Minister writes to PM for ban on Aurat March slogans

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri has written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan in which he has requested him to order a ban on objectionable slogans raised during the ‘Aurat March’ held on the eve of Women’s Day commemorated throughout the world every year on March 8, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday. 

The minister writes that the slogans are inappropriate in the sense that they create an impression that women’s rights are not the issue; rather it is the Islamic way of life, which is the source of all the problems confronting women. “No segment of the society should be allowed to make fun of Islamic values such as hijab,” reads the letter. 

The letter further says that those participating in the Aurat March should instead focus on the real issues being faced by women in Pakistan such as the practice of keeping them deprived of their share in ancestral property, domestic violence and sexual harassment. 

Qadri goes one step ahead and appeals to the prime minister to rename the Women’s Day as International Hijab Day instead on which light should be shed on the present situation in India with respect to hijab.

Reporter Gauhar Mehsud