Karachi gears up for Int’l Women’s Day with events organised across the city
By
Sunday Mar 07, 2021
Civil society activists carry placards and shout slogans during a rally for women rights on International Women s Day in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 8, 2018. AFP/Files
Events related to women s have already been organised across the metropolis.
International Women’s Day is celebrated all across the globe every year on March 8.
The main objectives of most of these events are to raise awareness about women rights in society.
Apart from the Aurat March that is scheduled to be held on Monday at Karachi’s Frere Hall, events related to the international day have already been organised across the metropolis,
Karachi
March 7, 2021
Although the organisers of the Aurat March (Women March) have planned to hold a sit-in at the Frere Hall in Karachi on Monday (tomorrow) to mark International Womenâs Day, different events related to the international day kicked off in the city on Saturday.
International Womenâs Day is celebrated all across the globe every year on March 8. In Karachi too, dozens of programmes are held every year with the main objective of spreading awareness of womenâs rights in society.
15-point agenda
The organisers of the Aurat March announced that this year a sit-in will be held at the Frere Hall on March 8. They warned of extending their protest if the government failed to meet the demands listed in the 15-point agenda of the Aurat March within the stipulated time frame.
Activists gear up for sit-in at Frere Hall
Present 15-point agenda, demanding end to honour killings, improved legal recourse, protection
KARACHI:
Announcing a sit in at Frere Hall on Monday, when the Aurat March will coincide with the International Women s Day, the members of the march s organising committee warned on Friday of extending the protest if the government failed to fulfill their demands within a stipulated time frame.
Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, they called for the effective implementation of laws to provide protection to women.
Cultural and social activist Sheema Kermani demanded an end to karo kari – honour killing, urging the government to take notice of tortures inflicted on women.
Bill protecting students from sexual harassment backed
Amid many incidents of harassment of female students at educational institutions, especially universities, a Senate committee in Pakistan has passed an act this month that, once it becomes law, promises swifter action and stricter punishment of perpetrators of harassment through speedy trials of cases.
The 12-member Standing Committee on Education of Pakistan’s Senate or upper house of parliament on 13 January passed the “Protection against Harassment of Students in Educational Institutions Bill 2020”, originally moved by Senator Javed Abbasi (Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz) in the Senate in August last year, to provide a safer environment in institutions and enable criminal proceedings to be launched against teachers and others charged with harassment.
Activists and lawyers have hailed a recent move by Pakistan’s top court to hear on merit a high-profile sexual harassment case that launched the country’s #MeToo movement, caused a stir on social media, and polarised public opinion.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court agreed to deliberate on whether prominent singer and actress Meesha Shafi’s allegations against another singer and actor, Ali Zafar, fall under the country’s Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act of 2010.
In April 2018, at the height of the global #MeToo movement, Shafi had accused Zafar on social media of sexual harassment of a physical nature on multiple occasions.