ISLAMABAD, Mar 8 (APP):The participants of ‘Aurat March’ on Monday paid tribute to Pakistani women on the eve of International Working Women’s Day, for their courageous and revolutionary contribution for country’s development.
According to the Press Release, they demanded an end to obscurantism, extremism from the society.
Men and women from all walks of life including poor and marginalized communities, trans people, students, nurses, laborers and katchi abadi-dwellers participated in the March.
Street theaters were performed by Amna Mawaz Khan, Areej Hussain and other members of Laal Hartaal theater group and Aurat Azadi March Arts group.
The March was started from national press club towards D-Chowk. A large number of police personals were appointed to ensure security of the Aurat March.
Aurat March organizer Zoya Rehman said that the situation of COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the rising number of violence, brutality and savagery against women, children, trans people and minorities who are killed, molested and deprived of their human dignity with impunity.
Women Democratic Front (WDF) President Ismat Shahjahan said that through the march we honor the struggles of our Baloch, Sindhi, Gilgit-Baltistani, Kashmiri, Hazara, and Pashtun sisters who were running peaceful non-violent movements against state brutality, militarism, and injustices in the peripheries of Pakistan.
She reminded that women not only face oppression in domestic spheres but are also directly affected by social, economic, and political structures. We stand in complete solidarity with women who are fighting on multiple fronts for their safety, well-being, and justice.
While expressing solidarity with the Aurat March, AWP Punjab Information Secretary Tooba Syed said that we salute the struggles of working-class women, their paid and unpaid labor without which this system will cease to exist.
Our economy and society depend on social reproduction and free labor of millions of women who spend disproportionately more time doing care work within and outside their homes with little to no acknowledgment whatsoever.
WDF Islamabad president Huda Bhurgri said that “We stand in solidarity with the Lady Healthcare Workers who are the backbone of our health system. Despite being central to the pandemic response, LHWs have not been given any benefits despite continually protesting to demand service structure, social security, and better pay structure in line with the rising inflation.
Former general secretary AWP Punjab, Alia Amirali called upon the citizens and elected leadership of this country to start engaging seriously with the question of women for their lived experiences, and to work towards a system of care, empathy, and restorative justice.