For women

As in other nations, today Pakistan too will observe the International Women’s Day. The majority of women in the country, though, will probably know not much about this; for most women, their lives consist of not messages about advocacy or equality, but the grind of daily living and its hardships, especially when accompanied by relentless poverty. We need to remember that deprivation and poverty are the worst enemies of women in the country. When food is scarce within households, it is women and children, especially girls, who suffer worst. The high malnutrition levels for women especially in Sindh and Balochistan are a glaring example of this. Women, despite the hunger and health conditions they must face, also of course bear chief responsibility for childbearing, often with little control over their own bodies or over the ability to access contraceptives or make crucial decisions about their lives and those of their children. Women also labour daily; the fact is that nearly all women work – whether or not they are paid a wage for their toil.

Women across Pakistan have planned an Aurat Azadi March today, to push forward the idea of empowerment for women at all tiers. The march is a welcome reminder to people in a country where perceptions about feminism are often negative that there are those who uphold its values. However, let us not forget that the roots of March 8 being named Women’s Day lie in the socialist struggle. The proposal for an international day for women, originally known as International Women Workers Day, was put forward by German Marxist Clara Zetkin in 1911. Soviet Russia became the first country to put this date on its calendar after 1917, when women in the country were granted the right to suffrage by the Bolsheviks. Today, the roots of the movement are barely known even to those who march along the streets. Their efforts are important, no doubt. But it is also important to take the women’s movement down to the grassroots level and to peasants and workers with whom it first began. It is only with a spirit of inclusivity that the rights of all women will remain protected, not just those who have the privilege of a better education and financial comfort. Only then can women across the country truly celebrate the day with meaning and purpose.