At Karachi's Aurat March, hundreds raise their voices for equal rights.

Byline: Sameer Mandhro

KARACHI -- Look at the crowd, beamed Qurat Mirza, an organiser of the Aurat March. 'We are all united. It's a movement. And the movement cannot be halted.'

Despite the beating sun, hundreds of participants flooded to Frere Hall on Sunday for the march, held on International Women's Day. After all, as one of the speakers pointed out, thousands of women workers labour outside their homes in the baking heat all year - the crowd could endure it for a few hours.

Amid tight security, women together with the transgender community, non-binary people and men demanded equal rights for all, highlighting the discrimination they faces and asking the government to ensure the rights enshrined for them in the Constitution.

At the entrance, Sindh police commandos, helped by dozens of volunteers, refused entry to men unaccompanied by women, in order to prevent any untoward incidents. Meanwhile, as a precaution against coronavirus, safety masks were handed out to all entrants, arranged by the South deputy commissioner.

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Participants carrying placards and banners shouted slogans focusing on the rights of various communities, and particularly pointing out the importance of choice and freedom.

Mirza pointed out that the march meant to challenge the patriarchy and its associated mindset. 'All humans are equal. We are all equal to men,' she asserted. 'The country can't progress until and unless the state allows more than half the population into the system.'

Dr Sorath Sindhu, a participant, explained that it was not men she was opposed to. 'I am against the mentality that denies women their due rights. I am participating in a march with a cause,' she stated, stressing the need to educate those who did not understand women's rights.

Another participant, Asha Lalwani spoke up against the forced conversion of women from minority communities, particularly the Hindu community. 'Innocent girls are forcibly abducted and made to convert to Islam. I'm here to say that these girls are also women and they have the same rights as Muslim women do,' she stated, adding that forced conversion had cropped up as a new issue in Sindh.

'It is only my mother who accepts me as a person,' said Nigha, a transgender, highlighting the discrimination faced by the transgender community as the reason for showing solidarity with the march. 'We face a host of issues, including derogatory remarks that are thrown at us. We are denied even basic rights.'

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