One of the highlights of International Women’s Day in Pakistan is the Aurat March where women from all walks of life come out onto the streets to highlight issues they face in the country. The turnout at the Aurat March is growing every year.
Not just that, the event that was first organised in Karachi in 2018 has now gained traction in more and more cities of the country, where women from diverse social, ethnic and economic backgrounds are coming out in droves and saying yes to the call for female rights.
The march called for more accountability for violence against women and support for women who experience violence and harassment, in public spaces, at home, and in the workplace. Marchers also demanded economic justice, labor rights for women, recognition for women’s work in the care economy as meriting pay.
However, the participants and organizers of the Aurat march faced strong backlash. They were labelled as ‘bad women’ and Western agents who want to damage the culture of Pakistan. They are getting rape and death threats on social media, men are abusing women on national television, celebrities are bashing those who believe in feminism.
I have always maintained and sadly, my point is constantly being proved these days, that our entire social structure is built in a way that actually works actively against the vulnerable and weak whether they are women, children, religious minorities or any other marginalised group. When a woman is raped, we blame her clothes, when a child is raped, we blame her/his parents, when we accuse someone of blasphemy, we blame his/her faith or religion. We basically blame everyone but not the culprit or the accused.
It is frankly quite baffling to see the hate that is being spewed on every space. Why are we as a society so threatened and intimidated by women who are choosing to speak up for their rights?
Some people — mostly men — are saying this is a non-issue and why don’t women march for other things as Islam has given all rights to women. Islam has given a lot of rights to women. But despite the rights, brutal and terrible crimes are committed against the women of this country such as rape, sexual harassment, honour killing, forced marriages, forced conversion, and forced prostitution.
Transgenders, female farmers, labourers, domestic workers, polio workers, lady heath care workers and many other marginalised groups are present in this march talking about the issues that they face in their daily lives.
The women’s movement has come a long way from the years of Gen Ziaul Haq, the military dictator whose regressive laws sparked a gender rights struggle as had never been seen before in this country. Legislation for the rights is achievable – especially with 33 percent women representation in parliament – but changing the societal mindset is the main challenge.
It is time to reflect on what can be done so that women-friendly laws can better achieve their purpose, and how the environment can be made more conducive to that end. And contrary to popular belief by many of our ‘mard hazraat’, this Aurat March is not an attack on men. I request to all who are against this March, it’s time to change your mindset and grow your mentality with the passage of time and let women live, let women demand and let women March.
