LAHORE - Wearing scarfs and shirts of party flags and painting their faces with different colours, a large number of women of all ages participated in PTI gathering at Minar-i-Pakistan.
Majority of them reached at the spot at evening with their families and were looking even more enthusiastic as compared to male participants. The PTI management, as usual, fixed a separate place for female crowd. Many of the families with their children were seen leaving the spot before the end of show and some left soon after Imran Khan’s arrival at public moot just to avoid rush at the end of the public meeting. A large number of females were seen with children who were also dressed with shirts having PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s picture and slogan ‘Azadi’ (Freedom).
Equipped with handy cams and latest mobiles, female were also looking busy in making videos and photos of youthful crowd. They were dancing at national and party songs, besides chanting “Go Nawaz Go” slogans. Many females who were interviewed by TheNation blasted at the PML-N leadership, accusing them of massive rigging in the general election 2013. Since exact count of female participation in PTI’s show was not possible, a rough estimate which was received by discussion with various participants including media persons depicted that they were around 30 per cent of the total gathering. “If there are 100,000 participants then around 30,000 of them are women,” figured different journalists and independent observers covering the event. Many of them were of the view that female participation in the crowd was more than the two previous public moots of PTI held at the same spot. A PTI member held that female participants are more than 30,000. Many independent observers said that the females participation in Lahore meeting was somehow equal to Karachi gathering but some opposed it, saying the number of women were more in the port city meeting as compared to Lahore.
The PTI women wing had started door to door campaign for Minar-i-Pakistan gathering and achieved the targets gracefully, said Dr Rashida Yasmin, PTI Punjab General Secretary. Munazza Hassan, PTI MNA, said: “We cannot push anybody to come at PTI gathering. It was everyone’s own understanding and belief. Pakistani females are aware of the corruption and malpractices of the previous and present governments. They are aware of the massive rigging in the election and want the change now to make Pakistan a welfare state for good future of their own selves and next generations. Allah willing, days of PML-N have been counted and Naya Pakistan is not far away to be achieved.”
Bushra Khalid Hayat Bhatti, PTI North Punjab organiser, said that large number of females with their families came from different cities of North Punjab to attend the gathering.
A female who gave her name as Abida Ishfaq and aged around 60 was among the thousands of female participants of the meeting. She said that she came here with her husband and son after getting inspired from Imran Khan’s speeches. “What we got from the ruling class in past 60 years? I spent my life here and get nothing except disappointment but now I am hopeful about the good future of my country,” she held.