Aurat March called out for 'poorly worded' statement on current political discourse

Many slammed AM for highlighting 'personal agendas' under the guise of championing women's rights

Entertainment Desk April 05, 2022
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If you have been active on Twitter for the last couple of weeks, it is simply impossible to have evaded the discourse on the current political unrest in the country. Lawmakers, politicians, activists and the general public have been sharing their two cents on every update since PM Imran Khan dissolved the National Assembly on Sunday after the deputy speaker dismissed the motion of no confidence against him.

Weighing into the said discourse, Aurat March (AM), too, issued a statement on its social media handles, "We condemn the political circus that has erupted due to the fragile masculine ego of a person who has sabotaged democratic processes just to save the perception of his individuality and to stage a dirty manoeuvre for his comeback to power.”

Detailing why AM has a say on the matter, the movement added, “As activists hailing from marginalised backgrounds, any undemocratic action is undertaken by the powers that be, mirroring the dictatorial patterns of a cruel past, have the capacity to deprive us of any hope for a better future, where all citizens will be treated with equality and justice.”

'Foreign-funded'

AM's take on the matter instigated its own Twitter discourse. Many came forward and called out the organisation for being “foreign-funded” or “having foreign agendas.”

A user shared, "Imperial feminism belongs to the gutter. Stop using the suffering and struggle of women of Pakistan for your vested interests, sponsored by foreign governments. Hijacking democracies and sabotaging mandate of the people is atrocious and it is more outrageous to support it in the name of feminism."

Another added, "And I stand corrected, yet again! Aurat March in Pakistan is a facade being run by politically motivated lowlife individuals who have absolutely no interest in the rights of women or equality! All they care about is filling their pockets and pushing paid propagandas."

Rohail Hyatt chimed in too. "Oh my God! Aurat March, by taking a political side, has lost all moral credibility. Whoever runs this operation needs to be fired immediately and a bipartisan committee formed if this movement is to remain focused on its claimed agenda. Very sad to see the exploitation."

Mazari under fire

Politician Shireen Mazari commented on the same. "This shows Aurat March has little to do with genuine issues faced by women in Pakistan more with politics and political agendas," the PTI leader tweeted.

"Since many here have NGOs funded from abroad this statement while condemnable is not surprising. Fact is the US sought regime change and we do not accept it."

While some agreed with Mazari, others begged to differ. "Aurat March should have phrased it better. But you, as a woman in politics should be the last to tweet stuff like this," a user retorted, adding, "Do women have no right to [an] opinion on political matters? Or is this the 1700s where politics is for the rich men?"

Another maintained, "Aurat March is fighting for the social, political, and economic equality. Stop making a fool out of yourself with these conspiracy theories."

A tweet also read, "Not a crossover I was expecting. Minister of human rights delegitimising the women’s movement. Buying into the same, tired ‘foreign funding’ narrative. It’s exhausting.”

A netizen lamented, "Ladies and gents, the sitting (recently ex) Minister of Human Rights in Pakistan has just dismissed this country's most organised, legitimate women-based movement.”

Several others came to the AM’s defence. "Of course, men think a women’s movements shouldn't be political, politics aka keeping your bros in power is the work of 'men' keep her busy in the domestics and she’ll never question who oppresses her," a user wrote.

Another added, "On every random non-issue, they scream, "Has Aurat March issued a statement?" But now they want women to distance themselves from checks, notes, parliamentary politics?"

‘Not a peep’ about Nazim Johkio

Several users also pointed out how AM has not raised its voice for the allegedly slain Nazim Johkio by PPP MNA Jam Awais, despite the organisation having made clear its support of Jokhio and his wife in the past.

Jokhio was found tortured to death at the farmhouse of the MPA in Malir on November 3, 2021. Two PPP lawmakers and their guards and servants have been booked for killing Jokhio, who attracted the ire of the influential legislators by stopping their foreign guests from hunting houbara bustard.

Earlier, a video statement of Jokhio’s grief-stricken widow, Shireen, went viral in which she said she had pardoned the accused for the sake of her children and in the name of Allah and the images of accused MNA Jam Abdul Karim being presented with ajrak by government lawyers after getting bail in the case present two different extremes of the country.

"This shows AM is much more about politics than genuine issues faced by women. Funny how they can tweet for Bilawal, Nawaz Sharif and Fazalur Rehman but not for Nazim Jokhio's widow who was forced to "forgive" the people who destroyed her family and murdered her husband," a user shared.

"What about Nazim Johkio? who was murdered by a PPP bugger with a fragile masculine ego in Sindh and the perpetrator was pardoned. No tweet for him but too quick to criticise Imran Khan. This selective biasness is the reason why people hate your movement," rang in the echo chamber.

Peddling ‘misinformation'

The misinformation regarding AM's silence over Nazim Johkio's murder seems concerning since AM had actively raised Shireen's voice in hopes to get justice. In November last year, AM shared its stance on the brutal murder of Johkio.

"We stand in solidarity with Shireen, wife of Nazim Jokhio, an environmental activist who was tortured to death at the farmhouse of PPP lawmaker, Jam Awais, for trying to prevent his Arab guests from hunting houbara bustards in Dhabeji & filming it on Nov 2," the tweet read.

Another one said, "We reiterate Shireen’s demand to arrest and punish all culprits and provide her protection against the influential men trying to sabotage the inquiry. We also reiterate our demand to end violence targeting activists and communities raising voices against injustices.

It is pertinent to mention here that Jokhio’s wife was also given a platform to speak at this year’s Aurat March, where she detailed her plight.

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