ISLAMABAD: On Monday, the organisers of the Aurat March presented a list of sixty demands, which included an end to patriarchal violence, increased representation of women at all levels of climate change decision-making, a reduction in the defence budget, and increased allocations for health and education.
At a pre-march press briefing at the National Press Club, women’s rights activists, including Farzana Bari and Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, made these requests to the media (NPC).
In addition, the requests include increasing minimum wage allocations and abandoning anti-poor International Monetary Fund (IMF) practises and debt traps.
The choice to focus on the “feminisation of climate justice,” according to the event’s organisers, was made in the wake of last year’s devastating floods, which resulted in over 1,100 deaths, destruction, and damage to one million houses.
While overall relief and rehabilitation efforts were necessary and remain so to this day, they noted that the impact on women and young girls has been largely overlooked in the popular conversation.
In light of this omission, they asserted that Aurat March Islamabad had put up critical goals for 2023, such as ending period poverty, ensuring economic fairness and budgetary allocations for universal childcare in all formal work spaces in Pakistan, and formalising the informal sector/market (where a majority of women are employed).
The organisers of the march stated that despite submitting an application for a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the district administration well in advance, the request was denied without a valid explanation just days before the march.
The district administration and the police of Islamabad were reminded of their duty to protect the lives of the peaceful marchers who have followed the same path since at least 2018.
On March 8, the organisers stated that the march will begin in front of the National Press Club at 2:00 p.m. and end as usual at D-Chowk.
