Shocking fresh cases reveal how badly Pakistan has failed its women

Islamabad, Aug 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) Recent cases of 18-month-old Aizal, five-year-old Ayat Noor and Hina Javed are different in age and circumstances but reveal how seriously Pakistan protects women and girls when they face threats from the people around them and how state fulfils its obligations under domestic and international laws, a report has detailed.

18-month-old Aizal died in Karachi after she was allegedly sexually assaulted. Police reports indicate that a teenage relative allegedly took the 18-month-old baby from the residence, and she was returned to the family in critical condition and later died. Police said medical reports were consistent with sexual assault. The suspect was subsequently taken into judicial custody, according to a report in 'The Friday Times'.

Five-year-old Ayat Noor was reported missing from Haripur on August 10. Three children were reported missing from different parts of Haripur within one week and police has not yet found their whereabouts. The disappearance of a five-year-old girl demonstrates the need for urgent child-protection responsibility.

In another shocking incident, Hina Javed was found dead in the bathroom of her apartment in Rawalpindi with her hands allegedly tied, her mouth gagged, and a wire around her neck. Her brother said that Javed had previously complained of physical and psychological abuse by her husband to the family. Her case sparks questions about what action will be taken by authorities when domestic abuse is reported before it becomes murder, the report mentioned.

These cases have been reported despite Pakistan being a State Party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture (CAT), The Friday Times emphasised.

Last month, NGO Sahil’s 'Six Months Cruel Numbers Report' revealed that 3,172 cases of gender-based violence were reported in Pakistan in the first six months of 2026, including 18 cases involving transgender persons.

According to the report, 644 murders, 514 cases of torture, 462 abductions, 363 suicides, 280 rapes, 175 injuries, 132 honour killings, and 21 other crimes, including harassment, gang rape and pornography cases, were reported in Pakistan in the first six months of 2026, leading Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

As per the report, 334 victims were aged between 21 and 30 years, while 306 victims were between the ages of 11 and 20 years and 120 victims were aged between 31-40 years. The ages of victims were not included in 71 per cent of the cases.

The six-month report is based on information gathered from national and regional newspapers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).

According to the report, 27 per cent of the perpetrators were acquaintances of the victims, 24 per cent were strangers, and 13 per cent were husbands, while the perpetrators were not mentioned in 20 per cent of the cases, Dawn reported.

The report documented that 54 per cent of the incidents took place in the victims' own homes, while 12 per cent occurred at perpetrators' residences, making these two the most common places for gender-based violence.

The report revealed that 74 per cent of the total cases were reported in Punjab, 17 per cent in Sindh, six per cent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while three per cent from Balochistan, Islamabad Capital Territory, PoK and PoGB combined.

According to the report, 76 per cent of reported cases were lodged with the police, while the registration status was not included in 23 per cent of the cases, and one per cent was unregistered.

Source: IANS