Published on, Sept. 14 -- September 14, 2025 12:27 AM

The harrowing murder of 17-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf on June 2, 2025, allegedly at the hands of an obsessed stalker for rejecting his romantic overtures, has once again exposed the sinister undercurrents of toxic masculinity and the lethal entanglement of honour with female autonomy. Tragically, her story is neither unique nor exceptional. It is emblematic of a deeper, festering malaise: the pervasive and unexamined constructions of masculinity that valorise control, suppress empathy, and normalise violence as a response to emotional vulnerability or perceived humiliation.

Despite concerted efforts by the state and civil society, gender-based violence remains endem...