On July 20, 2021 Noor Mukadam the 27 years old daughter of a retired diplomat was brutally murdered and beheaded in a posh locality of Islamabad bringing to light yet another case of toxic misogyny in the land of the pure.
The supreme court of Pakistan on 20th may 2025 finally upheld the death sentence of the Zahir Jaffer the scion of an emi-nent and very rich business family of the country.
The cold blooded killer of an innocent girl has finally been given the death sentence, justice has been done and the murderer of Noor Mukadam brought to justice according to the law of the land.
The verdict was announced by a three member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Hashim Kakar that also included Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi.
Noor Mukadam’s father, Shaukat Mukadam, welcomed the verdict.
This case is for all the daughters of Pakistan,” he told reporters.
“The society and media came to our side, the entire nation and the world was on our side.
” Advocate Shah Khawar represented the complain-ant Shaukat Mukadam in the Supreme Court.
Pakistan has a poor record when it comes to protecting women and girls, but Noor Mukadam’s death sent shock-waves through the country because of Jaffer’s family background and the brutal nature of the crime.
Pakistan does not have a nationwide law criminalizing domestic violence, leaving many women and girls vulnerable to assault.
Around 28% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, Pakistan’s Ministry of Human Rights said, citing the country’s Demographic and Health Survey from 2017-2018.
Domestic violence Bill was tabled in 2020 that was supposed to apply only to Islamabad if passed but it was hoped that other provinces will pass similar legislation.
This bill was passed in the National assembly in April last year but was held up by the senate and the opposition managed to refer the bill to the senate committee on human rights for further review.
Finally this bill was passed by the senate and forwarded to the President for final approval.
Pakistan currently is placed as the sixth most dangerous country in the world for women and is today awash with cases of sexual crimes and domestic violence and this is due to a culture of impunity for the phenomenal spike in violence against women.
Yasmin Lehri a law maker of Baluchistan stated “A man who stabbed a young female lawyer more than twelve times was recently released by the court.
What message does it send to the perpetrators of violence against women?
” Mukhtar Mai, a women’s rights activist and a 2002 gang rape survivor, shares the same view: “Those who commit violence against women are not afraid of legal consequences,” adding that for most Pakistani men, beating a woman is not even a form of violence.
Pakistani society is still entrenched in feudal and tribal customs, she says.
Other activists also blame society’s patriarchal attitudes .
“Women are taught to obey men, as they have a superior status in the family,” said Mahnaz Rahman, a Lahore-based feminist, adding that when a woman demands her rights, she is often subjected to violence.
Shazia Khan, a Lahore-based activist, believes that in certain cases, men feel emboldened by religious teaching.
“Islamic clerics interpret religion in a way that it gives the impression that it allows men to beat women.
They also support underage marriages and tell women to obey their husbands even if they are violent toward them,” she said, adding that these clerics actually encourage men to commit violence against women.
The brutal and merciless killing of Noor Mukadam shook the very foundations of the nation and it was like a clarion call for the society to wake up from its deep slumber and do something about the toxic misogyny and domestic violence that has become an everyday occurrence in our society.
This case was very closely monitored and followed every step of the way by the burgeoning social media and the mainstream media that is print and electronic.
The entire tragic and gruesome drama of this tragedy was carefully pieced together bit by bit such as the eyewitness accounts, proof and evidence, cross examination of the accused and the witnesses to the horror and a tragic tapestry was painted of the brutal nature of Zahir Jaffer and the way he slaughtered this young girl.
This case is another tragic story of a murder that could have been prevented, this is another proof that the murder was committed by one spoilt rich brat but many others like the parents of the murderer are equally responsible.
The parents of Zahir Jaffer simply failed to take action or do the right thing at the right time to prevent this tragedy.
The security guards and the domestic servants in the house failed to do their duty and stop the senseless slaughter.
All the domestic servants were fully aware that a young girl was being tortured and might lose her life yet they remained silent spectators.
Ironically even the judiciary took years to decide the case when this case definitely deserved and required immediate action.
On the occasion of the International Women’s day in 2023 the Sustainable Social Development Organization released its report, According to this report 10,201 cases of violence against women were registered under section 354 and section 509 of the Pakistan Penal code and this shows an increase of 14.5 percent increase from 8,787 cases reported in 2022.
Lahore had 1,464 cases followed by Sheikhupura 1,198 and Kasur 877 cases according to this report on an average about 28 women faced some form of violence every day in the Punjab in 2023.
Pakistan today is singled out as a country where women’s rights are not respected and without a basic change in the attitude of society this country will remain at the very bottom of the global gender equality rankings.
—The writer is Professor of History, based in Islamabad.
