Pakistan, June 4 -- The Lahore High Court's dismissal of the appeals in the 2020 Motorway gang-rape case brings legal closure one step closer in a case that shook Pakistan's conscience. The two convicts, sentenced by an anti-terrorism court in 2021, have failed to overturn their sentences. This is welcome, necessary, but sadly, still not enough.

After every high-profile conviction, the state is tempted to congratulate itself and ask the country to believe justice has been done. That is the wrong lesson. A verdict can punish two men. It cannot redeem a system that still makes women fight society before their assailants in court.

The Motorway case became a national wound because it exposed the moral reflexes of authority. Before the survi...