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  • Aurat March Islamabad ‘utterly dismayed’ with FIR against them

    Aurat March Islamabad ‘utterly dismayed’ with FIR against them

    Organisers of Aurat March Islamabad have responded to the petition filed against them in Peshawar, saying that they are “utterly dismayed” with it.

    “The Aurat Azadi March Islamabad is utterly dismayed at the order issued by a Peshawar Session Court judge on Friday afternoon under Section 22A of the CrPC through which a police station in Peshawar Cantonment has been instructed to file an FIR against ‘organisers and participants of ‘Aurat March’ held on March 8, 2021 in Islamabad,” read an official statement.

    The statement further said that the order was issued after a petition was filed by a group of Peshawar-based lawyers accusing the organisers and participants of ‘blasphemous slogans’.

    “The order was issued in response to a petition filed by a group of Peshawar-based lawyers that repeated the same vile lies against Aurat Azadi March Islamabad organisers which have circulated for more than two weeks. These lies, and the outrageous allegations of blasphemous slogans and banners, in particular, have been definitively debunked many times over,” added the statement.

    Read more – Endangering innocent lives

    Aurat Azadi March Islamabad also requested relevant authorities to call an inquiry and action against those who are spreading false accusations.

    “Government officials including PM Advisor on Religious Affairs Tahir Ashrafi and Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry have clearly called for inquiries and action against the elements responsible for sharing doctored content online and spreading the false allegations,” said the organisers.

    Condemning the act, the statement further said: “To accept such a vile and baseless petition is to subject women involved in any way with Aurat Azadi March Islamabad to unspeakable danger. Legal cases against AAM organisers/participants are untenable due to the complete lack of evidence to back up lies and propaganda. Yet to call for the police to lodge an FIR is to embolden elements that have, in the recent past, taken the law into their own hand and engaged in renegade violence against innocent men and women.”

    “It is common knowledge that arousing religious passions in Pakistan is akin to issuing a death warrant, and the Sessions Court order is fanning the flames of a fire that threatens to engulf women who have committed no crime other than speak for their own and the rights of women, girls and oppressed peoples throughout this country, rights that are guaranteed by the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” it said further.

    The organisers also said that they have written an open letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan asking him to take strict action against those who continue spread baseless lies.

    “This is why we now demand unequivocal action from all relevant state institutions to ensure that this already alarming situation does not spiral completely out of control. In the first instance, we urge police, administrative and elected authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to recognize that the allegations that inform the court order under section 22A have been patently established as false and malafide. There is no basis upon which to lodge an FIR, and we demand protection from the authorities accordingly.”

  • Endangering innocent lives

    Endangering innocent lives

    Aurat March has rattled many a misogynist over the years. Women out on the streets, marching for their rights and raising their voice is somehow considered ‘vulgar’ and ‘obscene’. This year, though, what the anti-women brigade did was unforgivable. By their false and malicious propaganda, they have put the lives of thousands of women at stake.

    Last week, a doctored video of Aurat March was widely shared on social media. Some men from mainstream media with a large following on social media platforms like Twitter shared the video without verifying it. Their tweets amplified the propaganda against Aurat March organisers and participants so much so that the banned terrorist outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) issued a threat to the women and told them to “fix their ways”. It is indeed criminal how a doctored video and false propaganda was carried out about the Aurat March even on the media where the flag of the Women Democratic Front was falsely misrepresented as the French flag, a poster about child sexual abuse and a video with slogans were misrepresented as being blasphemous. Right-wing groups took out rallies and threatened the Aurat March organisers as well as participants.

    Organisers of the Aurat March released a statement that said that the Aurat March faces severe backlash every year. “Our videos and posters are targeted and manipulated, spreading misinformation and maligning the March. This year, one of our videos was doctored and heinous allegations are being placed on us.” They demanded an immediate apology and retraction from all those who shared the doctored video as well as a retraction by all journalists and media houses that shared this disinformation.

    The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that this campaign was not just repugnant but an incitement to violence. “We demand that action be taken against all such persons.”

    It is a no-brainer why a majority of our society would propagate such false accusations against women. How dare women ask for their rights, how dare they fight for equality, how dare they raise their voice for issues related to women’s health, how dare they talk about sexual harassment and rape, how dare they talk about child abuse and child marriage, how dare they ask for the rights of the marginalised… how dare they? No wonder why Pakistan ranks so low on the gender gap index as well as other indicators related to gender. We have weaponised an entire society against women. There was so much outrage about a doctored video, the misrepresentation of a flag and a poster but have we ever seen such outrage over domestic violence, child marriage, rape, sexual harassment, lack of health facilities for women, child molestation, low wages for women workers, etc? No, we have not. Because our patriarchal society will only reserve this misplaced anger and outrage at women.

