Imran Takkar

Every October, the pink ribbons return. But what happens when a woman finds a lump and cannot afford the journey to a doctor, fears telling her family, or faces treatment without her partner’s support? This Pinktober, Rights Watch looks beyond the ribbon at what stands between breast cancer awareness and actual care in Pakistan. Breast surgeon Dr Huma Majeed shares accounts of patients abandoned by husbands, families asking doctors to conceal a diagnosis, and women whose access to treatment depends on someone else’s money and permission to travel. Why are services concentrated in major cities? What happens after an awareness campaign tells women to get checked? And who gets to decide what a woman knows about her own health? A Breast Cancer Awareness Month conversation about the barriers pink ribbons alone cannot remove. What needs to change for awareness to become access? Join the conversation, and subscribe to Rights Watch for more reporting and discussion on human rights in Pakistan. @xarijalil @ehmadliveson #RightsWatch Watch the full episode: youtu.be/NuOeq6YAVvE

Two women were brutally killed in Rawalpindi after unidentified suspects entered their house and beat them to death with iron tools. They were identified as Louiza Bibi and Namiya (Naumeen) Bibi. Meanwhile, in Islamabad's G-12 area, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Police official Riffat Gul shot dead his 32-year-old sister-in-law Riffat Bibi over a family dispute and fled. During the current year, a disturbing increase has been witnessed in heinous crimes against women, particularly murders over domestic discord and minor disputes, in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Read details: voicepk.net/2026/10/3-women-…