Pakistan, March 23 -- The 32-year sentence handed to a Karachi father for raping his daughter is a rare flicker of accountability in a justice system shrouded in shadows. While the verdict offers a semblance of closure for a survivor who endured years of abuse (even bearing a child from her torment) it lays bare a grotesque reality: Pakistan's culture of silence nurtures predators within the very walls meant to protect children. That the victim's mother pressured her to bury the crime, choosing "honour" over her daughter's humanity, underscores the moral rot festering in our homes and institutions.

Pakistan's epidemic of familial sexual violence thrives on complicity. According to child rights group Sahil, 70% of reported child abuse cas...