Research Radio Ep 7: Who is Afraid of Pakistan’s Aurat March?

In this episode, we speak to Afiya Shehrbano Zia about Pakistan's Aurat March and debates between secular and right-wing women's groups.

Pakistan’s Aurat March takes place every year across the country to mark Women’s Day. Past demonstrations have called for accountability for violence against women by men, resources for affected women, the reclamation of public spaces for women, and much more.

The March received severe backlash from both conservative and liberal groups, and researcher Afiya Sheherbano Zia examines the criticism. She details governmental policies that disregard women's rights and how women's groups, both secular and right-wing, protested them. Zia also takes us through debates between secular and right-wing women’s groups.

The insights she will share are based on an article she published in Economic and Political Weekly on 16 November 2019 titled “Who Is Afraid of Pakistan's Aurat March?”

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