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Tag: aurat march

  • South Asian men becoming more violent with climate change, scientists claim

    South Asian men becoming more violent with climate change, scientists claim

    According to a study published by JAMA Psychiatry on Wednesday, the rising temperatures in South Asia caused by climate change has led to a rise in domestic violence inflicted upon women and girls.

    Researchers completed the study by gathering data of physical, emotional and sexual abuse from 194,871 girls and women between the ages of 15 to 49 from countries like India, Pakistan and Nepal between the years 2010 and 2018.

    Their results have shown that with every one degree rise in temperature, there was an eight per cent hike in physical violence, a 7.3 per cent rise in sexual violence, and a 4.9% increase in domestic violence.

    The study has warned that domestic violence is likely to rise by 21 per cent by the end of the century because of the “unlimited emissions scenario”, with India likely to see a 23.5 per cent increase, 14.8 per cent in Nepal and 5.9 per cent in Pakistan.

    A report by Amnesty International has called for global leaders to take action against rising heatwaves in Pakistan, stating that the country was on the “frontlines of the climate crisis” despite producing less than one per cent of planet-warming gases.

    “Despite their small contribution to climate change, its people face disproportionately severe consequences which are often life threatening. Tackling a climate crisis of this scale requires global attention and action. Wealthier countries must make no mistake about the important role they play,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty’s deputy regional director in South Asia.

    The report revealed that after speaking to 45 people in the summers of 2021 and 2022 from Lahore and Jacobabad, where temperatures had reached 52C, the human rights organisation revealed that people complained about heatstroke, shortness of breathe and dizziness, with some needing hospital care.

    People who were interviewed for the study belonged to professions at a higher risk of exposure to heat, such as working in agriculture, brick kilns, factories or delivery men.

    The organisation also shared that 40 million Pakistanis suffer from constant power outrages, while others receive erratic power supplies due to lengthy outrages.

    “People living in poverty do not have access to, or are unable to afford, electricity for fans or air conditioning units and neither can they afford to buy solar panels,” the report said.

  • Survey resurfaces: 40 per cent Pakistani men believe beating wife justified five years ago

    Survey resurfaces: 40 per cent Pakistani men believe beating wife justified five years ago

    According to a resurfaced Demographic and Health survey taken in 2018 by the National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS), around 40 per cent men agreed that a husband is justified in beating his wife.

    However, the reasons for beating were as follows: If she burns his food, goes out without his permission, neglects his children or refuses to have sex with him. Surprisingly, 42 per cent women had also agreed with the statement. Around 34 per cent women, the report reveals, had experienced spousal violence, whether it was physical, sexual or emotional.

    The report states that 28 per cent married women had experienced physical violence since the age of 15, and 15 per cent women had experienced violence in the past year.

    Up to seven per cent married women admitted that they experienced violence during their pregnancy.

    On experiencing sexual violence, six per cent married women had experienced sexual violence and the most common perpetuator was revealed to be the husband, while 14 per cent women who were divorced, seperated or widowed had experienced sexual violence.

    Moving on to financial stability and empowerment, the survey reported that only 19 per cent married women had been working in the past 12 months, compared to 98 per cent married men.

    Half of the married women who are employed and earned an income, made independent decisions on how to spend their earnings, while 41 per cent made joint decisions with their husband. 76 per cent of working women reported making less money than their husband.

    The survey also found that only three per cent of ever-married women owned a house, alone or jointly, compared to 72 per cent ever-married men.

    The survey sampled from all four provinces including Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, including Azad Jammu Kashmir and FATA. A total of 12,364 women between the ages of 15-49 and 3,145 men had participated in the survey.

  • No, divorces are not rising because of Aurat March, but because women are recognising their right to live

    On Saturday, actress Nazish Jahangir set social media ablaze when during a podcast with controversial YouTuber Nadir Ali, the model turned actor claimed that she did not identify as a feminist, because apparently “not all crying women are truthful.”

     “…l believe in equality, and I still confidently say that not all crying women are truthful. I am always standing with the right person whether it is a woman or a man.”

