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Pakistan has been witness to a number of incidents of violence and abuse against women and girls, with two recent cases shaking the country and demonstrating just how dire the situation is.

On Monday, police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Haripur recovered the body of a five-year-old girl who had been missing since August 10. Three teenage suspects have been arrested in connection to the case, one of whom, the police says, confessed to raping the child.

On Thursday, 45-year-old Hina Javed was found murdered in her Rawalpindi apartment with her hands tied behind her back. Her husband and a domestic worker have been arrested. Her father-in-law is not under arrest but is also being investigated.

Naturally, celebrities were quick to ask the question on everyone’s mind: how many more women and girls need to die before something is done?

Actor Ahsan Khan posted a story on how incidents like these keep occurring regularly.

Singer Aima Baig struck a similar tone with her message on how each of the victims was more than just a headline, they were people with loved ones who are now left behind to mourn.

She wished their families “strength to survive the unimaginable”.

Actor Mariyam Nafees posted a video listing the many hashtags relating to cases of violence against women and young girls. She asked what was being done to protect women in Pakistan, if anything.

Actor Nadia Jamil made clear this issue was not new and she had in fact been fighting against it for years now. Calling it an “epidemic in men here” and a “plague that has ruined countless lives”, she said the perpetrators could be the closest people to their victims and nobody was truly safe.

A number of prominent figures called for swift and judicious punishments awarded to murderers and rapists, with actor Zhalay Sarhadi saying it was the “only way to stop these heinous crimes”.

Rapper Talha Yunus asked why that wasn’t the case already, calling for reform and accountability on all fronts. He said the country needed action, not statements of condemnation.

“We need investigations that cannot be manipulated, police officers who are held accountable, prosecutors who actually pursue cases, protection for survivors and a justice system where perpetrators know that they will face consequences,” the rapper said.

Yunus said he was “tired of being angry” and hearing “justice will be served”, only to see people move on.

Actor Sabeena Farooq was of the mind that if justice is not served, it is society’s responsibility to come out onto the streets and demand justice.

“[The victims’] parents can’t live like that. Give them justice, where will they go? Unless you make examples [by punishing rapists and murderers], this will keep happening.”

TV presenter Shaista Lodhi felt it might be time for Pakistan’s women to get up and leave since the situation was so dire and hopeless.

Others, like actor Sarwat Gilani felt it was a collective responsibility of all Pakistanis to keep our children safe. She shared a post calling for people to stop blaming technology for society’s moral decay and start teaching young boys they will be held accountable for their actions.

Actor Ayesha Omar said there was a special burden of responsibility on men — yes, all men — to take a stand against the abuse of women and girls and hold each other accountable.

“All you daughters, wives, sisters and mothers are at risk all the time. Babies and children are being raped and murdered… We have to change this,” she said.

Actor Zara Noor Abbas said, “We are all part of the crime”. She shared a video by journalist Shahzeb Khanzada in which he said everyone who stays silent in the face of abuse is as much to blame.

This is neither the first time Pakistan’s stars have spoken out in rage when it comes to incidents of rape and murder — particularly against children. It isn’t even the first time this month — a child was raped and killed in Karachi on Aug 6, sparking similar reactions.

In June, two cases where children were killed in Karachi and Sargodha and another where a doctor in Quetta was attacked with acid shook the country.

According to a report from child protection NGO Sahil, 1,914 cases of child abuse were reported across the country between January and June 2026, including as many as 1,015 cases of child sexual abuse, 558 cases of abduction, 101 cases of missing children and 35 cases of child marriages.