Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, the Minister for Religious Affairs, has recommended a prohibition on slogans during the Aurat March [women’s march], urging that March 8 be designated as Hijab Day .
Qadri remarked in a statement that the Aurat March’s slogans should be banned since they are frequently improper.
Although International Women’s Day — known in Pakistan as “Aurat Azadi March” — has been marked in Pakistan since the 1960s, one of its slogans, “my body, my choice,” or “mera jism meri marzi,” became immensely controversial in 2017-18.
Prior to this phrase, the Azadi March, a liberation walk held in Pakistan on International Women’s Day, was a low-key event attended mostly by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It was a well-attended event because of it’s tagline.
The slogans are unsuitable, according to the minister, since they give the impression that women’s rights aren’t the issue; rather, the Islamic way of life is the source of all women’s difficulties. “No sector of society should be permitted to mock Islamic values such as the headscarf,” the letter states.
The letter goes on to argue that individuals taking part in the Aurat March should instead concentrate on the real difficulties that women in Pakistan face, such as the practise of denying them a portion in ancestral property, domestic violence, and sexual harassment.
Qadri goes even farther, urging the prime minister to rename Women’s Day as International Hijab Day, in order to bring attention to the current situation in India regarding hijab.
Many religious organisations demanded an end to the Azadi March last year. Several religious organisations planned their own protests, believing it was intended to encourage “vulgarity” as part of a Western goal.
