Tag: auratmarch2020

  • 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 :

  • 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.

  • QUIZ: Which Aurat March Poster Are You?

    Take the quiz to find out which poster suits your personality the most:

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  • Aurat March 2020 murals torn down in Lahore

    Aurat March 2020 murals torn down in Lahore

    A mural created by participants of the Aurat March 2020 at Lahore’s Hussain Chowk was torn down Saturday evening.

    While talking to a media outlet a volunteer Amna Chaudhry said, “We had arranged a poster competition where female illustrators and designers were told to design posters for the march and send them in.”

    They decided to install a mural in the city after receiving an overwhelming response, “All the artists were called to put up their posters on the wall to showcase the spirit of the march and promote it,” Chaudhry said.

    But after four to five hours they had put up their posters, they were torn down. “The posters were not just torn, somebody had ripped through them,” the volunteer said.

    Chaudhry also told that before even planning the activity permission had been taken from the authorities. “We had chosen Hussain Chowk as it is the center of the city and a good place for promotion purposes,” she said.

    Organizers of the Aurat March posted the before and after pictures of a mural on the march’s official social media accounts after which support started coming in for them.

    Many activists condemned the incident. Salman Sufi, the founder of the Salman Sufi Foundation, called it a show of the “insecurities deeply embedded within certain elements of society”.

    Human rights lawyer Nighat Dad took to Twitter and wrote that if the posters put up by women receive this much hatred, what about the hatred received by women who stand up for their rights.

    Chaudhry said that the incident did not and will not bring the spirits of the volunteers and organisers down. “You can tear down the posters but you can’t tear us apart. We will resist all things like these and keep putting up posters,” she said.

    Chaudhry added that they will soon file a complaint. “We have shared the posters on social media and have asked supporters to print them out and put them up in their neighborhoods as a form of resistance.”

    The Aurat March will take place across Pakistan on March 8. Fundraisers for the march have started in several cities.

    “For those who ask why we march – this is why!” Chaudhry added.

  • Aurat March Manifesto is out, here is what it says

    Aurat March Manifesto is out, here is what it says

    It is not a secret that women get unequal treatment in the Pakistani society. Their rights are infringed, their labour is not recognised, and they are underpaid. 

    The enlightened class, mostly students, who take interest in social and political issues have now started to raise their voice for women rights.

    Last year when the poster of Aurat March was released, it received lots of comments, ranging from sexists jokes to rape threats.
    Despite the overwhelming backlash, the Aurat March will be organized on the 8th March of 2020. This time here is what they are fighting for.

    Economic Justice: 

    The exploitation of women working in formal and informal industries should be liberated from capitalistic exploitation. Also, a safe working environment as per the workplace act 2010 should be ensured by providing a harassment-free environment.

    Environmental Justice 

    Apart from women rights, they also demand protection for animal rights, clean drinking water, and recognization of women role in the production of food. 

    Accountability against violence

    The activists demand an immediate end of gender-based violence against women and minorities in the online and offline world.

    There should be strong accountability against the state repression against women and transgenders. Moreover, they demand strong implementation of anti-harassment laws in workplaces to make offices and public spheres a safe place for suppressed genders.

    Police brutality  

    Police reforms acts should be implemented to curb the abuse of power by state institutions. The activists also stand in solidarity with the victims of police brutality like the family of Naqeebullah Mehsud or Sahiwal massacer.  

    Enforced disappearances 

    The state should immediately halt the unlawful practice of abducting people unlawfully as it is the gravest violence of human rights. Women have also been disappeared and a huge number of families have suffered because of the state violence.

    Inclusion 

    The public spaces should be made friendly for disabled people, their efforts should be recognized. People with less visible disabilities like chronic and mental illnesses should be recognized and victims should be accommodated. 

    Reproductive justice

    They petition the government to amend the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 and the minimum age should be raised from 16-18. 

    The women and suppressed gender should have total autonomy over their bodies and quality reproductive and sexual health facilities should be made accessible to women and genders.

    Access to public space

    They demand safe access for women in public space and streets for their social and political activities. They also demand affordable and inclusive public transport and clean public toilets for women.

    Furthermore, there should be no moral policing against women.  

    Anti-war

    They believe that war is a business and no one wins except corruption, and it further strengthens hatred and masculinity that deeply divides society. Moreover, they argue that the Kashmir issue is deliberately created by the stakeholders of power for their vested interests. 

    Kashmiris should be given the right for self-determination and the violence of the state and non-state actors should be condemned. As feminists, they denounce warmongering, militarization, and politics of destruction – they will keep their activism against it. 

  • Aurat March 2020 receives backlash on social media

    The poster Aurat
    March was met with rape and death threats after it was upload on social media
    last week.   

    Aurat March
    (women march) calls for women, transgender, and other suppressed gender groups
    to raise voice against injustice and deeply embedded patriarchy in our society.
    Unfortunately, within an hour of upload – the post was bombarded with crushing
    sexist and misogynist comments

    While talking to
    Express Tribune, the organizers said that they can take little action against
    such response on social media.

    “The maximum we
    can do is to report it on Facebook,” said the organizers adding, “We’ll stand
    for the cause and call out this unjust treatment – those who’re posting threats
    will not get away with all this.”

    The Aurat March
    team said that they are partnering with legal teams to tackle bullying and
    threats. 

    It is ironic that
    these people are getting uncomfortable because suppressed genders are demanding
    equal rights and better treatment in society, whereas when people like Khadim
    Hussain Rizvi outrageously abused and curse publically – the only concern for
    people is the inconvenience in traveling and day to day life.