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
UN hails Pakistan’s peacekeepers serving in six missions worldwide
- Pakistan is the fifth-largest troop contributor, with 171 peacekeepers killed in UN service
- Over 2,600 Pakistani military and police personnel are deployed across Africa and beyond
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations on Friday praised Pakistan’s contribution to global peacekeeping, saying Pakistani military and police personnel were currently serving in six UN missions around the world.
According to information shared by the world body alongside its social media post, Pakistan is the fifth-largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, with 2,662 personnel — including 147 women — deployed across missions in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Western Sahara.
“In six UN peacekeeping missions around the world, over 2,600 military and police officers from Pakistan are serving for peace, leaving their families to protect those most at risk,” the UN said.
“We thank these brave women and men for their service and sacrifice,” it added.
Pakistan joined UN peacekeeping in 1960 when it deployed a contingent to the UN Operation in the Congo and has since played a prominent role in peace operations, undertaking tasks ranging from civilian protection and medical outreach to disaster response and infrastructure rebuilding, according to the UN.
A total of 171 Pakistani peacekeepers have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag, the organization said.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Asim Iftikhar Ahmad echoed the message, saying Pakistani peacekeepers had made the nation proud through their service.
“Pakistan has worked as part of UN Peacekeeping to serve the cause of international peace,” he said in a post on X. “Our brave men and women in blue helmets have made the nation proud through their dedicated service in support of communities affected by conflicts and wars.”
