes. No conversation about teaching girls digital safety—just bakwas, blame, and bloodlust.
In any society with a shred of decency, the murder of a young girl would spark grief, outrage, and change. But what did the majority of Pakistan do? It clapped. It cheered. It turned her death into a rallying cry for a misogynistic “clean-up operation”—a grotesque campaign to purge women from public life, to shove them back into the suffocating confines of their homes.
Let your “parchame sitaarah-o-hilal” (flag of crescent and Pakistan let the parcham fly at half mast, for you have violently silenced countless mothers, sisters, and daughters. Weep for the murdered daughters of the nation – the ones our Founding Father, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, hailed as more powerful than the pen, more unyielding than the sword, and essential to the destiny of our nation.
The time for change is now – Pakistan is already making the right moves by signing a bill to ban underage marriage, signaling to the world that it wants progress. Let us take this a step further and support the call for a new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on ending violence against women and girls. Such a protocol would require signatory countries to implement existing laws and introduce comprehensive prevention education. Without Pakistan’s support of a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW, the international community and women’s rights advocates like myself will struggle to see its dedication as sincere.
—The writer is contributing columnist.
