The yearly feminist movement in Pakistan, Aurat March, has announced the schedule and location of its forthcoming event. The organizers took to Instagram to share how excited they were to be going back to Frere Hall, the site of the first two Aurat Marches in 2018 and 2019, which set the groundwork for the space to become a focal point for a number of progressive groups.
The Aurat March is planning to include a “Ehtejaji Mela” this year in addition to its customary yearly march. The goal of the organizers is to promote in-depth conversations about religion, ethnicity, gender, and class. The Ehtejaji Mela will offer a forum for discussing political art that raises problems of societal concern. The program also aims to reinvent leisure as a feminist lifestyle.
“We will sit together for deeper conversations around class, gender, ethnicity and religion; interact with political art that makes us ponder over the various social issues surrounding us; and recenter leisure as a feminist way of life,” the caption on Instagram said. Additionally, this year’s Aurat March will feature food vendors manned by working-class women. The cuisine will be priced as reasonably as possible, according to the organizers, guaranteeing accessible for individuals from all economic levels, especially the roughly 50% of regular participants who are khawaja siras and working-class women.
For cis-gendered guys who want to participate in the yearly march, the organizers also had a message for them. “If you are a cis man wishing to attend, don’t forget to come along with at least two women, khawaja siras, trans men and/or non-binary people, in order to be allowed entry,” the caption on Instagram said. It continued, “We are still raising funds to organise this feminist vision of love, so if you can donate any amount to us, please do!” Aurat March expressed her gratitude to the illustrator for the artwork that accompanied the facts at the end of the piece.
Anticipation is growing for an occasion that transcends a conventional protest and becomes a forum for discussion, joy, and unity as the Aurat March approaches.
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