    The abysmal part of this conversation begun when Nazish Jahangir went on to address Aurat March, saying that the movement is responsible for the rise of divorces in the country, adding that it was not a solution to any problem:

    “I don’t believe in these Aurat Marches. It’s not benefiting the women for whom we are fighting. They are not reaching the women they’re standing up for. Such poor women would be sitting in villages and making food while they chant slogans on the streets here. I think these fake feminist movements will never get you justice,”

    “I wonder who they are protesting for then. Are they protesting for us? Because our league knows everything about it. We know our rights and we know the value of equality. The ratio of khula has also increased after these marches,” The ‘Thays’ actor claimed. “I’m not asking women to bear cruelties or abuse. They can leave their houses if they like but at least give it a shot. Our parents are the biggest example of sacrificing and surviving relationships with patience and love. Because now women are getting divorced only after one month.”

    Yes this is a deeply messed up argument, there is a lot to unpack and a lot of myths to dissect which are once more churning up harmful stereotypes towards organisations working for women’s rights. Perhaps the worst statement was about Aurat March encouraging divorces in Pakistan. A sweeping statement Jahangir gave without any proof that it is true.

    In reality, Aurat March is not the reason why women are choosing divorce Aurat March is the solution to a long term issue: the limited support and neglect shown towards women in a patriarchal society that demands that everything be sacrificed for the sake of a marriage.

    Since Ms Jahangir is from the acting profession, and our dramas claim to know best about what women should want from a marriage, can we all collectively recall one drama that has portrayed a healthy marriage? Can we say that ‘Tere Bin’, which features a man stalking and slapping his wife was what women should look up to in order to understand how to keep their marriages intact?

    Furthermore, if Ms Jahangir is claiming that women who break away from their marriages do not understand sacrifice and hard work because Aurat March tells them to be less tolerant, then she needs to be aware that more women in Pakistan have died trying to stay married. Sara Inam was murdered by her husband in Islamabad after three months of marriage, was the murder her own fault? Qandeel Baloch‘s murderer, her brother, was pardoned by the court despite confessing his crime to authorities, only because his parents pardoned him. Just five days ago, another man walked free from a court in Karachi after murdering his daughter, because he was once again pardoned by his family. Another man in Lahore murdered his wife and then sent her body back to her family via a rickshaw.

    All these nameless women, the countless ways they were let down by the law and society in Pakistan. How is that we know about them, Ms Jahangir? It’s definitely not because of the family system, which continues to hide predators, and pardon them after unforgivable crimes. This heroic act solely belongs to Aurat March, which has time and time again raised placcards for countless women you claim it does not protect.

    You claim to say that Aurat March cannot help the women in villages because they’re too busy shouting slogans, but it is through Aurat March that we know these women’s names. Working class women like Dua Zehra, whose parents couldn’t make an announcement at a mosque because she was a Shia, and who was slammed by media organisatons, who claimed she had disohonored her family. It was local activists who pressurised authorities to take child abduction seriously, helping her come back home.

    Claiming that you’re unaware about a topic is one thing, but making sweeping generalisations about women’s rights, especially during a time when laws seek to further restrict women’s access to escaping abusive marriages, and more feminist activists are being trolled onine, it is incredibly disheartening to see a public figure as yourself talking without properly fact checking yourself.

    If you are still confused about how to be a well informed and articulate public figure, then take an example from Ayesha Omar and Kiran Malik, who carefully broke down why watching the rise in divorce rates is a good sign that more women are learning to stand up for themselves and escape their abusive marriages.

  • ‘Sexist’: NADRA slammed for declaring men head of family

    ‘Sexist’: NADRA slammed for declaring men head of family

    Twitter users have slammed a sexist policy authorized by The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) after a user shared a screenshot of the message she received from the government organization that informed her that the husband was designated as the head of the household.

    The user went on to criticize NADRA as she had not nominated her husband as the head of the household, per the message stated.

    https://twitter.com/yougoglencocco/status/1640997625821380608?s=20

    The user further went on to question how this policy would become a threat for women trying to escape abusive marriages, because their private information is being sent to their spouses without their consent.

    https://twitter.com/yougoglencocco/status/1640997629923344384?s=20

    Other women also slammed NADRA for refusing to recognize female agency, and pointed out how this policy alienates single parent households, especially with women who had escaped abusive relationships.

