Islamabad:
The First Lady and Mna Asefa Bhutto-Zardari condemned the murder of the 17-year-old social media influencer, Sana Yousaf, saying that the tragedy should not be authorized to intimidate young girls or dissuade them from continuing their ambitions.
Finding the incident a sinister reflection of the violence endured by women and girls simply to assert their autonomy, Asefa extended sincere condolences to the Sana family, the wider chitral community and to all those who cry the insane murder.
“Sana was only a girl – with ambition, with dreams, with a life in front of her,” Asefa said in a statement. “She had the right to live freely and safely. What happened to her was not only an act of violence – it was a punishment to say no. And that should horrify each of us.”
Asefa stressed that the violence of male law was not a new, or isolated phenomenon, saying that it should no longer be excused on the pretext of cultural or traditional values.
“This state of mind that the rejection of a woman is an insult, that her choices must be checked – it’s old, it is cruel, and that kills our daughters. My mother, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, broke these walls with her own strength. She did not just drive – she opened doors for millions of women to follow. And we opened up to her inheritance, and to young women like Sana.
Responding to comments on social networks that emerged after the death of Sana, some of whom seemed to blame her for her online presence, Asefa rejected any attempt to justify violence by victim stories.
“There is nothing – no application, no photo, no video – which excuses murder. It is disturbing to see people use the presence of Sana Tiktok to explain his death. If it is logic, do we say millions of girls through Pakistan are also in danger? This kind of thought is not just dangerous – it’s inhuman.”
“To each girl who watches this overcome – do not let them silence. You have the right to dream, to speak, to exist without fear. Do not back up. If you do, they win. But if we continue to move forward – we will shape a country where girls are not blamed for their own death, but celebrated for their lives.”
Earlier this month, Sana Yousaf, 17, was shot dead in Islamabad.
