Lahore: About 2,000 women held protest rallies in Pakistani city of Lahore despite efforts by authorities to bar the protest and withdraw security for an event frequently the target of violence. In a society where women have been shot, stabbed, stoned, set alight and strangled for damaging family “honour”, critics accuse rights activists of promoting liberal Western values and disrespecting religious and cultural mores.
Dozens of events marking International Women’s Day – known as the Aurat March in Pakistan – were held across the country. Non-violent counterprotests, dubbed “hijab marches”, were also staged by women from conservative religious groups in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad where participants called for the preservation of Islamic values.
In the eastern city of Lahore, city authorities urged organisers to cancel the rally over safety concerns, threatening security would not be provided. However, following a legal challenge, the Lahore High Court ruled the event could go ahead and authorities agreed to provide protection.
The women marched through the streets in a jovial atmosphere, chanting slogans such as “Give respect to women” and “End the patriarchy”.
They were guarded by riot police – and greeted by a small band of men chanting “end this obscenity.” Student Sairah Khan, 23, cited recent high-profile cases of brutal violence against women “without consequences” for her attendance. In Karachi – Pakistan’s largest city – about 1,000 women gathered in a festive atmosphere, with organisers conducting security checks as police stood by idly.
