For years, the women of Ghotki have suffered some of the worst injustices, including but not limited to murdering women in the name of honour — or Karo Kari.

The mere presence of Kariyon ka Qabristan (Graveyard for ‘condemned’ women) in Fattu Shah, a small village in Ghotki district, is a testament to just how rampant the practice of murdering women is. A separate graveyard was created to bury a huge number of women killed in the name of honour, who were refused space in the common graveyard.

Despite being officially banned, jirgas (local assemblies dominated by men) are called every day to settle blood money on these killings.

According to Sindh Suhai Aurat Sath (SSAS), an organisation in Sindh that offers voluntary on-ground support to victims of violence and collects data on crimes against women, there are eight to ten reported honour killing cases in a month in Ghotki district, significantly more than any other area in Sindh. Scores of murders that take place in the dead of the night go unreported because the bodies of women are dumped in rivers, where they disappear without a trace. SSAS reports that the areas of Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur and Ghotki became notorious for unprecedented murders of women between 2020 and 2021, revealing the skewed nature of law and order in rural Sindh that turns a blind eye to the atrocities suffered by women.

The Sindh town of Ghotki, plagued with incidences of violence against women, witnessed its first and successful Aurat March on International Women’s Day earlier this month. More importantly, it was led by working class women

Crimes against women are not limited to honour killings, as forced conversions are also rampant in the area. In the villages, lower class Hindu women fall prey to predators as they are an ‘easy target.’ The young, impressionable girls are lured into accepting another religion. Though they are not mature enough to make that choice, the police makes absolutely no effort to combat this crime and the pleas of their Hindu parents often go unheard. The situation is so bleak that even if these girls manage to escape and return, their parents don’t accept them back.

A report issued by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan titled A Breach of Faith: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2021-2022 states: “In 2021 alone, around 60 cases of forced conversions were reported in the local media [from all over Pakistan], of which 70 percent were girls under the age of 18.”

According to HRCP’s records for Sindh, where the organisation monitors this practice closely, at least 10 cases of alleged forced conversion were reported in Sindh alone in the second half of 2021 and 11 cases in the first half of 2022.

SSAS reports that girls who resist forced conversions are sometimes killed, and their deaths are allegedly often disguised as suicides.

Moreover, like in many other parts of Sindh, women are denied their share in inheritance in these areas. Those women who persist and demand their share, often also meet with cruel punishment. Several videos of women being battered by their male relatives in Pakistan have surfaced on the internet, but hardly any legal action has been taken against the perpetrators.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that there are only two women constables in Ghotki, which makes it difficult for women seeking to register First Information Reports (FIRs) to do so. Harassed by male police constables, these women are often sent back home and their male elders are informed of their visit.

Unsurprisingly, the primary healthcare situation is also bad in Ghotki and its rural areas. Firstly, the villagers have to travel many miles to reach hospitals in Ghotki city as there are very few clinics present in the villages. Doctors that are present in the city’s hospitals are often not properly trained. The gynaecology ward is worse as there is also a shortage of equipment.

Secondly, in honour killing cases, no post-mortem is done, which prevents the aggrieved parties from lodging an FIR. Doctors are also not ready to be posted to clinics in villages. Thirdly, there are low hygiene standards in local clinics. ‘Gaslait’ — sulphuric acid used to clean in place of phenyl as it is cheaper in cost — leaves behind a stench and is hazardous for patients’ health.

Aurat March in Ghotki 2023

For a place marked by women suffering several kinds of violations and indignities, Ghotki witnessed thousands of working class women marching in the Aurat March on International Women’s Day this year, on the 8th of March.

Aiming to broaden the horizons of the Aurat March beyond the urban centres of Pakistan, the Chairperson of SSAS Dr Ayesha Hasan Dharejo took an initiative in 2019 to introduce the Aurat March in some of the most crime-riddled areas of Sindh. She successfully carried out the first Aurat march in Larkana in 2021.

