ISLAMABAD: Women activists demanded economic justice and rehabilitation for victims of last year's devastating floods at Islamabad's largest capital on Sunday, calling for an end to patriarchal violence and femicide in areas affected by militancy.

Cataclysmic floods last year, triggered by unusually heavy rains in the monsoon season, displaced over 33 million people in Pakistan and left over 1,700 dead. Millions of homes and critical infrastructure were destroyed, as Pakistan estimated damages to be over $30 billion.

In commemoration of the 113th International Working Women's Day, the socialist-feminist movement Women Democratic Front (WDF) and the Aurat Azadi March (AAM) organized a gathering titled "Aurat Azadi Jalsa" at the Fatima Jinnah Park in Islamabad.

The gathering was attended by women activists, domestic workers, students, trade unions, lawyers, and political organizations who identify with progressive ideologies. AAM [Women's Independence March] was established in Islamabad in 2018, and the WDF has been organizing it in all provinces for the past five years.

“Our theme for this year is restoring the economy, [rehabilitating] flood affectees, and peace which is also very important for the women as all these points directly impacted women's lives,” Ismat Raza Shahjahan, WDF president and one of the organizers, told Arab News.

She said it was important to celebrate this day in Pakistan as many anti-feminist forces — without elaborating who — were active in Pakistan. Shahjahan said societies cannot progress without free education and healthcare for all, demanding an end to privatization and huge subsidies for the elite.

Many women held placards in their hands as they chanted slogans calling for economic justice and equality of the sexes.

Gulzar Begum, leader of the All Katchi Abadi Alliance, called for the regularization of all Kachi Abadis (shanty houses) and villages where people from war-torn areas, feudal heartlands, and poverty-stricken villages take refuge.

“Our kachi abadis are not only drowned in floods but also [in] the sea of inflation,” she said, demanding a decrease in the price of basic commodities. Begum also called for urban land reforms to create housing spaces for the working class.

Fatima Shehzad, general secretary of the Progressive Student Federation, said women were especially affected by the deluges as they were now homeless which spiked the dangers of violence against women and sexual crimes.

“Our main demand is to rehabilitate such women and empower them by providing employment or resources to earn so that is why we came to support this theme in this gathering today,” she told Arab News.

Farman Ali, information secretary of the Awami Workers Party, said it was not only women’s responsibility to speak against injustices towards women, but rather men should also speak up.

“Women are our mothers, sisters, wives, and colleagues so I came here to support them and their right to get equal opportunities in society,” he told Arab News.

Working women had to work twice more, he said, adding that after coming home from a hard day's work, they had to do household chores and received little support from society and their in-laws.

“Therefore, sane voices in men also feel it and support them in this patriarchal society,” Ali added.