    Sharing their experiences of being turned away from offices while applying for their CNIC card, female tweeps blamed the policy that demands that a male guardian verify themselves as the head of their household.

    NADRA responded to the tweet by sharing that this policy was designed to guard family data from unauthorized access, because of which they had decided to inform the family head about procedures related to family data.

    “It is one of the security features to guard family data from unauthorised access. In order to maintain the integrity of family data, @NadraPak informs every family head about any processing through which someone becomes part of his family.”

    This tweet was bashed by Twitter users are regressive for refusing to recognize women as the head of their households, as activist and researcher Ammar Rashid tweeted that the government body should not have violated the privacy of women by leaking their data this way.

    “Maybe @NadraPak should try to institute measures to confirm identities that don’t openly violate the constitutional right to privacy of adult female citizens? Other countries seem to be managing data security just fine without such archaic rules.”

    Another user said: “A married woman is usually above the age of 18 and that makes her legally a citizen. She must have access to her OWN security features without having man govern her changes to the card.”

    https://twitter.com/dcfaiqalethal/status/1641077646548148227?s=20

    The Chairman of NADRA, Tariq Malik addressed the controversy in a tweet on Thursday, sharing that the policy did not discriminate against women from becoming the head of the household, and shared statistics that showed more women were nominated for this position than men.

    “@NadraPak policy of declaring head of family is not gender specific. See thru lens of #realdata 28 million citizens declared their mother, 291,039 declared their sisters, 116,800 men declared their wife as head of family. And, 3.69 million females who are self head of family.”

    Malik further went on to reveal that the backlash to this policy has encouraged the department to reform it in order to prevent discrimination of any kind:

    “Declaring head of family is self reported event. I have directed our Public Engagement Department to sit down with social scientists and subject matter experts to bring reform in policies and SoPs. Suggestions welcomed. We have revamped quite a few since a year.”

  • Twitter users, activists condemn Mahira Khan, Anwar Maqsood’s sexist remarks about Maryam Nawaz, Marriyum Aurangzeb

    Social media was enraged yesterday at the comments made by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senator Afnan Ullah Khan who remarked that Mahira Khan had mental health problems and Anwar Maqsood was a drunkard, in a tweet which celebrities and feminist activists slammed as sexist.

    What had prompted this reaction? It was a conversation at a session titled ‘An Evening With Mahira Khan’ held at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi. In a clip that went viral, Mahira Khan was seen commenting about two females fighting and poisoning each other. To which Maqsood responded by saying that these two women were PML-N leaders Marriyum Aurangzeb and Maryam Nawaz.

    “I am restricted from talking about politics, I can’t say anything about anyone. Hopefully the situation will get better soon. What you said about poisoning, abusing each other so I gave an example, it is also happening in real life. Also both are actors, not character actors.”

    Can we condemn the disparaging comment made by the PML-N senator, whose party is currently under the leadership of a woman, and is also the one ruling the country? Absolutely, because how a politician comments about their critics reveals how thin-skinned and shallow-minded they are, especially when the critic is a woman.

    But to completely sideline the fact that Khan, who has been outspoken about gender inequality and the need to improve the way media represents women on screens, especially sitting next to a renowned leftist screen writer, could resort to making sexist jokes about female politicians whose views she doesn’t agree with? Twitter users could not over look this fact, and criticised Khan’s sexist behavior for directly targeting female politicians of the opposite party as a way to score points.

    Feminist activist Leena Ghani mentioned that it was male politicians who are consistently over-emotional, and behave in a horrible manner, but it’s astounding why Khan chose to overlook them and target Aurangzeb and Nawaz

    The Twitter page of Aurat March condemned Khan’s and Maqsood’s comments as ‘cringe’

    Twitter users like journalist Gharidah Farooqi criticised these comments as ‘shameful’:

    Zebunnisa Burki criticised both Khan and Maqsood for making such disgusting comments

    Another user wrote that it wasn’t proper for a woman to mock another woman politician in this manner

  • ‘Mera Jism Meri Marzi is more than just being about clothes’: Amna Ilyas

    Actor Amna Ilyas was a guest on “The Talk Talk Show’ where she opened up about being a feminist, and clarified the misinformation around the Aurat March slogan ‘Mera Jism Meri Marzi’.

