Pakistan’s feminists say will persevere amid increased threats

Segments of media and right-wing groups accuse Aurat March organisers and marchers of ‘vulgarity’ and ‘obscenity’ for demanding equal rights.

Organisers and participants in women’s rights marches across Pakistan are facing a sustained campaign of misinformation, blasphemy allegations and threats, an escalation of the conservative response to the country’s feminist movement in recent years. On March 8, for the fourth consecutive year, thousands of woman across the South Asian country attended the Aurat March (Women’s March) events held in towns and cities to mark International Women’s Day. “It’s a day for us to celebrate our femininity, to share our traumas and pain, to express ourselves as we deem fit, and to demand our right to equality, health, education, mobility, and freedom from violence,” said B, an Aurat March organiser from Karachi.