‘Will Use Baton To Stop It’: Pakistan’s Aurat March Is Facing Major Opposition Ahead Of March 8 Rally
This year, religious political parties and organisations have given a call to stand against the Aurat March rally on March 8, and threatened to use any means to stop it, calling it 'anti-Islamic'.
New Delhi: Pakistan’s Aurat March has courted trouble after making its announcement that the group will organise a march titled "Reimagining Justice" a.k.a. "Asal Insaf", on March 8, which is observed as International Women’s Day.
With religious organisations calling the Aurat March organisers agents of the West aiming to damage the Muslim culture, there is a lot of debate going around the issue.
The collective has been taking out rallies across Pakistan for the past five years, demanding equal rights for women, members of the LGBT community and other matters related to the empowerment of women. Thousands of women can be seen marching down the streets, chanting slogans and carrying banners for women rights, at these rallies.
Their manifesto for 2022 and theme for this year’s march focus on “prevention, and a culture of care instead of looking to criminal law for a solution to every problem in society”, Aurat March Lahore said in a tweet.
Like every year, folks are asking for context to our demands, that's why we've pinned a very detailed manifesto to our profile. A lot of hard work has gone into it, would love it if it's read before you @ us 🥺. https://t.co/hGuWiai0Fk
— عورت مارچ لاہور - Aurat March Lahore (@AuratMarch) February 19, 2022
Our system and its quest for profit, thrive on our cheap labor based on our gender, race, ethnicity, and religion. We are deliberately relegated to low-paying and unprotected work and benefits.#اجرت_تحفظ_اور_سکون pic.twitter.com/Rp8x9tFOWg
— Aurat March - عورت مارچ (@AuratMarchKHI) February 20, 2022
The Aurat March has from the beginning faced severe opposition from religious groups and organisations, who criticise the initiative as a Western agenda to damage Pakistan’s Islamic culture and norms.
This year, religious political parties and organisations have given a call to stand against the march, and also threatened to use any means to stop it, news agency IANS reported.
According to the report, Jamiat-Ulema Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) president Abdul Majeed Hazarvi has warned to use batons to stop Aurat March, as he said Aurat March spreads obscenity in the name of women's rights.
"If any attempts are made for obscenity on March 8 in Islamabad, we will condemn it,” Hazarvi was quoted as saying.
"If the march is allowed, we will use baton to stop it," he warned.
Earlier, in a letter Prime Minister Imran Khan, Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri requested that March 8 be celebrated as International Hijab Day to express solidarity with Muslim women across the world, the IANS report said.
Qadri also accused the Aurat March of raising anti-Islamic slogans during the past rallies.
The organisers, meanwhile, said the march does not aim to promote any anti-Islamic agenda but will only raise the demand to resolve systemic inadequacies.
The theme focuses on prevention, and a culture of care instead of looking to criminal law for a solution to every problem in society. We are deeply thankful to their support for our work! #auratmarchlahore #auratmarch2022 #asalinsaaf #reimagingjustice
— عورت مارچ لاہور - Aurat March Lahore (@AuratMarch) February 20, 2022
We had a wonderful meeting with the khwajasira Community, where we talked about issues such as the systematic violence against the khwjasira community.#auratmarch2022#endviolenceagainstkhwajasiracommunity pic.twitter.com/nKDkpOCF9W
— Aurat March - عورت مارچ (@AuratMarchKHI) February 20, 2022
For this year, the Aurat Azadi March is commemorating the struggles of the feminist movement & the 112th International Working Women’s Day by organising an #AuratAzadiJalsa on 8th March in F-9 Park, Islamabad @ 2 PM. Here is why.#AuratAzadSamajAzad#AuratMarch2022 pic.twitter.com/ngQhbFdhtd
— Aurat Azadi March Islamabad (@AuratAzadiMarch) February 19, 2022
Aurat March 2022 Manifesto And Charter Of Demands
The Aurat March manifesto says their focus is excessively on carceral punishment to combat crime.
The proposed charter of demands by Aurat March organisers include:
- More funding to survivor-centric welfare systems to provide shelter, housing, healthcare and economic and psycho-social services to survivors of patriarchal violence
- A universal basic income for protection of workers in the informal economy
- De-criminalisation of "anti-survivor" defamation laws
- A comprehensive legislation dealing with pay inequality and protections against gender-based discrimination
- A care work income for all
- Increased representation of women in trade unions
- Training for all “facilitators of justice”, such as the police, lawyers and judges, on “expanding the definition of domestic violence beyond the physical to financial and emotional abuse”
- Housing and accommodation as a matter of fundamental rights for displaced communities
- Creating and fostering collective communities of care, building structures of support already found in local communities
- Taboos around menstrual periods must be removed and proper use of products such as menstrual cups and reusable sanitary pads can be discussed openly and encouraged
- Acknowledge and value unpaid labour of women
- Employers must improve facilities at the workplace to accommodate women
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