2 days Ago
The incident has heightened fears of gender-based violence and toxic digital culture, in which women are often the ones blamed for crimes against them. Social media was besieged with vile comments celebrating her death, indicating a brutal reality of online misogyny.
Online Bullying, Offline Violence
Advocates for digital rights say normalising threats online can quickly escalate to actual violence. Since 2017, the Digital Rights Foundation has documented more than 20,000 cases of tech-facilitated abuse. They say the growing online presence of women is challenging patriarchal norms, causing panic and aggression in men who aren't used to autonomous women.
Journalist Amber Shamsi, who has been at the receiving end of digital stalking herself, blames a masculinity crisis saying men view empowered women as a threat rather than a sign of progress. Social platforms, which were supposed to facilitate women's connection and agency, have metastasized into sites of surveillance and abuse.
Demand Accountability: Systemic Change Now
Although Pakistani police has been applauded for taking swift action in Sana's case, activists say this does nothing to resolve the core issue. Advocates like Mr. Khilji are pushing for training boys in consent, online ethics, and treatment of women. Influencers aren't the only targets of violence against women, and any woman online is at risk, pointed out Kanwal Ahmed, who leads a women's support group.
This tragedy follows the 2021 killing of Noor Mukadam in a case that also drew outrage and called for reform. After the Supreme Court decision upholding the death sentence for Noor's killer,they hoped this would be a deterrent for any future such crimes. But Sana's murder is an indication that Pakistan still has a long way to go to keep its women safe.
Her father, Syed Yousaf Hassan, recalls Sana as courageous and joyful, with dreams of one day becoming a doctor. "I will never forget a single moment I shared with her," he said.
