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Investigative journalist Saddia Mazhar (right) documenting women arrested on International Women’s Day. Photo: Saddia Mazhar All over the world, International Women Day is celebrated to recognise the achievements and rights of women. But unfortunately, in Pakistan, that recognition means nothing. The reason: on that same International Women’s Day, in Islamabad, the federal capital of Pakistan, 44 women taking part in the annual Aurat March (a non-violent demonstration by women’s rights activists demanding social and economic rights) were detained by the police. The were held simply because they were planning to celebrate and put on a rally in the capital to recognise the achievements and challenges of women in Pakistan. The Aurat March activists were picked up by the police under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which was imposed in the federal capital Pakistan is a deeply patriarchal society where women lag behind in everything, which is why women face discrimination, violence, and sexual harassment on a daily basis. Perhaps unsurprisingly Pakistan was ranked bottom amongst 148 countries such as Sudan, Chad, Iran, and Guinea in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2025, with only 56.7% gender parity. This is even worse than in 2022, when it ranked 145th out of 146 countries, above only Afghanistan. The Aurat March organisers stated on X that they “were peacefully exercising their right to protest.” Three women journalists who had gone to cover the protests, including investigative reporter Saddia Mazhar (pictured), were also arrested. Reports suggest the women marchers, before being arrested, were dragged, beaten up, and had their arms twisted by the police. Shahbana Zafar, the wife of Harris Khaliq, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), and others went to the Women Police and Child Station to meet the arrested marchers and they too were detained After their release, the Aurat March organisers held a press conference at the National Press Club. They stated that the theme of Aurat March Islamabad was a feminist constitution, among other things. As a result of the arrests, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s message on International Women’s Day drew strong criticism from female social media users. His message on X read: “On International Women’s Day, I wish to reiterate my government’s commitment to ensuring a safe, equal and enabling environment for women. The government is taking steps to empower women, protect their rights and provide them opportunities to excel in every field.” READ MORE

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Investigative journalist Saddia Mazhar (right) documenting women arrested on International Women’s Day. Photo: Saddia Mazhar All over the world, International Women Day is celebrated to recognise the achievements and rights of women. But unfortunately, in Pakistan, that recognition means nothing. The reason: on that same International Women’s Day, in Islamabad, the federal capital of Pakistan, 44 women taking part in the annual Aurat March (a non-violent demonstration by women’s rights activists demanding social and economic rights) were detained by the police. The were held simply because they were planning to celebrate and put on a rally in the capital to recognise the achievements and challenges of women in Pakistan. The Aurat March activists were picked up by the police under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which was imposed in the federal capital Pakistan is a deeply patriarchal society where women lag behind in everything, which is why women face discrimination, violence, and sexual harassment on a daily basis. Perhaps unsurprisingly Pakistan was ranked bottom amongst 148 countries such as Sudan, Chad, Iran, and Guinea in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2025, with only 56.7% gender parity. This is even worse than in 2022, when it ranked 145th out of 146 countries, above only Afghanistan. The Aurat March organisers stated on X that they “were peacefully exercising their right to protest.” Three women journalists who had gone to cover the protests, including investigative reporter Saddia Mazhar (pictured), were also arrested. Reports suggest the women marchers, before being arrested, were dragged, beaten up, and had their arms twisted by the police. Shahbana Zafar, the wife of Harris Khaliq, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), and others went to the Women Police and Child Station to meet the arrested marchers and they too were detained After their release, the Aurat March organisers held a press conference at the National Press Club. They stated that the theme of Aurat March Islamabad was a feminist constitution, among other things. As a result of the arrests, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s message on International Women’s Day drew strong criticism from female social media users. His message on X read: “On International Women’s Day, I wish to reiterate my government’s commitment to ensuring a safe, equal and enabling environment for women. The government is taking steps to empower women, protect their rights and provide them opportunities to excel in every field.” READ MORE

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All over the world, International Women Day is celebrated to recognise the achievements and rights of women. But unfortunately, in Pakistan, that recognition means nothing. The reason: on that same International Women’s Day, in Islamabad, the federal capital of Pakistan, 44 women taking part in the annual Aurat March (a non-violent demonstration by women’s rights activists demanding social and economic rights) were detained by the police.

