Islamabad, March 10 – The leadership of the Aurat March, members of civil society, and rights activists have criticized the Pakistani authorities for "harassing and threatening them, and forcing them to sign unreasonable affidavits," local media reported on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference at the National Press Club, they demanded an investigation into the incident and action against those involved. Their remarks came after several women's rights activists, including members of the Aurat March, were arrested by police in Islamabad before a rally they had planned to hold on the occasion of International Women's Day on Sunday.
Farzana Bari, a prominent activist who was also detained along with her daughters, noted that the march is held annually. "We were aware that Section 144 had been imposed in the federal capital, but civil society does not accept any law that violates basic rights. You cannot take away our right to protest," she stated. "Similar protests have been held around the world, but we were stopped by the threat that a suicide bomber had arrived and that it might cause an explosion."
Police released more than 40 participants of the Aurat March on Monday. Haris Khaliq, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), said that they do not believe in violating the law, however, societies cannot function with laws like the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) and others.
"Yesterday, the women were harassed and beaten. They were taken into custody and transferred to a women's police station. When their relatives and friends arrived, they were also locked up. Batons were used against the women, their hair was pulled, and they were forced to sign fake affidavits," Khaliq said.
He said that HRCP had demanded an investigation into the matter and departmental action against those involved. A lawyer, Kashmala, said she requested the police to allow her to meet the protesters. "Three policewomen grabbed me and said, 'We are no longer your lawyer.' They also locked me in a small detention cell, which contained about 80 people. The toilet conditions were poor, and there was no soap," she said.
One of the leaders, who was detained on Sunday, questioned the authorities on why they were not informed about the threat and why the march should not be held.
"We were kept in a detention cell and were not allowed to meet our relatives. There were girls aged from 14 to 73 years, and all of them were harassed. We were put in vehicles and transferred to the police station. Some of the girls experienced health problems and suffocated because there were about 80 people, including children, in the detention cell," she said.