ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of women rallied across Pakistan on Friday for International Women’s Day, a movement that often draws criticism from right-wing religious groups for its alleged western influence.
Known as Aurat March, women turned out in major cities to highlight issues such as street harassment, bonded labor and the lack of representation in parliament.
“We face all sorts of violence: physical, sexual, cultural violence where women are exchanged to settle disputes, child marriages, rape, harassment in the workplace, on the streets,” said Farzana Bari, the lead organizer of Aurat March in Islamabad, where hundreds of women gathered to dance, chant and listen to speeches.
“People in Pakistan don’t get punished, there’s a culture of impunity.”
In Pakistan, just 21 percent of women are in the workforce and less than 20 percent of girls in rural areas are enrolled in secondary school, according to the United Nations.
Only 12 women were directly elected into parliament out of 266 seats in last month’s election.
Much of Pakistani society operates under a strict code of “honor,” with women beholden to their male relatives over choices around education, employment and who they can marry.
Hundreds of women are killed by men in Pakistan every year for allegedly breaching this code.
The Aurat March dates back to 2018, when it was launched in Karachi but has since spread across most of the country.
The head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it “commends the resilience of working women in the face of harmful misogynistic attitudes and unprecedented economic instability.”
“However, it is gravely concerning that Pakistan continues to lag behind global economies in addressing chronic gender disparities,” added Asad Iqbal Butt.
Women supporters from right-wing religious parties also staged small counter-protests, known as modesty rallies, in Lahore and Karachi, holding banners calling for the protection of Islamic values.
The Aurat March is seen by critics as supporting elitist and Western values in the Muslim country, with organizers accused of disrespecting religious and cultural sensitivities.
In previous years, Aurat March organizers have had to battle in the courts for permission to hold demonstrations, while doctored images of banners held up by women have circulated online leading to harassment and death threats.
In 2020, groups of hard-line Islamist men turned up in vans and hurled stones at women participating in the Aurat March in Islamabad.
Hundreds attend women’s day marches, counter-protests in Pakistan
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Hundreds attend women’s day marches, counter-protests in Pakistan
- Working women in Pakistan face harmful misogynistic attitudes amid chronic gender disparities
- Right-wing religious groups also staged small counter-protests, calling for protection of Islamic values
Pakistan IT exports rise nearly 20 percent to $2.61 billion in first seven months of fiscal year
- January ICT exports climb to $374 million year-on-year
- Sector remains country’s top-earning services export
KARACHI: Pakistan’s information and communication technology (ICT) export earnings rose 19.78 percent year-on-year to $2.61 billion in the first seven months of the fiscal year ending June 2026, the IT ministry said on Tuesday, highlighting the sector’s growing role as a source of foreign exchange.
Pakistan’s IT and IT-enabled services sector has emerged as one of the country’s fastest-growing sources of foreign exchange, generating over $3 billion annually and employing roughly a million freelancers in addition to formal software firms.
Unlike traditional manufacturing exports, the industry relies primarily on remote digital labor, from software development to back-office services, making it resilient during economic crises but constrained by payment barriers, talent migration and infrastructure reliability challenges. However, IT services require minimal imports and benefit from a large pool of young workers and freelancers, making the sector central to government plans to boost dollar inflows and reduce pressure on the balance of payments.
“ICT export remittances surged 19.78 percent, reaching $ 2.61 billion during the first seven months of FY 2025-26 compared to $ 2.18 billion achieved during the corresponding period last year,” the IT ministry said in a statement.
Monthly exports also expanded, with ICT services exports reaching $374 million in January 2026, up 19.5 percent from $313 million a year earlier, according to the ministry’s data.
The ministry said ICT remained the country’s highest-earning services sector, well ahead of “other business services,” which generated $1.21 billion over the same July-January period.
Pakistan has increasingly relied on technology exports, including software development, outsourcing and freelance services, to generate foreign exchange as the economy adjusts under structural reforms and tight import controls following a balance-of-payments crisis.
Officials say continued growth will depend on easing payment bottlenecks, improving digital infrastructure and expanding higher-value technology services beyond traditional outsourcing.
