The Aurat Azadi March ( ur, , lit=Women's Emancipation March) was started in 2018 in Pakistan by members of
Women Democratic Front
Women Democratic Front (WDF) is an independent socialist-feminist organization based in Pakistan. It was founded in the federal capital Islamabad on March 8, 2018, by hundreds of delegates from Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
...
(socialist-feminist organization), other organizations like
Women's Action Forum
Women's Action Forum (WAF) is a women's rights organization in Pakistan.
History
Women's Action Forum (WAF) was established in Karachi in September, 1981International Women's Day (March 8, 2018) in
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
. Aurat Azadi March and Aurat March are organized by different groups of women since 2018. Aurat Azadi March is organized by group of socialist feminists whereas Aurat March is organized by group of liberal feminists. Aurat March was also started the same year by the group of individual women known as "Hum Aurtein" collective in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
and
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
.
Aurat Azadi March is held in different cities of Pakistan to fight against oppressive forms of social, economic and political structures (imperialism, patriarchy, capitalism and colonialism) against women whereas Aurat March is held with a purpose to fight the harassment and violence, minority rights and for economic, environmental and reproductive justice. According to Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, the ongoing struggle for women and oppressed genders amounts to significant progressive movement in Pakistan history.
Context
According to Rabab Zehra,
women in Pakistan
Women in Pakistan make up 48.76% of the population according to the 2017 census of Pakistan. Women in Pakistan have played an important role throughout Pakistan's history and they are allowed to vote in elections since 1956. In Pakistan, women ...
are practically treated less than men, like second class citizens, despite women constitute fifty two percent Pakistan population, and in spite of constitutional guarantees. Zehra maintains most Pakistan women encounter psychological pressures, forced marriages, sexual harassment, domestic violence, lack of access to public spaces and public transport in dignified manner; Pakistani women need to struggle for their right to own education, health and safety. According to Aasim Sajjad Akhtar association of word 'Azaad' (Freedom) with Aurat march asserts notion of Aurat azad, samaj azad''' i.e. freedom of woman is freedom of society from violent male-dominated society by dissolving oppression and the category of oppressor. Akhtar says patriarchal values imbibed since childhood makes Pakistani men one dimensional and miserable which they need to get rid of by relinquishing accrued structural benefits and power over women, with help of women. Akhtar says in Pakistan, women and transpeople do face to all type of discrimination, abuse and violence in everyday life; what is reported in the news media is just the tip of the iceberg, and patriarchal norms are internalized in Pakistan's male dominated society, that includes some conservative women too, asking for freedom from oppression is considered almost kind of a sacrilege and charges of impropriety are hurled at supporters of Aurat Azaadi March those who strive for freedom from oppression nevertheless bears a heavy cost.
Aurat Azadi March 2018
In 2018, Aurat Azadi March was held on March 8 when Women Democratic Front (WDF), was founded at the National Press Club, Islamabad. After the foundation congress, the participants held the March from the press club to Nazimudin Road raising slogans against war, violence, exploitation of working-class women and anti-women tribal and feudal traditions.
Aurat Azadi March 2019
On March 8, 2019, Aurat Azadi March was organised in Islamabad by Women Democratic Front, Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) alliance, Progressive Students Federation, teachers, political workers, Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign, advocates, Women Action Forum, filmmakers, transgender community, musicians, Sindhi Aurat Tanzeem, domestic and health workers.
Aurat Azadi March 2020
Aurat Azadi March 2020 Islamabad
Third Aurat Azadi March was held on International Women's Day on March 8, 2020 on the call of the Women Democratic Front in front of National Press club Islamabad. In this march, the organizers faced many hurdles before and during the march from anti-march elements. A petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court to stop Aurat Azadi March 2020 which was rejected by Chief justice
Athar Minallah
Athar Minallah (; born 30 December 1961) is a Pakistani jurist serving as a judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan since 11 November 2022. Prior to that, he served as the 5th Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court from 28 November 2018 to 10 Novembe ...
