‘Women aren’t safe anywhere’: Video of man murdering sister in Toba Tek Singh enrages internet

A gruesome video of a man killing a woman, Maria, in Toba Tek Singh while another looks on has gone viral on social media, prompting anger online. The man in the video is believed to be her brother Faisal, who is co-accused of her murder, alongside their father Abdul Sattar.

District Police Officer Ibadat Nisar told the media there were suspicions that the victim was raped by her brother Faisal and father Abdul Sattar. The police are awaiting a forensic lab report that will confirm how the victim was murdered and whether or not she was pregnant.

Meanwhile, Faisal’s sister-in-law told officers that he had threatened to kill her and her children if she told anyone about the murder. She also told the police that the victim had told her about the incest.

The incident took place on the night between March 17 and 18 and the family buried the victim in the village graveyard. The police were pushed to action after the video of the crime went viral and was met with public outcry.

Netizens took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their horror, with many questioning if women’s own homes were safe for them.

An X user pointed out that “bad men” are often found within the confines of a woman’s home, despite men telling women to “stay home because of so-called bad men out on the roads”. They emphasised that women were not safe “anywhere”.

Some highlighted the role of the patriarchy in enabling crimes such as this, and said that men who believed they were not like the assailants “must valiantly support every effort to eliminate the structures of power that perpetuate gender-based violence”.

Others maintained that Pakistan’s “toxic patriarchy” would destroy it well before its other ailments.

Another X user voiced her anger against people who label feminist marches ‘indecent’.

People were also enraged as the video showed the victim’s father “casually” handing his son a bottle of water after he murdered the woman. “[The] father…casually gives his son some cold water as if killing someone is some sort of sport. My brain is numb,” one person noted.

Another person underscored that the murder “haunted” the people who watched it only because it was caught on camera, adding that many crimes against women go unreported because “not all murderers record the slaughter they perform”.

Activist Mehrub Awan questioned why there were no safe shelters for women in Pakistan and that landlords are reluctant to rent spaces to single women. She also encouraged conversation on how “unemployment and financial instability are the biggest hurdle to women’s independence”.

In a country where women are often told to stay home to protect themselves, it is horrific to see that even their homes aren’t safe for them.