    Read more – ‘Ek hee dafaa sari aurton ko ban ker do’: Meesha Shafi defends Aurat March

    It is time that we all raise our voice against this dangerous and vicious campaign against Aurat March. Some from media have tendered an apology for sharing the doctored video and deleted their tweets but is a mere apology enough for putting the lives of thousands of women at risk with allegations of a topic as sensitive as blasphemy? These people must be held accountable. The government should not only provide protection to these women but must also take action against all those who took forward the false propaganda against Aurat March.

  • Taliban threaten to go after Aurat March participants

    Taliban threaten to go after Aurat March participants

    The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has threatened rights activists, who organised peaceful demonstrations to mark International Women’s Day in the country, accusing them of blasphemy and promoting obscenity.

    Read more – ‘Ek hee dafaa sari aurton ko ban ker do’: Meesha Shafi defends Aurat March

    The proscribed Afghanistan-based militant group’s statement followed a flurry of falsified images and doctored video clips on social media that suggested participants in the March 8 protests had insulted Islam, which they denied.

    “We want to send a message to those organisations who are actively spreading obscenity and vulgarity,” the statement said, addressing the marchers. “Fix your ways, there are still many young Muslims here who know how to protect Islam and the boundaries set by Allah.”

    Conservative groups held demonstrations on Friday in several cities to demand that the government prosecute the march organisers for blasphemy, and they threatened vigilante action.

    Messages spread on social media, in some cases shared by journalists and politicians with millions of followers, included false allegations that the French flag was waved at the Women’s Day march, while doctored video and audio showed participants chanting slogans viewed as blasphemous against sacred religious figures.

    ‘MALICIOUS CAMPAIGN’

    “Each and every one of these allegations are completely false and part of a malicious campaign to silence women from speaking out about their rights,” the march organisers said in a statement.

    The Women’s Democratic Front, a leftist group founded in 2018 and one of the organisers of the march, said their flag — with red, white and purple stripes — had been misrepresented as the French flag, which has blue, white and red stripes.


    Pakistan has seen violent nationwide protests against France over issues such as the blasphemous Charlie Hebdo cartoons and restrictions on the veil there for Muslim women.

    Hassan Abbas, a security expert at the National Defense University (NDU) in Washington, told Reuters that the Taliban statement should be a “wake-up call” for authorities.

    “[It is aimed at] creating fear, gaining the sympathy of religious radicals and recruiting extremists in urban centres of Pakistan,” he said.

  • Fawad Chaudhry wants an inquiry against creators of fake Aurat March video

    Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has asked for an inquiry against those who committed the ‘grave offence’ of editing a fake Aurat March video, being widely circulated on social media.

    “Those who edited the video have committed a grave offence,” he wrote, “FIA should proceed against those responsible a trail will help agencies to trace who originated the fake video.”

    Meanwhile, female journalists and supporters are demanding a ‘public apology’ over ‘disinforminformation’ spread by some people.

    A document that is signed by female journalists and activists demands :

    1. “A public apology and immediate retraction by all the journalists and media houses who have shared disinformation about the Aurat Marches and that this is put out on the social media accounts, newspapers, television shows, etc”
    2. “That individual journalists and media organisations desist from spreading false and malicious information endangering the lives of Aurat March organisers and participants.”
    3. “That media houses stop inviting individuals with a history of repeatedly and deliberately spreading disinformation on their platforms”

    “These tweets with false information were shared by Ovais Mangalwala, Ansar Abbasi, and Orya Maqbool Jan,” stated the document.

    The hashtag #ApologizeToAuratMarch is trending on social media :

    https://twitter.com/auratnama/status/1370047841129918471
    https://twitter.com/SohaTazz/status/1370055220080828418

  • ‘Ek hee dafaa sari aurton ko ban ker do’: Meesha Shafi defends Aurat March

    Meesha Shafi has stepped forward to support the Aurat March after it faced backlash over a doctored video, which is being widely circulated on social media.

