Justice for Summiyah: We’ve all heard the saying justice delayed is justice denied, but what about the stories where justice isn’t even considered as a possibility? One such deeply concerning case is that of Summiyah Butt, a loving mother of two residing in Township, Lahore — someone whose life was tragically cut short by her in-laws.
Information provided by sources dictates that tensions began when a marriage proposal was being arranged for Summiyah’s brother-in-law. Summiyah confirmed to the girl’s family that he had already been married earlier and was the father of two children — information that her in-laws were allegedly trying to conceal. As her in-laws got a hint of this, things escalated, leading to Summiyah being assaulted and sent to her mother’s house. Wanting to reunite with her children, Summiyah returned to her in-laws, unaware that it would be her last night with them.
Justice for Summiyah
“Tumhari behen ne khudkushi kar li hai. Aakar laash le jao” (“Your sister has committed suicide. Come and take her body”) were the words Summiyah’s brother heard as he received a call at 1 a.m. on the third night of Eid. Upon arriving, he saw Summiyah’s body hanging from the fan, with her husband and in-laws quietly standing by, reportedly offering no support or explanation.
The post-mortem report revealed contrary evidence regarding Summiyah’s cause of death, marking it as a case of torture and strangulation, dismissing the claim that Summiyah had committed suicide. With such news emerging, Summiyah’s husband and in-laws fled while also taking her two children along. A month has already flown by since their disappearance, and no updates regarding their whereabouts have been found by the authorities.
Equally distressing is the silence that surrounds this case. Despite its gravity, no mainstream media outlet has covered this incident. A quick Google search will show how this case has only been covered by social media accounts and has not made it to articles or news sources.
Summiyah deserved a life of love, safety and dignity. Her story is not an isolated one. Countless incidents of femicide are emerging daily — whether it’s a Balochi woman being killed for marrying against her family’s wishes, or a 17-year-old blogger who did nothing to hurt anyone. Let such incidents be a reminder that the names of victims are not just names, but rather the lives of real people who met their demise due to an influx of hatred and intolerance within our society. Such events should encourage us to question the reason behind the rising intolerance and to amplify our voices, beckoning our law-making and law-enforcing bodies to take solid action on such events—to provide accountability for such cases and to prevent future ones.