The were held simply because they were planning to celebrate and put on a rally in the capital to recognise the achievements and challenges of women in Pakistan.

The Aurat March activists were picked up by the police under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which was imposed in the federal capital

Pakistan is a deeply patriarchal society where women lag behind in everything, which is why women face discrimination, violence, and sexual harassment on a daily basis. Perhaps unsurprisingly Pakistan was ranked bottom amongst 148 countries such as Sudan, Chad, Iran, and Guinea in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2025, with only 56.7% gender parity. This is even worse than in 2022, when it ranked 145th out of 146 countries, above only Afghanistan.

The Aurat March organisers stated on X that they “were peacefully exercising their right to protest.”

Three women journalists who had gone to cover the protests, including investigative reporter Saddia Mazhar (pictured), were also arrested. Reports suggest the women marchers, before being arrested, were dragged, beaten up, and had their arms twisted by the police.

Shahbana Zafar, the wife of Harris Khaliq, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), and others went to the Women Police and Child Station to meet the arrested marchers and they too were detained

After their release, the Aurat March organisers held a press conference at the National Press Club. They stated that the theme of Aurat March Islamabad was a feminist constitution, among other things.

As a result of the arrests, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s message on International Women’s Day drew strong criticism from female social media users.

His message on X read: “On International Women’s Day, I wish to reiterate my government’s commitment to ensuring a safe, equal and enabling environment for women. The government is taking steps to empower women, protect their rights and provide them opportunities to excel in every field.”

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Narges Mohammadi, Iranian human rights defender and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner I pray that when you read this Narges Mohammadi is still alive. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is currently in an Iranian hospital in a critical condition. Her brother, who lives in Oslo, is anticipating terrible news. Mohammadi, 54, is in ill-health and is suspected of having suffered a heart attack in jail. Her move to a hospital is purely tokenistic – she is not in the right place for her condition. If she dies under these conditions, it’s a fate Mohammadi has warned about herself. In 2023 we shared a video made by Iranian filmmaker Vahid Zarezadeh of Mohammadi raising the alarm. When she gave the interview, she had just left hospital because of previous heart complications, following time in an appalling prison renowned for its punishing regime. In the video she said the “system sets up the conditions for the prisoner’s death,” and told people to not be surprised if, in the event she died in jail, the authorities blamed her death on an undiagnosed health problem. Heart attacks are common, they’d claim, downplaying their own role. Today it is even easier for them to downplay their role. The country is still in digital darkness. This Thursday marks day 69. That is 1632 hours of no connection to the global internet. There are some workarounds but they’re hard and risky. The cover of war has also seen an escalation in the execution of political prisoners, including those who took part in January’s protests. To be a dissident in Iran takes guts. To be as dedicated as Mohammadi is frankly awe-inspiring. What has made her so? Mohammadi was born in 1972 into a middle-class family with political persuasions. Following the Islamic revolution, her uncle and two cousins were arrested for activism. She studied nuclear physics at university, and it was there that she met her husband, Taghi Rahmani, who had himself spent 17 years in prison. After university, she worked for newspapers that were part of the reformist movement. In 2003 she joined the Defenders of Human Rights Center, founded by that year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi. By this stage she had already been arrested and spent a year in jail. This became a pattern. According to her foundation, she’s been arrested 13 times and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. A mother of twins — Kiana and Ali – Mohammadi has called the long years of separation from them an indescribable suffering. She has spoken about the fear and anxiety of solitary confinement and once said: “The price of the struggle is not only torture and prison, it is a heart that breaks with every regret and a pain that strikes to the marrow of your bones.” Still, she has continued to campaign for justice. Upon winning the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2023 “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”, she said: “I will never stop striving for the realisation of democracy, freedom and equality.” One month later she was on hunger strike to protest the delayed and neglectful medical care for sick prisoners. I’m fascinated by the anatomy of courage, though I’m unsure I’ll ever get to the bottom of it. What I do know is that Narges Mohammadi deserves every accolade and if she dies in the coming days the Iranian authorities are the culprits and not a dodgy heart. READ MORE

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