SCSW urges police to ensure security for Aurat March participants

Announcing support for the Aurat March, the Sindh Commission on the Status of Women (SCSW) has urged the police to ensure public order and safety of the participants of a women’s rally to be staged on Sunday.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the SCSW, a government-mandated body formed to protect women’s rights, said that the commission unwaveringly supported the Aurat March because it was a movement created to fight against the patriarchal system and promote gender equality.

The commission said it recognised the existing struggles to dismantle the systems of oppression and mistreatment in Pakistan, and urged all relevant authorities to help in facilitating and promoting this cause.

“Currently, all the departments created to empower and protect women, trans and non-binary individuals in Pakistan lack the appropriate human and financial resources needed to carry out their work effectively,” it said. “Redressal mechanisms in relevant departments should be strengthened and the state should have effective mechanisms in place to control non-state actors that invoke violence.”

The Aurat March is centered around the principles of inclusion, freedom dignity and equality and provides a platform to create awareness on the varied issues that affect women, trans and non-binary individuals of all backgrounds, it said. “We endorse all the demands of the Aurat March and recognise these vital for gender equality in our society,” it said.