Rallies, demonstrations and other events were held in Quetta and other cities of Balochistan on March 8, to mark International Women’s Day.
A rally was organized by the Women’s Alliance Quetta, women carrying placards, banners and chanting slogans for social justice and against patriarchy marched in the city. The march culminated in front of the Quetta press club where the organisors addressed the participants. “We are not fighting against men, but the idea that considers women inferior”, they said.
The Women’s Democratic Front, in association with the People’s Solidarity Front organised the Women’s Liberation Conference. A large number of people from different walks of life participated in the conference.
Female students also participated in various events and demonstrations on the occasion of Women’s Day.
A student participating in a protest in front of Quetta Press Club said that the problems of women in Balochistan are different from other parts of Pakistan.
She said that, in front of Quetta press club we are standing today, is the place where women from all over Balochistan have been protesting for years for the recovery of their loved ones who are forcibly disappeared by the state institutions.
“Patriarchal society exists in Balochistan but the state has caused more problems to women than anyone else”, she added.
Women’s rights activists also carried out the Aurat Azadi [Women Freedom] March in Quetta, on this occasion. Dozens of women and men gathered in the premises of Liaquat Park and marched on various roads of the city on the eve of International Women’s Day.
Participants of the march called for end to violence against women. The participants also demanded an end to early marriages and termed them against basic human rights.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, an event was organized by HRCP in collaboration with SPO and NRSP at Mullah Fazil Hall SPO in Turbat city of Kech district of Balochistan.
Besides women, the event was attended by a large number of men from various walks of life. Paintings by Shaheena Shaheen Academy of Arts were also exhibited during the event.
An anti-drug rally was held on the occasion of International Women’s Day in Alandoor area of Kech district.
A large number of women and children participated in the rally. The protesting women said that they have come out for the sake of their children who are being destroyed by drugs. Rally participants chanted slogans on the streets of Al-Nandur, demanding that the government take real action to curb drugs.
A female participant of the rally, Ms Dur Bibi said; “today, for the first time we have come out on the occasion of Women’s Day. In our backward society, we are not abused by brothers or husbands, but we are troubled by the state”.
In Balochistan, violence against women increased in the year 2020. In Balochistan, 66 women murdered throughout the year in total 118 violent acts against women. Aurat Foundation and South Asia Partnership released this data on the eve of International Women’s Day on Sunday.
According to the report, 33 women and 18 men were murdered in the name of ‘honor killings’ across Balochistan. The chief of Aurat Foundation Balochistan’s chapter Alauddin Khliji said the government has to take effective steps to provide protection to women in Balochistan.
According to the survey, only 2 percent cases were reported from Balochistan. A member of the foundation said the Covid-19 pandemic severely affected the survey.