KARACHI: Women’s access to health care assumed center-stage across Pakistan on Monday as thousands of Pakistanis took part in rallies to mark International Women’s Day, with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) urging the government to uphold the public’s right to peaceful marches and safe spaces.
The theme for Aurat Azadi March, or Women’s Freedom March, 2021, this year is ‘The Crisis of Care in the COVID-19 Pandemic’, organizers of the march said in a statement.
“We believe in a grassroots movement and the mobilization of the working class against patriarchy, be it domestic workers, teachers, lady health workers or any worker who performs physical or mental labor (paid or unpaid),” the statement said.
“Commission expects the state to uphold women’s constitutional right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to ensure that women’s marches across Pakistan on 8 March are provided security and safe public spaces,” HRCP chairperson Hina Jilani said.
The nationwide event saw protests being held in different cities on Monday, with organizers saying they were expecting a low turnout this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The march will be held with strict health guidelines...we are expecting 3,000 to 5,000 participants this year,” Qurat Mirza, an organizer of the Karachi leg of the event, told Arab News. “Last year, 10,000 participated in the march in Karachi, which is the largest of Aurat marches in the country whereas the participation across Pakistan was estimated to be 50,000 including in major urban units like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar and small cities like Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Multan.”
Since its inception three years ago, tens of thousands of women in Pakistan have attended Aurat March, demanding gender parity and making headlines with messages about taboo subjects like online harassment, rape, and sexual rights.
Broadly, the theme for this year’s march is women’s health care struggles, with 15 demands that highlight patriarchal violence and discrimination faced by women and sexual minority groups while accessing health care in Pakistan.
“We have added a sit-in to the march to press for our demands. We will come out on the roads again for our rights if they are not fulfilled by authorities,” Sheema Kermani, one of the Aurat March pioneers, told Arab News on Sunday.
Last year, a court in Lahore was petitioned to place restrictions on the event, which the complainant said had an agenda of spreading ‘anarchy, vulgarity, blasphemy and hatred’ against Islam. But the court gave the march a conditional go-ahead.
Access to health care takes center stage as Pakistanis hold women’s day rallies
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Access to health care takes center stage as Pakistanis hold women’s day rallies
- Human Rights Commission of Pakistan urges government to protect participants during peaceful marches on International Women’s Day
- Aurat March has attracted thousands over the last three years and made headlines for highlighting taboo subjects like sexual rights and violence
World Bank approves $700 million for Pakistan’s economic stability
- Of this, $600 million will go for federal programs and $100 million will support a provincial program in Sindh
- The results-based design ensures that resources are only disbursed once program objectives are achieved
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has approved $700 million in financing for Pakistan under a multi-year initiative aimed at supporting the country’s macroeconomic stability and service delivery, the bank said on Friday.
The funds will be released under the bank’s Public Resources for Inclusive Development — Multiphase Programmatic Approach (PRID-MPA) that could provide up to $1.35 billion in total financing, according to the lender.
Of this amount, $600 million will go for federal programs and $100 million will support a provincial program in the southern Sindh province. The results-based design ensures that resources are only disbursed once program objectives are achieved.
“Pakistan’s path to inclusive, sustainable growth requires mobilizing more domestic resources and ensuring they are used efficiently and transparently to deliver results for people,” World Bank country director Bolormaa Amgaabazar said in a statement.
“Through this MPA, we are working with the Federal and Sindh governments to deliver tangible impacts— more predictable funding for schools and clinics, fairer tax systems, and stronger data for decision‑making— while safeguarding priority social and climate investments and strengthening public trust.”
The approval follows a $47.9 million World Bank grant in August to improve primary education in Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province.
In November, an IMF-World Bank report, uploaded by Pakistan’s finance ministry, said Pakistan’s fragmented regulation, opaque budgeting and political capture are curbing investment and weakening revenue.
Regional tensions may surface over international financing for Pakistan. In May, Reuters reported that India would oppose World Bank funding for Pakistan, citing a senior government source in New Delhi.
“Strengthening Pakistan’s fiscal foundations is essential to restoring macroeconomic stability, delivering results and strengthening institutions,” said Tobias Akhtar Haque, Lead Country Economist for the World Bank in Pakistan.
“Through the PRID‑MPA, we are launching a coherent nationwide approach to support reforms that expand fiscal space, bolster investments in human capital and climate resilience, and strengthen revenue administration, budget execution, and statistical systems. These reforms will ensure that resources reach the frontline and deliver better outcomes for people across Pakistan with greater efficiency and accountability.”
In Sindh, the program is expected to increase provincial revenues, enhance the speed and transparency of payments, and broaden the use of data to guide provincial decision making. The program will directly support the increase of public resources for inclusive development, including more equitable and responsive financing for primary health care facilities and more funding for schools.
