It has only been two days since Aurat March had taken place yet there has been a never ending train of criticism coming from men who refuse to see the movement as anything but a “Western agenda“. This year critics had chosen to attack the art display: “Pidarshahi ka dhabbay” which consisted of clothes hung on a line on which women and girls had written their ages and the kind of violence or harassment they faced from the patriarchy.
Aurat March on their official twitter account had explained that the purpose of this art display was to shed light on the real experiences of women and children, and the hidden domestic labor they are made to perform.
“Pidrshahi k dhabbay” draws attention to everyday encounters with patriarchy. It brings together accounts of real womxn and girls, mentioning the age, along with other details, at which they first encountered patriarchy.#AuratMarchLahore#auratmarch2021#patriarchykapandemic pic.twitter.com/4DbQ7Zmxoz
— عورت مارچ لاہور – Aurat March Lahore (@AuratMarch) March 8, 2021
Meesha Shafi was one of the celebrities to call out the backlash against the march, and criticized it as an attempt to prevent women to seek public spaces the way men do. In a series of tweets, she called out haters for taking on a day meant for women to celebrate and instead maligning it with false accusations:
Classic, twisted and dark. A marginalized, victimized and vulnerable sector of society takes peacefully to the streets on a universally designated single day set aside for them, the usual rabid suspects take it straight into the twilight zone! This place is literally sick! SICK!
— MEESHA SHAFI (@itsmeeshashafi) March 11, 2021
Meesha further went on to point out that Aurat March was playing an essential role in empowering young women and girls to speak out against the patriarchy and in doing so was shedding light on a lot of demons our society refuses to acknowledge
And remember, this whole thing started this time because a young lady displayed a poster stating she was sexually abused by a maulvi. PEDOPHILES are running free. Children can’t play. But the #AuratMarch is a western agenda. This is what EPIC GASLIGHTING LOOKS LIKE!
— MEESHA SHAFI (@itsmeeshashafi) March 11, 2021
by Mahnoor Jalal
