“How long will we tell our daughters to be careful?” Durefishan Saleem on PGC rape incident

Renowned actor Durefishan Saleem expressed her frustration with the alleged rape incident at Punjab College Campus 10, stating that the glorification of sexual violence and male supremacy is the root cause of such tragedies.

The news of the alleged rape went viral on social media, with various accounts claiming that a security guard reportedly sexually assaulted a female student in the basement of Punjab College Campus 10 in Lahore’s Gulberg area.

Taking to Instagram, Durefishan asked, “How long will we be hearing such stories? How long will we tell our daughters to be careful?”

She illustrated how violence against women is perpetuated by social and cultural practices, including victim-blaming, trivialising sexual assault, and adopting a condescending attitude towards men, absolving them of any social responsibility.

The Ishq Murshid star further highlighted that gender-based violence occurs due to the normalisation of “sexually explicit” jokes, the “tolerance of harassment,” and manipulating rape statistics.

In addition to these issues, Durefishan noted that the difficulties women face in society are compounded by public shaming of sexual assault victims based on their dress to mentally terrify them further during their ordeal.

She added that the portrayal of such crimes in movies and dramas only fuels the stigmatisation of women.

According to her, by defining manhood and womanhood in extreme forms, where men are allowed to be “dominant and sexually aggressive,” and women are forced to be “submissive” and remain silent about the brutal treatment they endure, society continues to “fail” itself.

Durefishan concluded that society plays a role in condoning violence against women through these harmful practices.