Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on Monday condemned those political leaders who were calling on people to “forcibly stop Aurat March”, set to take place on March 8.
“Women, like other segments of society, have a right to peacefully protest and demand their rights already enshrined in our Constitution,” Mazari said on Twitter.
“Our government is committed to ensuring an end to discrimination against and harassment of women and has put in place programmes, policies and legislative measures to empower women and girls,” she added.
Like the past two years, controversy is surrounding Aurat March 2020, which takes place on March 8, the same day as International Women’s Day.
Political parties are also polarised, with the PPP seeking security for the participants and JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman asking his followers to stop the march from taking place.
In a recent political rally, Rehman — without naming the Aurat March — said, “whenever you see these types of elements, you should alert security forces about them and if they [security forces] provide protection to these people, your sacrifices are going to be required to stop them by force”.
A petition in the Lahore High Court is also seeking a ban on the march, citing that it is “against the very norms of Islam” and that its hidden agenda is to spread “anarchy, vulgarity and hatred”.
During a hearing on Thursday, the LHC chief justice observed that “freedom of expression cannot be banned”.
In a statement issued on Sunday, PPP secretary general and former senator Farhatullah Babar said the Constitution guaranteed freedom of association and freedom of assembly to everyone and that could not be curtailed by those hurling threats.
Babar said that it was unfortunate that even some of those who claimed to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution were talking about using force to deny the women their right to hold peaceful assembly, peaceful protest and exercise freedom of expression.
He called upon the federal government to ensure that women were given all protection and no one was allowed to take the law into their hands in the federal capital.
When reminded that providing the march security in Sindh is the provincial government’s responsibility, Babar said that the party was fully aware of its responsibilities in this regard and that he had already talked to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on the matter.
