Aurat March kickstarts in February this year

Organisers expand to Mirpur Khas for first time

With International Women's Day coming up next month, another event to look forward to in your local parts is the Aurat March. However, this year the annual event begins sooner than you think. Marking 2025 as "the year of the Aurat March Caravan", the organisers shared details of the upcoming walk on the official Instagram handle Wednesday and announced a few changes to the expected schedule.

"Since 2018, we have each marched on or around International Women's Day. Protesting our oppression and celebrating our resistance on March 8 has become a feminist 'tradition' in Pakistan. While feminist traditions and histories are important to us, Aurat March has always been about breaking the tradition too," the organisers wrote.

With that, they announced that alongside the marches that traditionally take place in Lahore, Multan, and Karachi, the walk will also expand to Mirpur Khas. "Lahore will set the stage on February 12, on account of the National Women's Day, followed by Multan on February 23. Meanwhile, May 11 will see Karachi and Mirpur Khas reclaiming Mother's Day," the schedule read.

The organisers have taken the decision to march on different days in light of "the ground realities" of each location. "We've taken these decisions after extensive consultation with the communities we work with and fight for. So while defying the tradition of marking March 8 as the Aurat March Day in favour of newer dates is part of our feminist resistance, so is asserting our right to the day that we have fought so hard to carve out space on, that is March 8," the organisers further explained.

The organisers also vow to protest despite the violent confrontation with the opposition in the past, especially in Islamabad. "Aurat March Islamabad will once again take place on March 8 this year," the handle confirmed.

In 2023, the Islamabad police charged into the protesting crowd, armed with batons. The incident sparked outrage online, including condemnation from Senator Sherry Rehman. Barbed wires and canters blocked the protestors' route to the Islamabad Press Club. Participants chanted slogans in retaliation, standing firmly by their right to peacefully protest.

Even now the spirits remain high. The handle cheered on its followers with a simple bottomline: "Chaahay jis bhi din Aurat March ho, aao, hamaray saath chalo! (No matter what day the Aurat March takes place, come, march with us!)"