On Tuesday, marches across several cities took place in connection with International Women’s Day as women raised their voices to demand equal rights and an end to systemic discrimination. Now in its fifth iteration, the Aurat March has evolved over the years into a political movement to be reckoned with as the number of sister chapters and supporters continue to grow each year. This growth is also evident in the wide-ranging issues the manifestos address and how they are tailored according to specific circumstances and issues being faced in respective cities.

The inclusive nature of this movement attracts women and non-binary individuals from a variety of social and economic backgrounds. The movement is not centred around one or two key themes, as it seeks to present a comprehensive feminist vision of what society could and should be. This why issues such as evictions, climate change, rights of domestic workers, transgender rights, justice system overhaul, sexual violence and harassment, and rights of religious and ethnic minorities were taken up in different cities where the march took place.

Given the importance of these issues that are now being highlighted by this new generation of activists, it is disheartening to see the opposition and resistance faced by the movement. The ruling government is also culpable considering how activists had to struggle to obtain security assurances for the protest in the lead up to March 8. Also, as the activists have become increasingly articulate when it comes to formulating their demands and vision, it is evident that most of the criticism directed towards the Aurat March is disingenuous and unfounded. In fact, on the day of the protest—like it has happened in the past—marchers were subjected to threats by members of the religious parties in Islamabad, and those in Lahore were harassed by male reporters. The increasingly unhinged reaction to the movement only further points to why these protests are so important.

Meanwhile, also on March 8, the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives launched the National Gender Policy Framework which is aimed at providing a structured mechanism with defined objectives for improving the lives of women and providing them with equal opportunities to excel in a professional sphere. This is an encouraging development as issues related to the engagement, political participation, and empowerment are extremely pertinent. However, the policy framework launch still did not address a plethora of other issues facing women in the country, including issues of security and violence against women. Perhaps both the ruling government and other mainstream political parties can learn a lot from reading the Aurat March manifestos that highlight the broad-ranging structural reforms which are the need of the hour.