. On March 3, extremist mob vandalised, mural of two women painted by organizers of Aurat Azadi March Islamabad. The organizers of march were given the no-objection certificate (NOC) after many days of negotiations and a range of unnecessarily strict conditions were applied in NOC. On March 8, 2020, the Aurat March procession in Pakistan's capital
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
was attacked by religious extremists who were holding a counter-march to celebrate ''Haya'' or modesty. It was attended by women from the Jamaat-e-Islami, JUI-F, Lal Masjid, and female students of different seminaries including Jamiat Hafsa, staged as Haya March. Bricks, stones, shoes and sticks were hurled at the peaceful marchers on the Aurat March side, leaving several people injured. Earlier even before the March, a van carrying newly printed banners of Aurat March was stopped and driver beaten. During the March The BBC correspondent Irfana Yasser and her children were assaulted with chilli powder which temporarily blinded them. At least one media camera person hospitalized. Subsequently, the attack was stopped by the police authorities that were present, and the March continued forward despite the opposition. An FIR was registered against the men who attacked the march participants.
Aurat Azadi March 2020 also released and sung an anthem song "Hum Inquilab Hain" (We are Revolution).
Aurat Azadi March in Sindh
Aurat Azadi March 2020 was also organized in Sukkur, Hyderabad, Larkana and Mithi. In Sukkur, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) urged the local administration and the government to stop the women's march, calling it "vulgarity" and against the law, Constitution, culture and Islam.
Aurat Azadi March 2021
In Islamabad, on March 8, 2021, Aurat Azadi March was started at the National Press Club and participants marched towards D-Chowk. Aurat Azadi March Islamabad manifesto asks for economic justice for women, reallocation of non combative defence budget to be diverted to social programmes with a theme devoted to "feminist care in the times of the COVID 19 crisis".
Aurat March in Hyderabad, Sindh in their 2021 demands pleaded for ending of tradition of undeclared curfew on women to access public places and also demanded more hostels for women, minimum wages act for domestic workers.
False allegations and anti-march campaign
Since, November 2020, a coordinated hashtag campaign was launched against Aurat March on social media alleging the march as 'foreign funded'. Also, the flag of left-wing socialist feminist organization, Women Democratic Front was alleged to be French flag, by rightwing ideologue Orya Maqbool Jan on television. WDF explained in detail the difference of the two flags i.e. WDF flag contains purple, white and red stripes whereas French flag contains blue, white and red stripes.
The anti-march elements released a doctored video of Aurat March sloganeering to malign the event which made march organizers's life too difficult with false blasphemy accusations. Many journalists and political commentators fuelled the disinformation campaign. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Federal minister Fawad Chaudhry and Pakistan Peoples Party's leader Bakhtawar Bhutto have condemned the doctored content. Aurat Azadi March organizers condemned the false allegations of blasphemy in strong words. Different groups staged protests against Aurat Azadi March in Islamabad. The banned outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), threatened organisers of March and held demonstrations in many cities demanding the government to prosecute the march organisers. The March organisers were receiving death threats. Pakistan Peoples Party's secretary general Farhatullah Babar asked the government to protect the march organizers from violent threats and false allegations. Federal minister for religious affairs and inter-faith harmony said that inquiry would be conducted regarding the social media content. The March organisers issued statements to debunk the false allegations made in the smear campaign. They shared the original version of the video clip that was doctored, and explained the banner about the child sexual abuse victim. They demanded apology from all the journalists and social media accounts who spread misinformation and incited hatred against feminist movement. A local court in Peshawar ordered registering a First Information Report (FIR) against the organisers of Aurat Azadi March, Islamabad. The order was issued when a petition filed by a group of Peshawar-based lawyers was heard based on the same disinformation being circulated on social media. A local court in Karachi also directed the police to register FIR against March organizers from Islamabad. The strange thing to be observed was that initially the blasphemy accusations were raised online against placards and slogans from Lahore and Karachi marches but the sessions courts of Peshawar and Karachi ordered to file charges against the organisers of Islamabad's March. In April, 2021, sessions courts of Lahore and Islamabad dismissed the petitions seeking to register case against organizers and participants of Women's March.