    When the placcard was raised at the 2018 Aurat March, it caused outrage after many right-wing critics said that the chant supports promiscuity and challenges family values in Pakistan. Many religious clerics had used the placard as justification to call ‘Aurat March’ un-Islamic and accused it of promoting a Western agenda in Pakistan.

    Many feminist activists have defended the slogan for protecting women’s bodily autonomy, and now Ilyas has also done the same, as she explained that the slogan ‘Mera Jism Meri Marzi’ was more than about clothes, it’s about protecting the rights of women:

    “It’s about having body autonomy rights and consent. It’s about harassment, domestic violence, and concepts like, ‘No one has the right to touch me without my consent, even if I’m married to you’.”

    Ilyas went on to debunk the stereotype associated with feminism that women who support this ideology are promoting vulgarity, when in reality the ideology supports the rights of women to have the same opportunities as men:

    “Whenever I talk about feminism, people always object by saying ‘Oh, Amna is bold, of course, she will spread vulgarity as she’s from the industry, she wants all our daughters to be like her’. No, I don’t want that, I only do what I want to for myself.”

    “When we speak of equal rights, it’s about having the same opportunities to thrive in my career as the man beside me. If you’re a father of four children who excel in your profession, why can’t I do the same? Honestly, it’s not about whether you’re getting permission to wear jeans or not. What we truly need, is the space to work in a cerebral capacity,” she explained.

    Watch the complete interview here:

  • Mira Sethi meets boy who stood up to misogynist reporter at Aurat March

    At this year’s Aurat March, a boy went viral on Twitter when he was seen schooling a reporter by explaining to him why marching for women’s rights is incredibly important.

    Actress and writer Mira Sethi revealed yesterday that she had met the boy by tracing him down on Twitter, and described him as her ‘hero’.

    “Remember the kid who stood up to that vile reporter at Aurat March Lahore?” she wrote, “I found him on Twitter, asked if I could come over to express my gratitude and met his whole family. Muhammad Ali is only 20, but he radiates clarity and courage. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure his light is never dimmed. So full of gratitude today.”

    Syed Aly Jaffery also shared the interaction on his Twitter page and called her a ‘nice and amazing person’

    https://twitter.com/SyedAliJafferyy/status/1635985794602086401?s=20

  • ‘Stop lying’: Imaan Zainab, Aurat March protesters criticize Sherry Rehman for tone-deaf tweet

    At the Aurat March protest held in Islamabad on March 8, police officers were caught on camera assaulting female protestors and pushing them back by installing barbed wires.

    Politicians like the Minister of Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, condemned the clashes in a tweet and called for an inquiry on the conduct of the police officers who had brutally beaten the female protesters.

    Lawyer and activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Haazir called Rehman out, writing in a tweet that the Minister had done nothing to prevent the police from preventing the peaceful protest from going on.

    “You came to the march for a photo-op and left after creating complete chaos which we were then dealing with for the next hour. You were rude to us in our meeting with you on 6 March and were aware of all the risks we were taking. Please save this drama for someone who believes it. Too little, too late.”

    Rehman responded to Mazari-Hazir’s tweet saying that she had left early due to a distress call, and offered an opportunity to meet all year round rather than just for a “one year episodic march”.

    “Oh please. I did not need your “photo op”; left a fully scheduled press con at PID (anyone can check) at 2.40 becoz I got a distress call. In my office I offered u a safe space thru the year to meet and build traction, not just a one year episodic march. With my broken shoulder I stood there but many were caught up in angry sloganeering. Have been the butt of many laathi charges but never behaved like this. Rudeness is never going to get u allies or grow solidarity. All the best”

    Mazari-Hazir then criticized Sherry Rehman for reducing Aurat March to a “one year episodic march”.

