International Women’s Day in Pakistan: Aurat March & Ministerial Request to Replace the Day with “Hijab Day”

International Women’s Day in Pakistan: Aurat March & Ministerial Request to Replace the Day with “Hijab Day”
Photo by Farooq Naeem via AFP

08.03.2022

Fatima Orujova

Pakistan and Human Rights Researcher

 

Global Human Rights Defence

 

Like in many parts of the world, today was marked by women’s marches in various cities in Pakistan (Al Jazeera, 2022). Aurat March, an annual demonstration initiated 5 years ago in Pakistan, took place in Lahore where around 2,000 Pakistani women voiced slogans like “Give respect to women” and “End the patriarchy'' (Al Jazeera, 2022). Although the organisers and participants of the rallies were called and threatened by city authorities to cancel the event, the Lahore High Court presented a final approval to hold the gatherings (Al Jazeera, 2022). The march was also organised in Karachi where hundreds of indigenous rights activists, environmental activists and transgender rights activists came together (Al Jazeera, 2022). Nevertheless, there were also “hijab marches” organised by Pakistani women, who were from religious conservative groups and advocated protection of Islamic principles, in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad (Al Jazeera, 2022).   

 

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri has requested the Prime Minister, Imran Khan to replace “International Women’s Day” with “Hijab Day” in Pakistan in order to preserve Islamic values in the country and prevent them from dwindling (O’Donnell, 2022).  Whilst many locals have supported this request, there have been also objections by citizens as well as women’s rights activists (O’Donnell, 2022). However, mainstream political parties in the country have not expressed their stance on this matter yet (O’Donnell, 2022).  

 

Yet, noteworthily, the Prime Minister, Imran Khan mentioned in his speech today that women’s empowerment is crucial to the progress of the country, and called parents to send their daughters to school (The Siasat Daily, 2022).  

 

Moreover, today, the Pakistani government launched their “National Gender Policy Framework”, the aim of which is to promote Pakistani women’s empowerment and participation in the public sphere (The Siasat Daily, 2022). The framework was made by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and was announced by the Minister, Asad Umar at a press conference (The Siasat Daily, 2022). In his speech, the Minister, Asad Umar also highlighted the necessity of executing the legislation already enacted to promote gender equality in the country (The Siasat Daily, 2022).



Sources and further reading:

 

Al Jazeera. (2022, March 8). Women rally in Pakistan despite attempts to shut down protest. Al Jazeera. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/8/women-rally-in-pakistan-despite-attempts-to-shut-down-protest

 

O’Donnell, L. (2022, March 8). Pakistan Broaches ‘Hijab Day’ for International Women’s Day. Foreign Affairs. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/08/pakistan-women-rights-gender-equality-aurat/

 

The Siasat Daily. (2022, March 8). Pakistan launches national gender policy framework to empower women. The Siasat Daily. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.siasat.com/pakistan-launches-national-gender-policy-framework-to-empower-women-2287692/