ISLAMABAD: The Women Democratic Front (WDF) has declared a countrywide “femicide emergency” over the rising incidents of women’s killings and gender-based violence in Pakistan, demanding transparent investigations into all such cases, including the murder of Hina Javed, and the arrest and prosecution of all accused persons.
Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club Islamabad, WDF leaders and Hina Javed’s cousin and family spokesperson, Sabah Bano Malik, said the 45-year-old digital media professional was allegedly tied up and strangled to death at her home in Rawalpindi on August 20. They said an attempt was made to portray the incident as suicide.
According to the speakers, Hina Javed’s husband and a domestic worker have already been arrested, while her father-in-law, who has been nominated in the FIR, has not yet been taken into custody.
Sabah Bano Malik said Hina Javed was a self-respecting and sensitive woman who looked after her parents. She demanded that every person involved in the killing and in concealing evidence be brought before the law. She also called for a transparent forensic investigation into the case.
WDF Federal Secretary Education Zoya Rehman said the state must adopt coordinated and effective measures at the national level to deal with women’s killings and domestic violence. She said domestic violence should not be treated as a private or family matter, but as a serious threat requiring immediate action.
She demanded that police be made bound to conduct prompt risk assessments on every complaint and that affected women be provided immediate protection, legal assistance, safe shelter and financial support.
Zoya Rehman also called for the establishment of a national femicide register containing records of previous complaints by women, the relationship between the victim and the accused, court proceedings and case outcomes. She said the data should be regularly made public.
WDF Islamabad-Rawalpindi Unit General Secretary Anam Rathore said the state could not remain limited to condolence statements when hundreds of women had been killed in six months.
The speakers referred to Sahil’s “Six Months Cruel Numbers Report” and said that during the first six months of 2026, as many as 3,172 incidents of gender-based violence were recorded in Pakistan through media monitoring, including 644 murders and 132 so-called honour killings. They said these figures covered only the cases reported in the media.
WDF Deputy General Secretary and lawyer Neha Tauseef said that although laws against domestic violence existed, their implementation remained extremely weak. She said police should be made duty-bound to assess immediate danger on every complaint and take practical protective measures.
She also called for an effective mechanism to reinvestigate suspicious suicides of women with a history of domestic violence.
Rida Rashid appealed to trade unions, student organisations, women’s groups and democratic movements to support a joint struggle and charter for ending killings and violence against women and transgender persons.
