Lahore, 4 March 2023 (GNP): The Lahore district government has refused the women’s rights organization Aurat March permission to host a public protest to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8.
ڈپٹی کمشنر لاہور مس رافعہ حیدر نےمتنازعہ پلے کارڈز اور سیکیورٹی خدشات کے پیش نظر 8 مارچ کو لاہور میں عورت مارچ کی اجازت دینے سے انکار کردیا. عورت مارچ منتظمین کا ناصر باغ سے ریلی نکالنے کا اعلان@DCLahore @AzharSiddique @AuratMarch @AuratMarchKHI @AuratAzadiMarch #AuratMarch2023 pic.twitter.com/q6eiUjz5xL
— Muhammad Haroon Abbas (@Haroonabbaskh) March 4, 2023
The Lahore Deputy Commissioner (DC) refused the requests, citing threat concerns from security agencies as the reason why the local authorities shouldn’t approve the event.
The Aurat March organizing committee strongly denounced the DC in response to the decision and claimed that Jamat-e-Islami “Haya-March” was to blame for the NOC being rejected.
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“The DC herself admits that the Jamaat has launched a program against the Aurat March, but it is the March that is being denied its constitutional right, not the group instigating it,”.
This year’s Women’s Day theme is #BreakTheBias, highlighting the notion that simply acknowledging bias does not suffice.
In order to achieve equality, action is required. From 2018, feminists in Pakistan have organized massive public rallies for International Women’s Day called Aurat Marches (Aurat is the Urdu word for woman).
When the Aurat March gained popularity and influence, opposition to it grew accordingly.