This year, she joined hands with the Awami Worker’s Party (AWP), Sindh United and other organisations to organise a march for Ghotki and provide on-ground support to the marchers. The entire Aurat March in Ghotki was funded by SSAS.

This initiative successfully brought attention to a faction of society that is often neglected in mainstream activist circles — working class women.

Since its launch, the Aurat March movement in Pakistan has been accused of centring its movement around the political and social struggles of women belonging to higher classes and/or cities. While this is not deliberate, by virtue of being located in the developed urban cities, Aurat March in cities has failed to fully involve working class women, especially those based in rural areas.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE MARCH

Ghotki District consists of a developed urban area (the city of Mirpur Mathelo) and small rural villages. The residents of the developed parts of Ghotki are more literate compared to the people in the villages, and hence more receptive to the concept of the Aurat March.

It was hence easy to gather allies in more developed areas of Ghotki but it was a huge task to spread awareness about this campaign in the rural villages of Ghotki. Dr Ayesha, who visited these villages, targeted the working class men and women to encourage them to join the march.

Along with AWP worker Alia Bakhshal and Sindh Adabi Markaz, Dr Ayesha successfully garnered support in these remote parts. The whole process of mobilisation took three months.

The working class forms a majority of these villages. Apart from managing their houses, working class women indulge in farming (crop sowing and harvesting), embroidery/stitching and selling/buying of livestock. Yet, they are the most oppressed people in Ghotki. Women are severely underpaid in these areas because of the patriarchal and feudal system.

Working class families are exploited by feudal lords and the women of their families often fall prey to the crimes of honour killing at the hands of the sardars. These areas are dominated by a sardari nizam [sardari system] comprising Sindhi and Baloch sardars. Groups such as Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) also have an influence on people and pose stiff resistance to any kind of change.

Despite the threats, the people of Ghotki decided to march alongside SSAS.

Before the march, a radio transmission was conducted. Women in villages were surprised to discover that they also have a day in their name. However, to attend the march, they had to take permission from the men of their family.

After successful dialogue with a lot of men in these villages, Dr Ayesha invited the men to participate in the march alongside their women. It was not easy, as it took a lot of time for her to explain women’s rights present in the constitution to these men, in order to have a peaceful debate and win their support.

The manifesto of this march was made clear: the women of Ghotki stand against honour killing. In line with the objectives of the march in Ghotki, women were mobilised to also collectively protest domestic violence, honour killing and harassment. The organisation also rented out buses to bring women from the villages to the march.

The march took place on 8th March and was highly successful. Thousands of women joined, while there were 500 to 600 men. They raised slogans against honour killing, chanting, “As long as women are getting killed for honour, we will continue fighting.”

The night before the march, Dr Ayesha alongside the AWP organised a torch procession, where the organisers got together to advertise the march. However, conservative men from JI threw stones at them and poured water in their path to make them slip. The police offered their help to the marchers, who were told to walk slowly on the wet path.

Despite numerous hurdles posed by opposing factions, working class women from Ghotki marching in the district has become an important marker for the women’s right movement in Pakistan. It points to the devolution of activism from the cities to local pockets in rural areas. It also shows that the conversation around women’s rights is becoming more popular and localised.

Despite the perceived success of the festivities of the march in Ghotki, on 9th March, five women were killed in the district. The reality is that, although holding marches in rural parts of Pakistan is a step forward, there is still a long way to go in terms of initiating substantial change. Perhaps, there will come a day when the cursed graveyard for women who have been killed for honour will cease to exist.

It is a dream, but those marching in Ghotki can only hope against hope.

The writer is a junior editor at a publishing house.
She tweets @UnitedsFreak

Sources of all statistics: Sindh Suhai Sath collects data every six months which is released in a press conference that is posted on their Facebook page https://web.facebook.com/Sindhsuhaiauratsath

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 2nd, 2023