I wanted to find out why the Aurat March is so controversial, so I attended it

The Aurat March has evolved into a flashpoint for political controversy and social debate, but with so little reliable commentary available online, my curiosity about it had been growing. I wanted to get a better understanding of what was happening, so this year, I decided to attend in person in Islamabad on March 8.

So I went, hoping to take part, only to be met by a plethora of policemen at the spot. The area was barricaded. Most of it had to be observed from a slight distance, as it was harder to get near the people who had already gathered there.

I found out that the organisers had not obtained a No Objection Certificate from the government this year and that two of the main roads — Garden Road and China Chowk, the two main entrances to the National Press Club — had been closed.

The closure of the roads, along with the non-issuance of the NOC, was an overreaction by the state, in my opinion, and let me explain why that is.

I think that the public reaction to the somewhat unsettling — by conservative Pakistani standards — slogans at previous marches, along with the current paranoia of the government against any kind of activism, culminated in such a blockade for the marchers.

Nevertheless, there were people in the press club ground — not many, though, maybe around 50 or more — who remained as part of the protest. The police maintained a circle around them while they chanted slogans and held their placards. At times, their voices were drowned out by another minor protest taking place right next to them, calling for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui. There was essentially a barrier and barbed wire between these two protests as well, with a dozen policemen standing guard.

The theme of the protest was not limited to women’s rights. There were a wide variety of slogans on topics ranging from gender roles to ethnic violence. It was more of a leftist protest in general, for human rights and against a state that is becoming more authoritarian and patriarchal in nature.

In all fairness, I consider the values being advocated for to be common sense, and they can be considered “controversial” only in a hard right-wing society like ours where anything that deviates from the status quo gets stigmatised as “liberal.”

The reactions that have flowed in from the public both in the past and now (even though the protest was much smaller this time), are knee-jerk and overinflated. The protesters’ point — that the state and society are extremely patriarchal — is valid, and these reactions only prove that.

You can go to the Instagram page of the Aurat March Islamabad to see some pictures of this protest, the banners, and the setting. If you have any decent amount of exposure to global politics, you’ll easily see that this level of socio-political activity is widely acceptable, even within educational institutes in most parts of the world.

I cannot comprehend why it’s construed as a big threat to social or moral order. It is a threat only because the current order is extremely anti-dissent. If we analyse the demands and nature of the protest itself, nothing stands out as significantly alarming or over-the-top.

But let’s talk about the criticisms of Aurat March. I know the usual ones very well — it does not represent the wide variety of oppressed women in Pakistan and their issues, the protest is overtly run by liberal women, the slogans are not appropriate given the current mindset of the people and the setting we are in, and so on.

To all these criticisms, I would say that they completely miss the point and fail to read the room. Of course there isn’t a wide variety of women from diverse backgrounds participating in the Aurat March — precisely because Pakistan is a patriarchal society, and women from more rural or conservative backgrounds would never dare join such an event even if they wanted to.

That naturally leaves the more urban ones willing and able to join such a protest. Secondly, it is run by ‘liberal’ women because they have the experience and connections needed for activism. Given the strong strain of elitism in Pakistani society at large, it’s no wonder that such events start from the top and not the other way around. I believe that positive change should be welcome, no matter where it comes from.

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And lastly, as far as ‘appropriateness’ is concerned, that too is no major concern. The reason is that the other side — namely, the patriarchal elite — does not care about appropriateness when it represses dissident voices. We should not water down our expressions to appease the other side if the same civility is not reciprocated. Of course, some people might disagree here, but I believe that the patriarchy wants us to compromise precisely because that gives them the edge. And I see no point in doing so.

As philosophers like Foucault have already noted, much of what comes off as a moral code established by those in power is nothing more than a mechanism for them to discipline and punish those who show dissent. Power needs to be met with power on the same level, even if the beginnings are benign.

I believe that’s all there is to the Aurat March. It is a great initiative in a damaged society, and that explains the stark reactions from the public and the state. I’d love to see more of it and related activism, as political engagement is crucial in a country where most political doors are shut to the common person and many overlook the broader socio-political impact of their actions.