Rabia Mustafa, Samiya Muhammad Khan
International Women’s Day (8 March), originated from the women’s rights movements, which has subsequently spread worldwide as a day to honor women’s social, economic, cultural, and political accomplishments. This is a reminder that change must focus on women and that there is still work to be done to advance women’s rights and attain equality.
Every year 8 March is celebrated internationally with specific themes. However, this year (8 March 2023) the United Nations is observing International Women’s Day, with the theme DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. According to UN Women, currently, a persistent gender gap in internet access prevents women from fully utilizing technology. Participation in tech design and governance is still significantly hampered by their underrepresentation in STEM education and jobs. However, they are all too frequently forced out of their digital places due to the persistent fear of online gender-based violence and the lack of legal remedy. For example, women only make up 22 percent of AI workers globally, a global analysis of 133 AI systems across industries found that 44.2 percent demonstrate gender bias, whereas, 73 percent of women journalists from 125 countries suffered online violence.
In Pakistan, this year’s themes, in the broader sense, were climate justice and economic justice in the time of crisis in the country. More specifically, various chapters of Aurat March in Pakistan are celebrating women’s day for the uplift of those who are most affected, i.e. women who are affected by the recent floods in the country under the thematic umbrella of ‘Feminism in Times of Crisis’. Their demands are to have immediate and long-term actions for the crisis women face on various fronts. They demanded economic justice for Pakistan’s most marginalized communities who are facing the impact of IMF-driven measures. They demanded that the government must give priority to such policies that uplift marginalized communities and their economic growth. These demands are suitable in a country that is facing crises such as prevalent poverty, unemployment, the highest-ever petroleum prices, sky-rocking inflation, devaluation of rupee, and more devastating, the destruction that was created by recent floods (June 2022 to October 2022).
These are the themes under which we are celebrating woman’s day in Pakistan with the efforts and input of Aurat March Chapters, women’s protection institutions, NGOs, law enforcement organizations, and so on. All these individuals and organizations trying to spread awareness in the shape of seminars, conferences, marches, and digital or print projections. Seminars and marches are organized by the civil society to introduce and demand the true spirit of the current agenda for women’s day celebrations so that we can set a bar to achieve fundamental rights for our women and to grab the attention to the core and crucial rights for women of our times.
Aurat March is a symbol of success in terms of women’s rights in Pakistan as recently Lahore High Court gave a verdict that women must be allowed to organize rallies and seminars for peaceful protest and demand their fundamental rights. Women from all walks of life enthusiastically took part in these rallies, walks, and digital and print media platforms for a true projection of what they really want. Not only women but men of all ages and backgrounds also gave their productive input to support their women which represents that over the years, men have developed a deeper understanding of what our society lacks when it comes to the fundamental rights for women.
Rabia Mustafa is a Senior Research Fellow at the School for Law and Development.
Samiya Muhammad Khan is an independent analyst and freelancer.