Sana Yousaf was just 17.
She was a TikToker. A teenager. A dreamer. A girl who laughed into the camera, made videos, and like so many others her age, was just trying to carve out her space in the world. But in a country like ours, where a woman’s autonomy is still seen as rebellion, Sana’s very existence, her right to say no, cost her life.
Because that’s what happened.
She said no. Repeatedly. And he couldn’t take it.
So he picked up a gun.
Let that sink in for a second.
Sana didn’t die because of “modern culture,” or “social media,” or the tired excuses society throws at us every time a girl is brutally silenced. She died because a man’s ego couldn’t handle rejection. And somewhere along the line, our society taught him that a woman’s ‘no’ isn’t final, it’s a challenge.
And what happens when we dare to reject?
We’re called names. We’re blamed. We’re killed.
As an update to the case, which you can read about here, Islamabad police stated on Tuesday they have arrested the main suspect in the murder case of 17-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf. Sana was allegedly shot down in her house just a day earlier before her mother and aunt.
Addressing a press conference, Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said the alleged culprit was a 22-year-old man arrested from Faisalabad and termed it a case of “repeated rejections”.
“A beast, cold-blooded murderer is now in the law’s grip,” IG Rizvi announced, adding that the man had tried to contact Sana repeatedly and was being “rejected by her again and again”.
It is a rare moment in history when a Pakistani male in a power position addresses the murder of a social media star in black and white – as a heinous act by the perpetrator, and appeals to the men among us to encourage their sisters, or female family members who might be inclined towards, or have taken up social media as a career choice.
“Harkatein Aisi Hongi Tau Aisa Hi Hoga”
This is one of many netizen comments on the murder of a 17-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf, who refused to accept repeated proposals from a suitor.
So when the Islamabad Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, investigating the case, appealed to the general public to encourage young girls among us when they take on social media as a profession, it certainly marked the gold standard in public statements made by members of the police and judiciary – the gatekeepers of our safety and security in a society that is becoming increasingly toxic, misogynistic and hating on any woman, young or old, or specially the one who decides to make social media a profession of choice.
“This message should be very clear, that if our daughter, sister, or any youngster should take on social media as a profession, or even as a hobby or a means of earning income it should be encouraged.” Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi
It is so heartening to hear these words spoken after a sitting judge recently, on pronouncing the Noor Mukadam vs Zahir Jaffer case sentence, resorted to moral policing of the victim, schooling the public on ‘live-in’ relationships, and a few years earlier in 2020, a member of the law enforcement investigating the infamous Motorway incident where a mother, her car stranded on the motorway, was raped in front of her children, called out the mother instead, for making an error of judgement by driving on the streets at night, knowing Pakistan is not France and women are not safe in this country.
But when the IG of Islamabad stood in front of the cameras, it wasn’t to issue the usual noncommittal statements. He didn’t question her choices, her platform, or her right to be visible. Instead, he said what we’ve all been screaming into the void for years: that no one no girl, no woman
should be punished for existing, for dreaming, for standing her ground.
It was a sentence. Just a sentence. But in a country where so many girls grow up hearing “log kya kahenge?” more often than “tum kya chahti ho?” it meant something.
It meant validation. It meant a break from the narrative that our deaths are justified by our choices. It meant someone in power finally said, “She did not deserve this.”
And maybe that shouldn’t feel revolutionary, but in Pakistan, it does.
Will there ever come a time when women can post on social media or walk the streets with zero fear of being trolled or harassed. Some may pay with their life like Sana Yousaf and others, with their mental health. Some will give up their careers or shut down their social media accounts while others will continue to be trolled mercilessly, even in death.
Still, one press conference isn’t justice. It won’t bring Sana back. It won’t erase the fear that every girl feels when she dares to live freely in a world that sees her body as a battleground and her voice as a threat.
But it’s a start.
It’s about choice. A girl’s choice to exist, to express, to reject, to say no without fearing for her life.
Sana was 17. She had every right to say no. She had every right to live. And she was robbed of both.
So what now?
Now, we remember her. We say her name. We refuse to let her be just another hashtag. We tell every girl reading this: your life does not come with a condition. You do not owe politeness, attention, or affection to anyone. Your “no” is a complete sentence.
And to the boys and men, teach each other better. Because a bruised ego is not a reason. It is not an excuse. It is not a tragedy. Murder is.
Rest in power, Sana. You deserved so much more than this world gave you.