    “Calling it ‘just a 1 year episodic march’ shows what you really think of it. That in itself is sad. This ‘one year episodic march’ is a global practice- doesn’t mean collectives (or even individuals within them) are not working year round. Could have criticized what I said without punching down on movement.”

    Other Aurat March protestors also criticized the minister, calling her “condescending” for interrupting the trans performers present at the march.

    This user wrote: “You were extremely condescending to all of us whn we met u. You interrupted the Trans persons’ perfrmance by standing over them knowing fully well tht the media will follow u. U brought out the inner transphobes in the media persons who thn started strampling the trans performers”

    Another activist, Fauzia Yazdani tweeted how Rehman had refused to condemn the police officers who had started harassing and pushing back the protestors

  • Man behind viral Aurat March poster shares inspiring story about his mother

    Man behind viral Aurat March poster shares inspiring story about his mother

    ‘I march for my mom who was not allowed to go to school’; so stated a placard at the Aurat March, pictures of which went viral on Twitter.

    Now Ehtesham Hassan, the man behind the poster, has taken to Twitter to share the inspiring story of his mother.

    Hassan revealed that since the age of 10, his mother was fond of reading and writing and had wanted to go to school like her brothers did.

    When his mother expressed her desire to her grandmother, she purchased a takhti for her because of which the mother was able to go two school for two days. Hassan revealed that every night, his mother would clean the takhti with mud so that she could use it again the next day.

    However, Hassan said it was Maulana Fazal Rehman heard about his mother going to school and forbade her family from sending her because this way the girl would write letters to the men and violate the honor of her family.

    Hassan narrated that his mother was restricted from going to school, a fact that she is sorrowful about to this day. Hassan said that being deprived of her fundamental right to receive an education, and not being supported by her family is the reason why he choose to march today so that no other woman would be treated this way.

    Since the story was posted yesterday, women on Twitter have praised Hassan for pasionately defending the right of women to receive education, calling his thread a moving tribute to his mother.

    Many women said they had witnessed the same in their families.

    “This is the story of both my maternal & paternal grandmothers. They were both not allowed to go to school after 8th grade. They made sure their daughters were highly educated – they advocated for them against hell or high water,” this user wrote.

    Another user wrote: “Mother’s carried the burden of thier broken dreams and planted seeds of hope for future generations. She might not have gone to school but her son’s daughter would! Women have been forebearers of a silent revolution for generations.”

    We hope that more men out there step out of their bubble and follow the lead of Hassan to empower the women of their lives to never stop reaching for their dreams.

  • What was the significance behind the tunnel art installation at Aurat March?

    What was the significance behind the tunnel art installation at Aurat March?

    Aurat March has set up a performance art piece at their protests each year which highlights their central demand which is to create an equal space for both men and women in Pakistan.

    This year, the feminist movement revealed that a gaze tunnel titled “Chalien Auraton Ki Chaal” was installed at the march for men to pass through, in order to make them experience the kind of fear and claustrophobia women undergo when they are harassed on the streets.

    The March elaborated on the significance behind this art installation in a post:

    “The tunnel piece is an exercise in empathy, in conveying our gendered experiences of walking down the streets, in market places, through office doors. Ask any gender minority what they feel when they are in public spaces: each one of us will have many stories of harassment, of discomfort, of instances where the streets didn’t feel like ours. The art piece plays soundbites of our day-to-day public interactions. Aurat March is ultimately about reclaiming public spaces, of never settling for chaar-dewaris, but rather stretching ourselves more fully within and outside our homes. That demands introspection from men of them way they occupy public spaces. We hope this piece helps in that.”

    Another art installation ‘In Ko Viral Karo’ was also at display on the protest which featured pictures of Youtube bloggers along with the misogynist comments they made about participants.

    The movement addressed the significance behind this installation in the post:
    “The coverage of Aurat March we see on Youtube is far from reality. These Youtube ‘journalists’ sensationalized, misrepresented and harassed participants from Aurat March last year. We present direct quotes from their ‘coverage’”.