ISLAMABAD: Top Pakistani women in politics have expressed their support for the upcoming International Women’s Day marches across the country in response to a cleric’s call for stopping them by force.
Saturday’s video footage of Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, chief of right-wing party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F), calling for action against the Aurat March event has gone viral, prompting prominent women to voice their solidarity with the women’s movement.
Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US and a senior leader of People’s Party (PPP), Sherry Rehman, said in a Twitter post that all attempts at silencing women will be resisted. “Democratic countries handle all such equality and empowerment public conversations with tolerance,” she said.
PPP will support all women’s rights marches and stand in solidarity with @AuratMarch as well as other activists seeking rights. All attempts at silencing women will be resisted. Democratic countries handle all such equality and empowerment public conversations with tolerance.
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) March 1, 2020
Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, daughter of the late Benazir Bhutto, the first female prime minister of Pakistan, and a prominent PPP leader herself, tweeted out her support of the march by saying that “any act of suppression will only make our voices louder and stronger.”
I wholeheartedly support #AuratMarch2020. Voices should be heard, issues should be discussed, and rights should be protected. Any act of suppression will only make our voices louder and stronger. And for anyone who thinks otherwise #ThankyouNext
— Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) March 1, 2020
The cleric’s calls to stop the march were also condemned by the country’s Human Rights Minister, Shireen Mazari, who cited women’s constitutional right to protest and the government’s commitment to end discrimination and harassment.
Strongly condemn those political ldrs calling on ppl to forcibly stop #AuratMarch. Women like other segments of society have a right to peacefully protest & demand their rights already enshrined in our constitution.
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) March 2, 2020
Attempts to stop the Aurat March follow the Lahore High Court’s recent dismissal of a petition seeking to ban the event on grounds of promoting “indecency and obscenity.”
Organizers say they have faced a backlash from conservative elements in the country, including threats of murder and rape.
The Aurat March will be held in multiple cities in Pakistan on March 8.
