Pakistan: Aurat March organisers present list of 60 demands, including end to patriarchal violence

Lahore [Pakistan], March 7 (ANI): The organisers of the Aurat March on Monday presented a list of 60 demands, including an end to patriarchal violence, the increased representation of women at all levels of decision-making concerning climate change, a reduction in the defence budget and increased allocations for health and education, Pakistan based Dawn newspaper reported.
The demands were presented by women's rights activists, including Farzana Bari and Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, before the media at a pre-march press conference at the National Press Club (NPC).
The demands also include raising minimum wage allocations and moving away from anti-poor policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and debt traps.
The organisers said the decision to focus on the "feminisation of climate justice" was taken in the aftermath of the floods that ravaged the country last year, resulting in over 1,100 deaths and destruction and damage to one million homes, according to Dawn.
While overall relief and rehabilitation efforts were required and are still needed today, they said, adding that specific impact on women and young girls had been largely neglected in the mainstream discourse, Dawn reported.
The women said that key demands had been advanced for 2023 by Aurat March Islamabad, including bringing an end to period poverty, ensuring economic justice and budgetary allocations for universal childcare in all formal work spaces in Pakistan and formalisation of informal sector/market (where a majority of women are employed).
The march organisers said that despite an application for the grant of a no-objection certificate (NOC) submitted to the district administration well in advance, the same was turned down without any cogent reason just mere days before the march, according to Dawn.
According to the organisers, the march would begin from outside the National Press Club at 2 pm and conclude at D-Chowk as per routine on March 8.
Recently, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) sharply denounced the Lahore district administration's decision to refuse the Aurat March organisers permission to host a public rally in commemoration of International Women's Day on March 8, The News International reported.
The HCRP expressed sadness that the district administration routinely challenges the right of peaceful assembly because of controversial placards and strong reservations from the general public and religious organisations that apparently threaten law and order.
The interim Punjabi administration must respect the right of the Aurat March participants to peaceful assembly and guarantee their complete protection, reported The News International.
To observe International Women's Day, the women in Pakistan hold an 'Aurat March', which is an annual political demonstration in Pakistani cities such as Lahore, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta, Karachi, Islamabad and Peshawar.
The first Aurat March was taken out in 2018 in Karachi. (ANI)