On 8th March 2024, a face-off took place in front of Islamabad Press Club, between women in uniform acting under orders, and those leading the resistance against them. This “Feminist Eid” in Islamabad, like each one prior, was met with state sponsored resistance. The day started off with most organizers having a cautiously optimistic outlook around 1pm, an hour before the march was scheduled to take place. There were blockades already being set up and police slowly starting to gather as the scheduled time drew near. The organizers remained hopeful while expressing frustrations at the fact that the NOC to protest was, once again, not granted this year.
Every International Women’s Day -since the inaugural march held in Karachi in 2018- has seen an Aurat March take place in the Capital. “Resistance and Hope” was the theme chosen by the Islamabad chapter of the march held this year. The organizers were seen handing out their charter of demands printed in Urdu and in English, on the back of Aurat March posters. This theme of resistance quickly took center stage as the police women were soon ordered to make a human shield to prevent protestors from moving forward.
Aurat Marches have spread to a number of cities in Pakistan. Unfortunately, the Islamabad chapter is amongst the ones facing the greatest opposition from the government as well as from religious groups. A reactionary “Haya March” funded from religious groups openly hurls violent threats at the former. Whereas, it somehow manages to face no resistance from the state.
The capital police was tasked to spend their entire day suppressing a non violent protest. They did so by setting up blockades and barbed wire. A police van and numerous police vehicles were also present a few feet from the demonstration orchestrated by a diverse group of individuals including elderly people, pregnant women and differently abled protestors alike.
Hassan Raheem’s track “Peechay Hutt” was played and sung by the crowd with a renowned vigor, gaining a whole new meaning in this context. In an effort to uphold their belief of non violent protests, the organizers resorted to having a Dharna (Sit-in) instead. The performances that were supposed to be taking place in D-chowk were instead held within a tight space enclosed between a wall of tightly-packed police officers to their backs, protesters sitting on the road to their front, and male reporters as well as leering passersby to their sides.
There was a contagious fury in the air. A hush fell over the crowd when the first dance routine was performed, resulting in Farzana Bari, a renowned feminist icon and an Aurat March organizer, knowingly commenting on the societal double standards in attitudes when men dance in public spaces compared to when women dare to exist in them. She added how a state that does not foster its culture is already dead.
There was also a performance set to Kishwar Naheed’s “Ham Gunehgaar Aurtein” (We Sinful Women), which was interesting because Kishwar Naheed herself had come under fire in 2019 for rejecting what she considered inflammatory slogans highlighted at that year’s Aurat March. Ofcourse, discourse within the movement cannot be compared to the dissent and disregard expressed by most male reporters present at the march. Media houses appeared to have sent their most crass reporters, who stood leering at the women’s only enclosure, and had to be repeatedly requested to leave the cordoned off space.
The speeches given by the organizers criticized Raja Zia Ul Haq, (referring to him as a “burger maulvi”) and Maria B, who are both vocal detractors of the movement itself. They also took to taunting the new government which is currently stepping into office with promises of championing human rights issues while taking no actionable steps to actually do so.
Despite the staunch opposition they were facing, many protestors had brought along their children. In the midst of all the chaos that accompanies political resistance. There was also a Girl Guide group present, who showed up with their teacher wearing their college uniforms and said they were protesting the violence faced by women.
A mother-daughter duo I interviewed before the march posed with their poster and discussed the need for Aurat March. The daughter -who is currently doing her A Levels- talked about how she was lucky to have a supportive parent who had made sure she attended her first Aurat March at the age of 12.
Upon complimenting another protester’s vest, they beamed and proudly proclaimed “This is my first Aurat March, I have been waiting 6 years to wear this vest”. They went on to explain how they had spent the time convincing their parents for permission to take part in it.
The trajectory of Islamabad’s Aurat March remains incomparable to those held in Karachi and Lahore. As although Karachi was able to execute a “Mela and March” and Lahore had the march route containing art installations that depicted their manifesto for this year, Islamabad struggled to leave the doorstep of their Press Club. Aurat March Islamabad itself appears to regress each year, showing a movement slowly being suffocated by a totalitarian regime.
The state may have succeeded in stopping the “march” from taking place, but in doing so, they only cemented the need for it.
Reported by Izzah Khan (PNP Intern)