    Read more – ‘Whatever’: Meesha Shafi hits back at trolls

    “Classic, twisted and dark,” wrote the singer on Twitter. “A marginalized, victimized and vulnerable sector of society takes peacefully to the streets on a universally designated single day set aside for them, the usual rabid suspects take it straight into the twilight zone!”

    “Corona ko kahin hum na ho jayein,” she added on a humorous note.

    In another tweet, Shafi shed light on the main reason behind the backlash.

    “And remember, this whole thing started this time because a young lady displayed a poster stating she was sexually abused by a maulvi,” said the singer.

    “Pedophiles are running free. Children can’t play. But the #AuratMarch is a western agenda,” she said further, adding: “This is what epic gaslighting looks like!”

    Expressing her frustration, the Shafi further said:“Ek hee dafaa sari aurton ko hee ban ker do. Kissaa hee khatam. Na hum rahein ge na tum.”

    Meanwhile, Meesha also hit back at trolls over their comments.

  • ‘Pakistani women deserve our immense respect’: Army Chief

    ‘Pakistani women deserve our immense respect’: Army Chief

    On International Women’s Day, Chief of the Army Staff  (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that Pakistani women have contributed immensely for the glory and honour of our nation.

    “They are also at the forefront against COVID. Women in uniform have proved their mettle by contributing copiously in diverse fields serving the nation and humanity. They deserve our immense respect and gratitude,” General Bajwa added.

    COAS’ message on Women’s Day was tweeted by DG ISPR’s official account.

  • Women of the world, unite!

    Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, which is celebrated worldwide. In Pakistan, many events are organised to mark Women’s Day. Aurat March, which has been held since 2018, will be marked with rallies in several cities, including Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.

    This year, Aurat March Lahore’s theme is women’s health and the issues faced by women and gender minorities. They are demanding that the health budget be increased to 5 per cent of the GDP. Aurat March organisers have highlighted how violence has always existed for women and gender minorities in Pakistan since before COVID-19 but the lockdowns and social isolation resulting from the pandemic have further exacerbated physical, emotional and sexual violence against them across the country.

    It is quite unfortunate that Pakistan ranks 151 out of 153 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index Report 2020 index, published by the World Economic Forum. The only two countries lagging behind Pakistan are Iraq and Yemen. This is not a surprise given the way our patriarchal society treats women. From blaming rape survivors to practices such as honour killing, vinni and swara (exchange of women, especially young girls, to settle disputes between families), child marriage, domestic violence and many other such anti-women practices, Pakistani society does not make life easy for women.

    Sexual harassment cases when reported or talked about are brushed under the carpet. We have seen how women don’t just face offline harassment and violence but online harassment of women has increased manifold. It is but a manifestation of the anti-women bias in society. Women politicians, journalists and activists are targeted online on a regular basis. But it is good to see Pakistani women breaking these chains and raising their voices for women empowerment and their rights.

    From leading lights such as Fatima Jinnah, Benazir Bhutto, Asma Jahangir, Malala and many others who paved the way for women and young girls in our society, the struggle continues. It will take a long time to achieve equal rights for women but there is no reason to lose hope. We have seen that when women take a stand, it leads to the betterment of society at large.

    For an inclusive, tolerant and progressive Pakistan, women have to be treated as equal human beings. Women of the world, unite, for you have nothing to lose but your chains.

  • Javeria Saud’s ‘Aurat Gardi’ to reportedly be on Aurat March

    The first look of Javeria Saud and Alyy Khan’s Aurat Gardi was released Friday and the trailer of the web-series suggests that it is based on Aurat March.

    The trailer shows Javeria and Khan engaging in a heated debate over some of the play cards and slogans used during last year’s Aurat March that went viral, including one of the most debated slogan ‘Mera Jism Meri Marzi‘.

    As per details, Aurat Gardi will premiere on UrduFlix on April 2, 2021. The web-series has been directed by Awais Sulaman and produced by Rao Ayaz Shahzad with Farhan Gauher as Executive Producer.

    UrduFlix is Pakistan’s first Urdu OTT platform. It went live on March 5 and will provide viewers with access to original Urdu films, series, documentaries, cartoons, and Urdu dubbed Turkish dramas among other exclusively made shows for the platform. The first few shows on the platform would include the Mashal Khan starter Lifafa Dayaan, Hareem Shah starrer Raaz with a lot more to come. The first exclusively available show going up on the platform with its launch is Dulhan Aur 1 Raat featuring Alizeh Shah in the lead.

