Pakistan: PTI & Oppn JUI-F join hands to oppose 'Aurat March' to be held on Women's Day

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) administration, as well as the opposition Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), seems to have joined forces to oppose the Aurat March which is conducted by Pakistani women across the nation. According to The Dawn, the coming together of both the factions, which have always been in a state of disagreement, portrayed the “deep-seated misogyny and patriarchy” in the nation.  

This development came after Noorul Haq Qadri, Pakistan's Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has asked Prime Minister Imran Khan's administration not to allow any organisation or individual to elevate "anti-Islam slogans" during the annual 'Aurat March’. According to The Dawn, the federal religious affairs minister, as well as a prominent member of the JUI-F, have both labelled the Aurat March, which falls on International Women's Day, as "un-Islamic." 

Abdul Majeed Hazarvi, the head of JUI-F Islamabad branch had earlier warned by saying, “If any attempts are made for obscenity on March 8 in Islamabad, we will condemn it," ANI reported.  

Furthermore, according to The Dawn, the arguments of the leaders would "have weight" if it was based on logic, information, or even common sense, but their motivation appears to be preconceived, antiquated views about a woman's role in society, as well as pure misogyny.  

The unacceptable condition of Pakistani Women

The Dawn further reported that whoever challenges the validity of the women's rights movement must look at the few recent cases to see why the status quo is intolerable and manifestly unjust. The murder of Qandeel Baloch for establishing a social media persona that questioned her brother's honour who killed her, reveals the route of verbal, physical, as well as psychological abuse in Pakistan, which is from man to woman in the great majority of cases, as per The Dawn. 

Indicating the condition of Pakistani women in the nation, another instance revealed that two young women were abducted, raped, as well as stripped before being humiliated in front of their community because a man from their community and a woman from their persecutors' tribe eloped and married of their own free will, The Dawn reported. 

For the unversed, Aurat March started in Karachi in 2018 and is currently held every year on March 8 to commemorate International Women's Day. The march brings attention to the problems that women face in Pakistan. 

(Image: AP/ Representative Image)