Women all over Pakistan participated in the Aurat March on International Women’s Day. The biggest gathering took place in Karachi at Mazar-i-Quaid. Along with their regular demands for safety and freedom, here are a few key demands women made at the march this year:
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Enforcement of minimum wage across all sectors
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Social security and protection for women and transgender folk
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Care and child protection centres in all Sindh districts
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Action against enforced disappearances with the slogan
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Abolishment of the wage gap between men and women
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Making courts safe for women
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Accountability and fair sentencing in harassment cases rather than meaningless apologies
A prominent theme in this year’s march also revolved around acknowledging that housework and chores are not gendered and should not only be considered women’s responsibility. Furthermore, acknowledgement of housework as labour and providing fair payment for it was also demanded.
