In the quiet, serene village of Jangdara Totalai, Buner, a father’s world was shattered in an instant. His daughter, a devoted school teacher, a woman who dedicated her life to shaping young minds, was brutally gunned down in front of him. Her only crime? Refusing a marriage proposal.
The suspect, driven by vengeance and entitlement, opened fire on the 40-year-old woman without hesitation, leaving her lifeless body on the ground, and her father standing there in the unbearable grief of losing his child in such a cruel, heart-wrenching manner.
This was not the first time the suspect had attacked the victim. Her father had begged for help, and approached the authorities, hoping to protect his daughter. But their pleas were met with silence, and now, their worst nightmare had come to life. The system that was meant to protect them had failed them.
This tragedy is not an isolated one. It echoes the brutal murder of another school teacher, a 22-year-old woman in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, just months ago. She too, had her life taken away for daring to choose her path, for marrying the man she loved in a free-will marriage. Her body, too, was discarded, her life deemed unworthy by those who claimed ‘honour’ in the most dishonourable act of violence.
Both women, educators, and role models, were taken from this world by the same toxic force—an entitlement over women’s choices, lives, and destinies. Their dreams, hopes, and futures were stolen by a society that still allows violence to masquerade as ‘honour,’ and where justice often remains elusive.
The pain in these communities is palpable but even more agonizing is the fear that these senseless murders will soon be forgotten, buried under the weight of an unrelenting cycle of violence. The fathers, the families, will live on with a wound that will never heal, knowing that their daughters were not protected, not seen, and not valued in the way every human being deserves to be.
As investigations continue and the perpetrators remain at large, one question haunts the heart: how many more daughters must be lost before the cries for justice are heard?