Actor Sidra Niazi took to social media in the wake of the acid attack on Dr Mahnoor, delivering a scathing critique of the public’s immediate, toxic reflex to shift blame onto victims of violence rather than the perpetrators.

Posting on her Instagram story, Niazi condemned the culture that coddles perpetrators while putting survivors on trial. She explained that every time a woman is hurt, it shows that society is failing.

“The incident involving Dr Mahnoor has left us shaken once again. Every time a woman is attacked, harassed, or subjected to such horrific violence, I find myself questioning where we are failing as a society,” the actor wrote.

Screengrab: sidra.niazii/Instagram

Discussing the comments people made after the incident, Niazi stated, “What disturbs me almost as much as the crime itself is the reaction that follows. The cruelty in some of the comments is beyond comprehension. Instead of outrage for the victim, people rush to interrogate her character, her choices, her clothes, her presence, her actions. As if they are searching for a reason to make the violence understandable.”

Terming the mindset “morally bankrupt,” Niazi said it “reflects a terrifying absence of empathy and a willingness to excuse brutality as long as blame can be shifted onto a woman.” Further, she questioned how someone can look at a victim of such a horrific act and ask, “What did she do?” instead of “How could anyone do this to her?”, calling this “deeply disturbing.”

Concluding her message, Niazi stated that no one has the right to hurt another person over a disagreement or rejection, warning that if we keep blaming victims, we will never be able to protect them. “No rejection, disagreement, or personal grievance can ever justify violence. Until we stop normalising victim blaming and start confronting the attitudes that enable it, we will continue to fail the very people who need protection the most.”