Hina Javed murder: vigil held as WDF declares femicide emergency in Pakistan

The Women Democratic Front (WDF) has declared a nationwide “femicide emergency” and demanded stronger state action against violence targeting women, following the murder of 45-year-old digital media professional Hina Javed in Rawalpindi.

The demand came at a press conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad, where Hina’s cousin and family spokesperson, Sabah Bano Malik, also called for justice in the case. A vigil for Hina was held after the press conference. The Punjab government has declared the murder a high-profile case and formed a special committee of senior prosecutors to monitor the investigation and prosecution. Hina was found dead in the bathroom of her apartment in Rawalpindi’s Lal Kurti area on August 20. Police said her hands were tied and a wire was fastened around her neck. She also had multiple injuries.

Her husband, Faisal Asghar Imam, and domestic worker Zeeshan are currently in police custody, with their physical remand extended for further investigation. Hina’s father-in-law, who is named in the FIR, was brought for questioning but has not been arrested.

Speaking at the vigil for Hina Javed, Sabah pushed back against questions over why Hina, described as a driven and accomplished career woman, had chosen to marry, saying the framing itself was unfair. “Everybody has the right to want to be happy, and in a country like ours, getting married should not be mind-blowing,” she said, adding that it was troubling that women were so often scrutinised for the choices they made even after suffering violence.

She urged both the media and the wider public to stop asking what women had done wrong when they were harmed or suggesting that they shared responsibility for the violence against them. Pointing to what she described as a wider contradiction in society, she said families routinely restrict their daughters’ movements, clothing and interactions on the grounds that the outside world is unsafe, yet when women come forward to say they have been harmed, “we are the first people to cast doubt and say that she is lying.”

Meanwhile the WDF called for a forensic investigation into everyone allegedly involved in the killing and its concealment.

During the press conference, Sabah described Hina as an independent woman devoted to caring for her parents. “Hina’s mother has Alzheimer’s and still waits for her to come home,” she said, adding that the domestic worker had given changing accounts while Hina’s father-in-law remained free despite being named in the FIR.

“Everyone involved in her murder and its concealment must face the law,” Sabah said.

WDF Federal Education Secretary Zoya Rehman said domestic violence continued to be treated as a private matter despite the risks women face. “WDF is declaring a femicide emergency and demanding a nationally coordinated response backed by public funds,” she said. “Prevention must begin with the very disclosure of violence.”

The group called for federal and provincial action plans with deadlines and public reporting, mandatory police procedures for treating domestic violence as a threat to life, easier access to protection orders, publicly funded shelters and secure housing, and legal and financial support for survivors. It also demanded a national femicide register documenting previous complaints, the relationship between victims and perpetrators, and case outcomes.

The organisation cited several recent cases, including the killing of Shamsu Bibi, also known as Ayesha Gilamana, in Taxila, allegedly arranged by her father and brother; the murder of Hina Zareef, allegedly by her father and former husband after she obtained khula; and the case of Jannat Khatoon, who survived after allegedly being set on fire by her brothers-in-law.

WDF Islamabad-Rawalpindi General Secretary Anam Rathor said the state needed to move beyond expressions of sympathy. “A state facing hundreds of murders in six months cannot continue responding with condolences,” she said. “These murders are rooted in the authority men are granted inside the family.”

According to Sahil’s Six Months Cruel Numbers Report, media monitoring recorded 3,172 cases of gender-based violence in Pakistan in the first half of 2026, including 644 murders and 132 killings reported as so-called honour crimes. More than half of the reported cases occurred inside victims’ homes with the report covering only incidents reported in newspapers.