The subcontinent has a shameful history of tolerating murder of women on one pretext or another. In India young brides are burnt by in-laws for the crime of bringing lesser dowry, a crime which mostly goes unpunished. Women belonging to Dalits are raped, abused with no fear of accountability, by a male dominant caste conscious sick society.
In India the powerful independent judiciary takes notice of these atrocious crimes. The news of the brutal murder of Tasleem Solangi, a young girl from interior Sindh of Pakistan, in the name of honour is yet another tale of thousands of unfortunate females that meet this fate, because of failure of the state to take action against criminals guilty of these brutal murders.
This crime has become common in Sindh and Balochistan, because those who commit these murders enjoy protection of powerful individuals who matter politically or are men of means. The sad part is that all this is happening when the PPP, which was led by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, a vocal advocate of women's rights, is in power both at the centre and in Sindh. It also happens to be the constituency of Chief Minister belonging to PPP.
From the tales of marrying women to the Quran, to killing in the name of honour, it is a sad commentary on a religion, which advocates equal rights for men and women and guarantees them right of inheritance. Tasleem Solangi's sad fate was revealed by a journalist two months after her murder, and not by the police or elected representatives, in spite of attempts by the family to register an FIR.
Thousands of such cases go unreported, which reflects on moral bankruptcy of the political establishment that rules the sub-continent. While the unfortunate rape of Mukhtaran Mai or Shazia Khalid occurred when a military dictator ruled Pakistan, the recent brutalities have occurred when an elected democratic government is in power.