  • Aurat March Lahore announces ‘Charter of Demands’ for 2021

    Aurat March Lahore has unveiled its charter of demands for 2021. This year’s charter of demands is based on 15 points with a special focus on women’s healthcare, which is also the theme of this year’s march.

    As per the official Twitter account of Aurat March Lahore, the charter “is centred on our theme of healthcare which intersects with the issues of gender-based violence, the dehumanisation and sexualisation of our bodies, safety, environmental justice and our fraught relationship with the state.”

    “Some of our demands are immediate, some of them are from the state — but we recognise that our long-term struggle and means of emancipation lie outside the patriarchal state and exploitative economic system we’re currently in,” read the official statement.

    Earlier, the organisers of Aurat March Lahore released the poster and theme for this year’s march.

    Speaking exclusively to The Current, Shehzil Malik who designed the poster, talked about the thought process behind designing the poster.

    “To know more about women’s health crisis, I reached out to a friend who works in public health which really gave me an insight into the subject,” shared Malik.

    Aurat March is scheduled to take place on March 8 on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

    Meanwhile, expressing her views on the Aurat March, Sarah Khan in an exclusive interview with The Current said: “I think, instead of fight for the rights, we should educate our sons. Don’t teach your daughters to go to ‘Aurat March’, educate your sons and teach them that their mother is also a woman.

    “[A] woman is the one who runs the house, does the house chores and supports the man. If your wife is not helpful, then how will you be happy? Allah has already granted status to the woman, but I think men should be given the same rights. They deserve the same, not only women,” she added.

    On the other hand, actor Mahira Khan who attends the Aurat March every year revealed her reason for going to the event, saying: “I think it is necessary for me [to go to Aurat March] because I think when I do something, no matter how small it is, it leaves an impact.”

    “So when I go to Aurat March, what I’m actually trying to say is ‘Look, if you like me and if you think what I say means something if you think I that I’m on the right side of history, or whatever you think of me, this is also what I believe in, this is why I’m here,” she added.

  • ‘Mera Jism Meri Marzi’ doesn’t mean I want to rip off my clothes, says Mahira Khan

    ‘Mera Jism Meri Marzi’ doesn’t mean I want to rip off my clothes, says Mahira Khan

    Mahira Khan, in a recent interview, opened up and revealed why she attends the Aurat March every year and what are the three things she finds attractive in a man.

    Read more – We can’t show a woman being assaulted and falling in love with the same man, says Mahira Khan

    “I think it is necessary for me [to go to Aurat March] because I think when I do something, no matter how small it is, it leaves an impact,” said the actor. “So when I go to Aurat March, what I’m actually trying to say is ‘Look, if you like me and if you think what I say means something if you think I that I’m on the right side of history, or whatever you think of me, this is also what I believe in, this is why I’m here.’”

    “Honestly, mere Aurat March jaane se itna ziada kuch nae hota siwaye iske ke it creates an impact,” added Mahira.

    Mahira also shared her thoughts on the Mera Jism Meri Marzi slogan saying: “It [the slogan] doesn’t mean that I want to rip off my clothes. It means that I’m a whole person. This is my body, and if you are looking at me and I’m not feeling comfortable about it, I have the right to say that don’t look at me. Or if you are trying to touch me I can report you, because yeh mera jism hai, aur yeh meri marzi hai [it’s my body, and I have complete right over it].”

    During the interview, Mahira also shared that while growing up her parents gave her the freedom to make her own judgments.

    Meanwhile, answering a question about three things she finds attractive in a man, Mahira said: “I find both men and women attractive when they are at complete peace with themselves.”

    “Secondly, I love sense of humour”, shared Mahira. “I like someone who makes me laugh and if someone is not making me laugh then I make them laugh.”

    “Thirdly I like it when a man truly respects a woman,” added the actor.

    Though Mahira keeps her personal life tightly under wraps, designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, in a quarantine live session accidentally revealed the name of Mahira’s beau and cajoled her into opening up about him.

    When HSY asked Mahira how she feels when she looks into his eyes, Mahira said: “There’s a line in Humsafar, which I thought was beautiful, where Ashar says to Khirad, ‘Pata nahi tum mujhe kis naiki kay badlay main milli ho.’ I think the same about him. I must have done something good in my life.”

    Meanwhile, Mahira has recently ventured into production with a web series titled Baarwan Khiladi. The actor has set up a production house Soulfry Films with her friend and producer Nina Kashif. Baarwan Khiladi will be their first project together.