I don& #39;t understand why abuse is normal in Pakistan. Last year, a woman in distress yelled about beaten, while her family pulled her homewards. The neighbors watched silently. As I called the police, people tried to stop me. "Ghar ka mamla hai". Even people I had had respect for.

If you hear someone in clear distress and instead of helping, you choose to become a silent spectator—imagine the situation with the roles were reversed. The decision is always clear. Call the damn police if you hear a human crying, or at least ring the damn bell.

Eventually, the police arrived 40ish minutes later after 4-5 calls of me repeating location info. I told them where it happened and declined to give my name. No idea what happened after they disappeared, but I& #39;m hoping she got help and her abuser was deterred from repeating it.