Dawn Images

Another day, another take on the Aurat March by a Pakistani man — this time, Ahmed Ali Butt has claimed that the Aurat March movement is “heavily funded just to disrupt the family structure of Pakistan”, a statement condemned by the likes of former model Frieha Altaf and filmmaker Saim Sadiq.

In the most recent episode of his podcast, Excuse Me with Ahmad Ali Butt, he asked Kanwal Cheema, the founder of My Impact Metre, what feminism meant to her. However, instead of letting her answer, Butt decided to go off about his own feelings on feminism. The irony of a man taking over a woman’s answer on feminism, of all things, is not lost on us.

“The way the MeToo movement was hijacked, the same way the true concept of Aurat March was hijacked. There is now proof that these are heavily funded movements, just to disrupt the family structure of Pakistan.

“Because if you look at the true feminism movement that started in the Rothschild era, the sole purpose was to tax the women of this country. Fifty per cent of the population you can’t tax, the only thing that was created was just to tax those women who are at home,” he said.

Butt continued and said he believed feminism was about women’s rights and no religion had empowered women as much as Islam did, however, “to manipulate that and say you’ve been trapped at home, you’re going against your biological nature.

“You’re altering the fact that man is supposed to provide and woman is supposed to nurture and multiply. Your true basic nature is the same, you can’t wake up one day and say you’re a tree.”

Altaf, in a lengthy Instagram comment, told Butt to look up the definition of feminism.

“Feminism is full social, economic, political equality for women. Humanity suffers when one gender is discriminated against. For example, women not allowed to work, or get paid less for the same job, not allowed to vote, basically not allowed choice. Considered a lesser being. Not having a brain to make decisions.”

She expressed her disappointment in his claims that the Aurat March and MeToo movements were funded, stating that such opinions had to have evidence to back them up.

“For years women have endured sexual harassment at work spaces. Stepping out of your house to work and have look at you in a lewd way, or be inappropriately touched. How could YOU, a man know what that feels like? The courage it took to speak up on this became a global voice.”

She also decried his comments about Aurat March disrupting the family structure and women being created to multiply as if that was their only purpose in life. “Men to provide? Like that’s their only function.”

“Let me tell you that feminism/Islam does not take aurat kay hakook [women’s rights], it gives them hakook.” She said that a woman choosing to be a homemaker out of free was not a prisoner, however, if her father or brother forced her to be a homemaker she was in fact a prisoner.

Filmmaker Saim Sadiq asked for proof of the foreign funding that Butt claimed was behind the Aurat March. “Please share it immediately or apologise for your irresponsible and factually incorrect lies.”

Radio jockey and internet personality Sabah Bano Malik, along with other netizens, also asked for proof.

Activist and artist Leena Ghani questioned if Butt hated his own grandmother, legendary singer, Noor Jehan, if he hated feminists so much.

“She was a true feminist icon. She wore what she wanted because she understood the power of Mera Jism Meri Marzi. She built a legendary career in a male-dominated industry. She paved the way for countless women in music and lived unapologetically on her own terms.

“Typical how men like him, who, let’s be honest, no one would even know if not for his grandmother, enjoy the benefits of powerful women in their own family but have a problem when other women demand the same freedom.”

To say that Butt’s take was unhinged is an understatement — it made little sense and he certainly didn’t provide any proof to back up his statements.

To say that the Aurat March is “heavily funded” is an absolutely baseless claim and seems to be the easy way out for any critic of the movement. The Aurat March organisation, had Butt ever bothered to read a news article, has never once called for the dismantling of the nuclear family system. It has, however, repeatedly demanded equality for all women and trans people.

His statement that the feminist movement in the time of the Rothschilds, a statement he didn’t elaborate on, was started with the sole purpose of taxing women, is in one word, ridiculous. It overlooks all the efforts made by feminists to ensure that women have some semblance of equality and choice in the world. It reduces a complex and hard-fought movement to nothing more than a financial conspiracy, completely disregarding the struggles women faced— and still face — for basic rights. Feminism isn’t some elaborate scheme cooked up by the elite; it is a response to systemic inequalities.

To suggest otherwise is not only dismissive but also historically ignorant. Women fought for the right to vote, to own property, to work, to receive an education, and to make choices about their own lives. None of these battles were waged so governments could collect more taxes. They were fought because women deserved autonomy, respect, and equal opportunities.

And perhaps, Butt sahab, if the Aurat March was so heavily funded, maybe they wouldn’t struggle to hold their rallies — in Islamabad, organisers weren’t given a no-objection certificate to peacefully gather and protest, and in Lahore, the organisers had to move the city’s high court because the deputy commissioner did not give them permission to hold the rally.

Coming to the most infuriating part of his unnecessary statement, that women “go against their biological nature” and “alter the fact that man is supposed to provide and woman is supposed to nurture and multiply.” Women aren’t math equations and they certainly cannot be reduced to mere baby-making machines.

Women have brains, Butt sahab. We’re capable of just as much, if not more than men. The idea that women are “nurturers” while men are “providers” are archaic gender roles which have no scientific basis. Men and women can be whatever they want to be.

Any and every relationship between a man and a woman requires equality. Both need to be nurturers and both need to provide however they can. True partnership means supporting each other emotionally, financially, and in every aspect of life, without outdated gender roles dictating who does what — which is something movements like the Aurat March advocate for. Not only do they stand for women’s right to choose, but also women’s rights to work and have fair and equal wages so they too can be providers.

Perhaps Butt sahab you should consider things that are truly impacting the Pakistani family structure — things like economic inequality (which the Aurat March addresses), gender-based and domestic violence (which the Aurat March addresses), food and water scarcity (which the Aurat March addresses).

Rhetoric like this is baseless and does nothing to help anyone. In fact, it harms the fight for equality, feeding in to unsupported arguments used to belittle women’s movements.