International Women’s Day is observed worldwide on 8 March. In Pakistan the date is marked by the Aurat March, a series of women’s rights marches held in major cities since 2018, alongside official and private events.
Statements below are attributed to the people and institutions that made them, and contested claims are identified as contested.
What Is International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day is an annual observance held on 8 March that marks the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and draws attention to gender inequality. The United Nations has observed the date since 1975.
Pakistan does not gazette 8 March as a public holiday, although some countries do. Government departments, universities, United Nations agencies, chambers of commerce and civil society organisations hold seminars, award ceremonies and panel discussions on the date.
How Did International Women’s Day Begin?
International Women’s Day began in the socialist and labour movements of the early twentieth century. The Socialist Party of America held a National Woman’s Day in New York on 28 February 1909, following a garment workers’ strike in the city.
At the Second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in August 1910, the German socialist Clara Zetkin proposed an annual international day for women’s rights, and delegates from 17 countries accepted it. The first observances followed in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In 1917 women textile workers in Petrograd struck for bread and peace on the date corresponding to 8 March, which settled the date. The United Nations began marking the day in 1975.
What Is the Aurat March?
The Aurat March is a women’s rights march held in Pakistani cities on or around 8 March. The first march took place on 8 March 2018 in Karachi, where a group of activists gathered at Frere Hall.
The march expanded the following year to Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Mardan and Faisalabad, organised by collectives including Hum Aurtein, the Women Democratic Front and the Women’s Action Forum. The Islamabad event runs separately as the Aurat Azadi March, so the marches are not directed by a single national body, and each city chapter issues its own manifesto and theme.
What Do the Organisers Say They Are Demanding?
Aurat March organisers state that their demands cover economic justice, an end to gender based violence, reproductive and health rights, labour rights and environmental justice. The demands are published each year as a manifesto by the organising chapter.
Items appearing across the manifestos include implementation of existing labour law for women workers, maternity leave and workplace daycare, access to health services, accountability for domestic violence and harassment, inclusion of transgender people, and an end to enforced disappearances. Organisers have said the marches protest the gap between laws already on the statute book and their enforcement, a gap visible in girls’ schooling and described in this account of the education system of Pakistan and its problems.
Why Is the Aurat March Contested?
The Aurat March has drawn organised support and organised opposition since 2019, mostly over its placards and slogans rather than the manifesto text.
The slogan most often cited by both sides is “Mera Jism Meri Marzi”, translated as “my body, my choice”. Organisers have said the slogan refers to bodily autonomy, consent and freedom from violence. Critics, including leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and several television commentators, have argued that the slogan and some placards conflict with religious and social norms in Pakistan. Noorul Haq Qadri, then federal minister for religious affairs, said Islamic societies best protect women’s rights and that some march slogans did not match Pakistan’s social, political and religious standards.
Several claims about the marches are contested rather than settled. Images of placards circulated online after the 2019 and 2020 marches were reported by organisers and by fact checking outlets as doctored, and organisers have said fabricated material was used to expose participants to blasphemy allegations. Allegations of foreign funding have been made by critics and denied by organisers.
The dispute has reached the courts and the streets. In 2020 the Lahore High Court dismissed a petition filed by the chairman of the Judicial Activism Council seeking to stop the march, stating that freedom of expression could not be banned. In 2023 the deputy commissioner of Lahore refused a no objection certificate, citing security concerns and the likelihood of a clash with the Haya March announced by Jamaat-e-Islami for the same day; organisers said a constitutional right was being denied because of another group’s announcement. Jamaat-e-Islami has held the Haya March, or morality march, in the same cities on the same date since 2020, and The Friday Times reported that men from the Haya March attacked Aurat March participants in Lahore in 2022.
How Has the Aurat March Developed in Recent Years?
The marches have continued every year since 2018, with dates, venues and permissions varying by city. The recent record is summarised below.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2018 | First march, held on 8 March in Karachi |
| 2019 | Marches in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and five other cities; slogans become a national debate |
| 2020 | Lahore High Court dismisses a petition to stop the Lahore march; Haya March held as a counter event |
| 2022 | Reported clash in Lahore between Haya March and Aurat March participants |
| 2023 | Lahore administration refuses a no objection certificate; the refusal is challenged in court |
| 2024 | Marches on 8 March in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad |
| 2025 | Lahore chapter marches on 12 February from the Lahore Press Club; Islamabad marches on 8 March |
| 2026 | Dawn reports police in Islamabad detained activists, including Farzana Bari and Tahira Abdullah, before the 8 March rally; Karachi receives a conditional permit and marches in May; the Lahore chapter announces no march, citing Ramadan |
The conditions attached to the 2026 Karachi permit, as reported, included restrictions on clothing the administration described as objectionable, a ban on LGBTQ content, and limits on slogans, banners and speeches considered anti-state or anti-religion. Organisers accepted the permit and held the march at Beach View Park in Clifton.
Permission has therefore been granted, refused or made conditional by provincial and district administrations rather than by one national policy, a pattern consistent with the administrative differences described in this guide to the provinces of Pakistan and their culture.
Frequently Asked Questions About International Women’s Day and the Aurat March
When is International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day is observed on 8 March every year. The United Nations has marked the date since 1975. It is not a gazetted public holiday in Pakistan.
When did the Aurat March start in Pakistan?
The first Aurat March was held on 8 March 2018 in Karachi. Marches spread to Lahore, Islamabad and several other cities in 2019 and have been held annually since.
Who organises the Aurat March?
No single body organises it. City chapters run their own marches, including Hum Aurtein in Lahore and Karachi and the Women Democratic Front, which organises the Aurat Azadi March in Islamabad.
Why is the Aurat March controversial?
Organisers say the marches demand rights already in law. Critics, including some religious parties and commentators, say certain slogans and placards conflict with Pakistani social and religious norms.
Is the Aurat March legal in Pakistan?
Yes. Marches require a permit from the district administration, which has been granted, refused or made conditional depending on the city and year. Courts have declined petitions seeking a ban.
Last Thoughts on International Women’s Day in Pakistan
International Women’s Day has a fixed date and a documented origin: 8 March, arising from the socialist and labour movements of 1909 to 1917 and observed by the United Nations since 1975. In Pakistan the date is marked by seminars, official events and, since 2018, the Aurat March.
Three separate things are often merged when the Aurat March is discussed: the published manifestos, which set out demands on wages, violence, health and labour rights; the placards and slogans carried by individual participants, which is where most of the public argument sits; and the administrative record of permits, court petitions and counter marches. Those three have moved in different directions in different years.
There is no harm in celebrating “Women Day” or “Aurat March” . Majority of Pakistani nation gives huge respect to all Women, but there are always good and bad people everywhere. Nobody can be a bigger champion of Women’s rights than Islam itself. The beautiful religion of Islam ensures the highest esteem and self-respect for women as well as gives them the rights they deserve. Such events should be conducted within the ethical and moral limits and not to empower the funded western agendas.