In pictures: Thousands of women march in Pakistan despite legal challenges
"We are not going to sit silently anymore. It's our day, it's our time," marcher says
Updated Wednesday Mar 08 2023
Thousands of women took part in rallies across Pakistan on Wednesday despite facing blockage in several cities.
Known as the Aurat (women) March, the rallies have courted controversy because of banners and placards waved by participants that raise subjects such as divorce, sexual harassment and menstruation.
"The whole point of the Aurat March is to demand the security and safety that women are not afforded in this country and society," said Rabail Akhtar, a schoolteacher who joined a crowd of around 2,000 in Lahore to mark International Women's Day.
"We are not going to sit silently anymore. It's our day, it's our time."
Videos posted on social media showed several police officers baton-charging participants as they tried to join the demonstration.
In a tweet, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the capital's police chief had been summoned and the officers involved suspended.
City authorities had at the weekend refused to provide security, despite allowing a "modesty" countermarch to go ahead before a court ordered them to back down.
In Karachi, judges dismissed a legal challenge by an individual to ban a related rally scheduled for the weekend so that working women could attend.