Aurat Azadi Jalsa
Aurat Azadi Jalsa is continuation of Aurat Azadi March and it has been celebrated since 2022.
2022
Aurat Azadi Jalsa was held on March 06, 2022 in Fatima Jinnah Park.
2023
Aurat Azadi Jalsa was organized in Fatima Jinnah Park, F-9, Islamabad on 5th March 2023. Major demands included restoration of economy, justice for flood affected women and peace.
See also
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All Pakistan Women's Association
The All Pakistan Women's Association, or APWA, ( ur, آل پاکستان ویمنز ایسوسی ایشن) as it is commonly known, is a voluntary, non-profit and non-political Pakistani organisation whose fundamental aim is the promotion of mo ...
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Aurat Foundation
Aurat Foundation, founded in 1986, is a women's rights organization based in Islamabad, Pakistan. Its co-founders were Nigar Ahmed and Shahla Zia. Aurat Foundation lobbies and advocates for women. It also holds demonstrations and public awarenes ...
Feminism in Pakistan
Feminism in Pakistan refers to the set of movements which aim to define, establish, and defend the rights of women in Pakistan.This may involve the pursuit of equal political, economic, and social rights, alongside equal opportunity. These movemen ...
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Girls at Dhabas
Girls at Dhabas is a multi-city feminist initiative in Pakistan that raises a conversation on women’s access to public space. '' Dhabas'' is a local term for roadside tea-shops that are traditionally male-dominated domains in South Asia. The effo ...
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Me Too movement (Pakistan)
The #MeToo movement (Urdu: ) in Pakistan is modeled after the international #MeToo movement and began in late 2018 in Pakistani society. It has been used as a springboard to stimulate a more inclusive, organic movement, adapted to local settings, ...
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Mera Jism Meri Marzi
( ur, ; ) is a slogan used by Feminism in Pakistan, feminists in Pakistan to demand Bodily integrity, bodily autonomy and protest Violence against women, gender-based violence.
The slogan was popularized during the Aurat March in Pakistan, whic ...
Pakistan Federation of Business And Professional Women
Pakistan Federation of Business and Professional Women is based in Islamabad, Pakistan.
See also
* Women in Pakistan
* All Pakistan Women's Association
* Aurat Foundation
* Blue Veins
* Women's Action Forum
* Women's rights
* Women in Islam
...
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Rape in Pakistan
Punishment for rape in Pakistan under the Pakistani laws is either death penalty or imprisonment of between ten and twenty-five years. For cases related to gang rape, the punishment is either death penalty or life imprisonment. DNA test and othe ...
Women in Islam
The experiences of Muslim women ( ''Muslimāt'', singular مسلمة ''Muslimah'') vary widely between and within different societies. At the same time, their adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their lives to a varying degree ...
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Women in Pakistan
Women in Pakistan make up 48.76% of the population according to the 2017 census of Pakistan. Women in Pakistan have played an important role throughout Pakistan's history and they are allowed to vote in elections since 1956. In Pakistan, women ...
*
Women's Action Forum
Women's Action Forum (WAF) is a women's rights organization in Pakistan.
History
Women's Action Forum (WAF) was established in Karachi in September, 1981Women's Protection Bill
The Women's Protection Bill (Urdu: تحفظِ نسواں بل) which was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on 15 November 2006 is an attempt to amend the heavily criticised 1979 Hudood Ordinance laws which govern the punishment for rap ...
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Women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
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Women related laws in Pakistan
The legislative assembly of Pakistan has enacted a number of measures designed to give women more power in the areas of family, inheritance, revenue, civil and criminal laws. These measures are an attempt to safeguard women's right to freedom of s ...