On May 19, a court in Pakistan sentenced Umar Hayat, 23, to death for murdering Sana Yousaf, a 17-year-old TikToker and Instagram influencer. The case, which occurred last June, has revived the debate over women's safety.
Hassan Yousaf, Sana's father, said outside the court in Islamabad: "This verdict is not just for me personally; it is for all of society. This is a lesson to all criminals in society that if they commit such an act, they will get the same result."
Police arrested Hayat in Faisalabad, a city about 320 km south of Islamabad, within 20 hours of the murder. Islamabad Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi described this as a case of "repeated rejection."
According to Hayat's account in July, he admitted to developing an obsession with Yousaf after online interactions. He traveled to Islamabad in late May to celebrate her birthday, but they failed to meet. After she refused a face-to-face meeting, he became suspicious that she was intentionally avoiding him.
On June 2, Hayat rented a Toyota Fortuner and brought a 30-caliber pistol. When he arrived at Yousaf's home, she did not come out, but he managed to enter. An argument erupted, escalating to murder in front of Yousaf's mother and aunt. In a later statement, the killer denied this account, claiming the two never argued or had contact.
In recent years, several incidents have occurred involving young women being violently attacked by men they knew. Many of the victims had a social media presence, including on TikTok. According to experts, Yousaf's murder was not an isolated case but part of a broader culture rooted in misogyny, where women are punished for their independence and visibility.
Nighat Dad, executive director of the Digital Rights Foundation, a non-governmental research and advocacy group, told Al Jazeera: "When young women assert boundaries or say no to flirting or sexual assault, it hurts men's narcissism, especially in a society that teaches men they have rights over women's bodies and choices. This entitlement, when unchecked by law, culture, and platforms, turns deadly."
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), a total of 346 women in Pakistan were killed for honor in 2024, up from 324 in 2023.
