HYDERABAD: Speakers at a program held in connection with Aurat Azadi March on Saturday evening said that women’s struggle was not only against domestic violence it was also for marginalised communities, including labourers, farmers, transgender and differently-abled persons.

They were sharing their views at the event organised by the Women Action Forum at Khanabadosh writers cafe in Sindh Museum to mark the International Women’s Day.

Women rights activists from Sanghar, Badin, Tando Allahyar, Jamshoro and Mirpurkhas participated in the program which began with women’s anthems, accompanied by a traditional jhoomar dance and lighting of symbolic lamps of hope. The participants also staged a symbolic torch-bearing march.

WAF leader Amar Sindhu said that struggle of women was filled more with oppression than celebrations but their stories often remained undocumented. Violence against women had escalated to the extent that mutilated and unclaimed bodies of women were being found, abandoned by their own families after being brutally killed, she said.

Struggle is also aimed at securing marginalised communities’ rights, participants told

“We stand as heirs to these lost lives, bringing their murderers to justice and supporting victims of domestic violence,” she said.

She emphasised that women’s struggle was not easy because they had to fight against family, society and state simultaneously. WAF recorded and fought against violence against women every year, she said.

Activists, scholars, and human rights defenders including Umra Samoon, a leader of Sindhyani Tehreek; Khalida Munir, general secretary Sindhi Adabi Sangat; Dr Bakhtawar Samejo from Women Democratic Front, Dr Jeeni Jamali from Badin; Ghufrana Arain, Coordinator Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; Marvi Awan from Women Protection Cell; Farheen Mughal, a former MPA; Pushpa Kumari, council member of HRCP; Abida Samoon from Marui Organisation Badin, Maya Sagar Odh, a social activist from Tando Allahyar and Razia Yogi discussed violence against women, suicides, social discrimination and related psychological impacts.

They also condemned federal government’s plan for the construction of six canals on the Indus River.

The gathering passed a declaration, calling for protection of religious minorities’ rights, setting up of colonies for transgender persons, special packages for malnourished women and an end to war hysteria.

The declaration demanded women’s health centres should be activated at taluka level and that maternity clinics and reproductive health centers be established at the council level. Government should provide special nutritional packages to malnourished women and girls, it said.

It said that due to rising inflation, it was becoming increasingly difficult for working-class and farmer women to sustain themselves. A ration card system should be introduced, similar to Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), to meet women’s nutritional needs, it said.

It said that incidence of breast cancer among women was increasing therefore breast cancer screening and treatment facilities be provided at district level. Separate help desks should be established for reproductive health awareness and counseling, and men should be educated about family planning, it said.

It said that basic information about reproductive health was essential, therefore reproductive health education be included in academic curriculum.

It said that women, like other vulnerable groups, were most affected by climate change so a national policy for rehabilitation of climate change victims should prioritize women. A complete ban should be imposed on conversion of agricultural lands into housing schemes, it said.

It said that encroachments by political landlords, tribal chiefs, and other institutions on forests should be removed, and restoration efforts should begin immediately.

It opposed large dam projects, calling for natural flow of rivers, and called for ban on excessive use of pesticides in agriculture and protection of indigenous seeds besides building houses for populations displaced due to climate change.

It said rehabilitation plans for flood victims should include housing arrangements for nomadic communities, and condemned allocation of government-owned vacant lands to large builders and demanded wildlife conservation.

It demanded an end to war hysteria, establishment of friendly relations with neighboring countries and cessation of state support for religious extremists. It said ongoing military operations and military courts in different parts the country should end. Political solutions should be sought for conflicts in Balochistan and other regions, it said.

It said political differences within the country should be resolved through dialogue rather than state violence, and supported right to freedom for Kashmir.

It demanded amendment to marriage and inheritance laws of religious minorities to provision of complete protection to their women. Legislation should be enacted against forced marriage of underage minority girls, it said and urged minorities should be recognised as equal citizens and provided with legal and social protection.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2025