The Aurat March in Islamabad concluded on Saturday afternoon after police stopped marchers from proceeding towards D-Chowk. Government did not allow rallies in other cities like Multan, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar etc
On the Asian side of Turkiye’s biggest city Istanbul, a rally in Kadikoy saw members of dozens of women’s groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine.
The colorful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck.
Critics have accused the government of overseeing restrictions on women’s rights and not doing enough to tackle violence against women.
Erdogan in 2021 withdrew Turkiye from a European treaty, dubbed the Istanbul Convention, that protects women from domestic violence. Turkiye’s We Will Stop Femicides Platform says 394 women were killed by men in 2024.
“There is bullying at work, pressure from husbands and fathers at home and pressure from patriarchal society. We demand that this pressure be reduced even further,” Yaz Gulgun, 52, said.
Women across Europe and Africa march against discrimination
In many other European countries, women also protested against violence, for better access to gender-specific health care, equal pay and other issues in which they don’t get the same treatment as men.
In Poland, activists opened a center across from the parliament building in Warsaw where women can go to have abortions with pills, either alone or with other women.
Opening the center on International Women’s Day across from the legislature was a symbolic challenge to authorities in the traditionally Roman Catholic nation, which has one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws.
From Athens to Madrid, Paris, Munich, Zurich and Belgrade and in many more cities across the continent, women marched to demand an end to treatment as second-class citizens in society, politics, family and at work.
In Madrid, protesters held up big hand-drawn pictures depicting Gisele Pélicot, the woman who was drugged by her now ex-husband in France over the course of a decade so that she could be raped by dozens of men while unconscious.
Pélicot has become a symbol for women all over Europe in the fight against sexual violence.
In the Nigerian capital of Lagos, thousands of women gathered at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, dancing and signing and celebrating their womanhood.
Many were dressed in purple — the traditional color of the women’s liberation movement.
In Russia, the women’s day celebrations had a more official tone, with honor guard soldiers presenting yellow tulips to girls and women during a celebration in St. Petersburg.
Germany’s president warns of backlash against progress already made
In Berlin, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for stronger efforts to achieve equality and warned against tendencies to roll back progress already made.
“Globally, we are seeing populist parties trying to create the impression that equality is something like a fixed idea of progressive forces,” he said. He gave an example of ” large tech companies that have long prided themselves on their modernity and are now, at the behest of a new American administration, setting up diversity programs and raving about a new ‘masculine energy’ in companies and society.”
The Aurat March in Islamabad concluded on Saturday afternoon after police stopped marchers from proceeding towards D-Chowk.
Since its inception in 2018, the Aurat March has been held annually nationwide on or around International Women’s Day, symbolising a collective feminist tradition of protest and resistance.
A day before the march, the organisers of the Aurat March vowed to go ahead with their planned event in the capital and hold the rally from the National Press Club (NPC) to D-Chowk despite not receiving formal permission from the administration. “We will have our show outside the NPC as per previous years and will try to march towards D-Chowk to mark the occasion [of International Women’s Day],” rights activist Dr Farzana Bari had told Dawn.com last night.
Marchers gathered outside the NPC today with placards, banners and megaphones.
As part of the rally, empty beds were placed on the protest ground, with signs attached reading “women’s rights” and “democracy”, symbolising their absence in the country. Marchers also chanted slogans while beating drums and tambourines.
A marcher beats a drum during the 2025 Aurat March in Islamabad on March 8. — Photo by author
Simultaneously, a demonstration demanding the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui — a Pakistani neuroscientist serving a prison sentence in the US — took place at the same location as the Aurat March.
A correspondent present at the scene reported that as the marchers attempted to move towards D-Chowk from the NPC, police requested reinforcements and blocked off major roads. As a result, the march was called off.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Bari said that the organisers did not get the no-objection certificate (NOC) “as usual”.
Referring to the protest for Aafia’s release, Bari added, “Those people over there have a sound system available, while the car carrying ours was taken away.
“Whenever we celebrate Women’s Day each year, we celebrate in challenging circumstances and receive many threats. We celebrate in a fearful climate,” she lamented. “It is because of the strength and courage of women that we are able to carry out this march, even in Ramazan.”
When asked if the gathering had ended, Bari replied in the affirmative and added that roads to D-Chowk had been blocked. “A lot of people went home because they could not find a path through,” she said, adding that they also did not push further because a lot of the attendees were fasting.
Marchers carry a banner during the 2025 Aurat March in Islamabad on March 8. — Photo by author
“Our demands are the same as those we’ve made over the past several years because they are never enforced,” Bari said. “This year, we have told the state that if they fail to prioritise Pakistan’s 120 million women and their health, education and safety, then they will become more disconnected from the state.
“It is therefore essential to understand that if women become independent and free, then the nation will be too.”According to a post by the Aurat March Instagram page, this year marked the first time that the march would be held on different dates across the country.
“This year, the marches in Lahore, Multan, Karachi, and — for the first time — Mirpur Khas will take place with the same passion but on newer dates,” the post said, adding that the marches in Karachi and Mirpur Khas would take place on May 11.
On February 12, hundreds of women participated in the Aurat March in Lahore, demanding freedom and social justice for women.
The march commenced at the Lahore Press Club and culminated in front of the PIA building. Women from different walks of life participated in the march, carrying placards and banners and demanding justice and equality.
