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When Sigmund Freud coined the term "penis envy," he was theorising about women's supposed desire for male power. But what he perhaps didn’t anticipate is how, generations later, the narrative would flip—not in liberation, but in retaliation. The modern crisis isn't about what women envy. It's about what men fear losing: control.
The brutal killing of Radhika Yadav, allegedly at the hands of her father, is more than a family tragedy—it's a glaring indictment of a mindset steeped in patriarchy, pride, and insecurity. Reports state he wanted her to shut down her tennis academy. Others claim he was ridiculed by locals for “living off his daughter’s income.” Whatever the reason, the reality remains: a father murdered his daughter—not because he didn’t love her, but because society convinced him that her independence was his shame.
What drives a father—someone who once held his daughter’s tiny fingers and protected her from the world—to become the very threat she should fear?
Taunts.
Ego.
Patriarchal pride.
And the echo of a society that tells men their worth lies in dominance, not dignity.
Yes, the father may now repent. He might lie awake, haunted by her laughter, her dreams, her passion for tennis. But the tragedy is—by the time guilt seeps in, it’s too late. His love, his memories, his identity as a father—all buried under the weight of what others said.
And while he withers in regret, what do the relatives say? “He had the right over his daughter.” Perhaps even take pride that a man killed his own daughter to “save family honour.”
But let’s ask this: Will that father ever recover from the loss? Will any punishment ever be harsher than the void of knowing he destroyed the very life he created?
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB):
India recorded 25 honour killings in 2021, with Haryana consistently ranking among the top states.
Many more go unreported, cloaked under vague “family disputes” and “accidents.”
And what is “honour” after all? Is it so fragile that a girl’s dreams can shatter it? A daughter loving her sport. A girl daring to love someone. A woman choosing a life — not assigned but desired.
This isn’t just about a girl being murdered. It’s about a society murdering a girl's right to exist on her terms.
Let us ask ourselves:
When did masculinity become so weak that it cannot survive a woman’s success?
Why does a man’s identity dissolve when a woman rises?
This is not about penis envy anymore. It is about the envy of autonomy. It is about a society where control slipping from male hands feels like collapse. But this illusion of control? It’s killing daughters. Silencing dreams. Destroying families.
To every father reading this: Your daughter’s success isn’t your shame — it’s your legacy. Don't trade her life for the opinions of those who don’t even matter. Because, the world doesn’t need more men who can silence women.
It needs more men who can stand beside them, celebrate them, and protect their right to be free.
And so, we end with one question: How far are we from a gender-equal society, really? We wear modernity on the outside, but inside, we are regressively progressive.
Girls may be dreaming bigger, louder, and freer—but in homes shadowed by ego and “honour,” those dreams are still at risk.
And until that changes, we are not progressing. We are just pretending to.
(This is an opinion piece, and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)