ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of working women, political activists, students and intellectuals gathered on the occasion of International Women’s Day to give the Pakistani women’s movement a new lease on life by inaugurating the socialist-feminist organisation Women’s Democratic Front (WDF) at the National Press Club. The highlight of the day was Women’s Freedom March, which saw participants march from the press club to Nazimuddin Road. The state ideology, structure, laws and development policies were all based on patriarchal principles in which women were given the status of second-class citizens. In this political and social environment, progressive women in Pakistan have been organising themselves and were now ready to take their struggle forward under the banner of the WDF. A number of working-class organisations and parties including the Women’s Action Forum, Young Teachers Association, Home-Based Women Workers Union as well as the Awami Workers Party (AWP) and Awami Jamhuri Party were represented at the event, all vowing to work together with the WDF to take forward both the women’s movement as well as the cause of left-wing politics more generally.

Source: Pakistan Today March 08, 2018 13:41 UTC