Pakistan: The Aurat March, a gathering held annually by Pakistani women on International Women’s Day to express their concerns and celebrate femininity, descended into violence on Wednesday due to a confrontation between the marchers and the police, according to Geo News.
As women and transgender from diverse fields gathered for the Aurat March event, where police allegedly beat attendees with sticks in an attempt to “halt” the rally, a violent altercation broke out outside the Press Club.
According to the police, who also noted that significant groups of women were joining the march, there was a verbal altercation between rally attendees and the police as the latter questioned the numerous transgender people attempting to attend the demonstration.
The police “worked hard to stop the rally,” according to women at the march.
Transgender joined the protesters in chanting pro-rights women’s messages, and the police stopped them to question them. As soon as the demonstrators started shouting anti-government and anti-media chants, there was severe disruption outside the Islamabad Press Club, according to Geo News.
Some journalists in attendance expressed dissatisfaction over the fact that, despite reporting the incident quietly all morning, they had been involved in the altercation. Also hurt were a female reporter and a cameraman for a nearby news station.
Sherry Rehman, the climate change Federal Minister, attended the event as well and sharply denounced the violence that broke out, according to Geo News.
Rehman stated on her Twitter account, “Unsurprisingly, friends from the Aurat Azadi March are angry. A modest, nonviolent demonstration shouldn’t have been lathi-charged by the Islamabad police. Not progressive women, but the ladies wielding lathis, must be driven back. It is sad to watch this occur, will look into it.”
She added in another tweet, “I have requested an investigation into the incident and vehemently condemn this violence. This is not acceptable. Also, on International Women’s Day. We did not fight for this, and we will not put up with it has been brought to the attention of the Minister of Interior Affairs.”
With the outbreak of the spate, several individuals and groups have denounced the administrations’ cruelty and spoken out against them, according to the update.
The Pakistan Human Rights Commission (HRCP) tweeted, “The HRCP condemns the Islamabad police’s use of force against protesters during the Aurat Azadi March. We are alarmed by rumours that religious groups have attempted to prevent women from joining the march. The freedom to peaceful assembly belongs to all citizens equally.”
Another Aurat March was held in Ghotki, where protesters chanted, “As long as women are slaughtered, we’ll keep fighting.”
