Despite being an annual event, every year when the date of the Aurat March approaches, people begin to lose their calm and begin to target the march, its organisers and women in general. This year, the march’s posters were torn down and a petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the march. The petitioner had claimed that the march was ‘anti-state’ and ‘anti-Islamic’. However, the LHC disposed of the petition.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator and senior member Sherry Rehman, while condemning the outrage against the march, slammed JUI-F’s Maulvi Faiz Muhammad who had remarked that “Mera jism meri marzi azaadi nahi, awargi hai (My body, my choice is not freedom, it is obscenity).”

Rehman not only defended the march but also slammed Maulvi Faiz for his comments on the march.

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Human rights lawyer, Nighat Dad took to Twitter to support the powerful response.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PPP, including Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, has thrown its weight behind the march and are supporting it.

Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari also tweeted her support for the march.

The Aurat March is scheduled to take place on March 8 to commemorate International Women’s Day. Last year, women from all across Pakistan came together to participate in the march.