Where are the feminists now?
Hint: they've been here all along, you just weren't looking
Dhuha Alvi
08 Mar, 2025
This year’s Karachi Aurat March is being held on Mother’s Day to pay tribute to their unpaid labour
Hint: they've been here all along, you just weren't looking
Dhuha Alvi
08 Mar, 2025
DAWN
Arey, March 8 is over and I barely heard about the Aurat March happening this time around. What happened — have the feminists finally gone into hiding?
Oh, it must be because of the loss of the “foreign funding” I have confidently (yet baselessly) accused them of having gotten previously, which I think the administration of my dearest Trump has rescinded recently. Or maybe they didn’t do their annual show of vulgarity on public (read: men’s) streets this time because their fathers threatened to give them a beating if they did not put their hundred per cent into doing their many unpaid, unacknowledged jobs, like serving us warm enough sehri and iftaar. Serves these sinful women right for having the audacity to chant “Khud Khaana Garam Karlo (Warm Your Own Food)” in previous years, LOL!
But wait — before we get carried away celebrating the supposed disappearance of feminists, let’s take a moment to ask: where are the feminists now?
If you have spent any time on Pakistani Twitter (now known as X), you have probably seen this question thrown around whenever a case of gender-based violence (GBV) makes the news. A woman is murdered by her brother, a girl is assaulted at the park, a workplace harassment case surfaces, and suddenly, the same people who spent the entire year ridiculing feminists and dismissing their demands now demand to know why Aurat March isn’t out on the streets protesting and issuing elaborate statements on social media against the said crimes. The irony is, of course, lost on them.
The selective outrage of “where are the feminists?”
At its core, this question is not a genuine call for accountability — it is a distraction screaming of underlying misogyny. It assumes that feminists alone are responsible for addressing gendered violence, while society at large can remain passive. More than that, it ignores the emotional and physical toll of this work; many of the issues feminists are publicly fighting against also affect them in their personal lives, making it impossible for them to react individually to every single case that surfaces.
And yet, the people who ask this question every time a GBV case goes viral conveniently forget that feminists are the only ones consistently pushing for systemic change, and it is partly thanks to their public outrage and labour that society has started to recognise these issues as criminal enough to be reported in the first place.
Feminist activists have fought for the passage of workplace harassment laws; feminist groups like the Women’s Action Forum (WAF) have led campaigns for anti-rape legislation; feminist political organisations like the Sindhiani Tehreek have led the resistance against indigenous land and water rights; feminist lawyers represent victim-survivors when no one else will; feminist journalists report on these issues despite online harassment; and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
On the other hand, the people demanding to know “where the feminists are” never ask the same of lawmakers, state officials, or religious leaders — the very people who actually have the power to prevent these crimes.
One can’t help but wonder: where were these critics when Aurat March participants were being tear-gassed, baton-charged, and met with violent counter-protests? Or when organisers received death threats simply for demanding basic rights?
The feminists have been there all along — getting attacked, getting arrested, and still showing up. You just weren’t looking.
The feminist movement is evolving — are you?
Most detractors are under the false impression that Pakistan’s feminist movement is limited to a single-day spectacle. This may be one reason why they are detractors in the first place, with the other, arguably more likely reason being that they are purely bad faith actors — because, let’s be real, what person would oppose equal rights in good faith?
Regardless of the exact reason(s) behind one believing in this misconception, it’s important to put it to rest.
As we speak, feminists are organising against the proposed construction of canals along the Indus River, which will strip Sindh of its resources. They are recovering Hindu and Christian girls who have undergone forced conversions, advocating for the restoration of student unions, and fighting for the preservation of the arts in Pakistan. They are on the frontlines — sometimes at great personal risk — fighting for labour rights, environmental justice, and against inflation. The space for these struggles is often dominated by cisgender men due to the patriarchal influences within the left wing, further relegating feminists to the more controversial “women’s issues”, but that doesn’t mean their labour in these resistances is non-existent.
Feminists are also working within their own communities, organising safe spaces for survivors of domestic violence, advocating for legal reforms, pushing back against micro and macro-level attacks on bodily autonomy, and building solidarity networks with other marginalised communities. They are demanding justice for missing persons and standing up to the growing threat of censorship and surveillance, both digital and physical.
Twenty-four hours, 365 days a year.
And the work of these women and gender minorities doesn’t end here. They are faced with the mammoth task of making their efforts sustainable enough to keep the movement going in the long run — which brings us to how they are evolving with time to shape long-term, structural change.
This year, the movement is shifting shape. Instead of a single march on March 8, Aurat March organisers in different cities planned mobilizations on various dates: Lahore on February 12, Multan on February 23, Islamabad on March 8, and Karachi and Mirpurkhas on May 11.
Alongside these, initiatives like Behnon ki Baithak (being organised by the Women Democratic Front and Aurat Azadi March) continue to create spaces for feminist organising and solidarity.
Rest assured, the movement isn’t disappearing — it’s adapting, as it always has.
Let’s get real
Instead of asking, “Where are the feminists?”, the real question should be: where is everyone else?
Where is the criminal justice system when victim-survivors of rape are forced to waste years — sometimes, their whole lives — seeking justice?
Where are the policymakers when women demand protections against domestic violence?
Where are the ‘nice’ men when their friends catcall women, make sexist jokes, or brag about getting a “doosri biwi” (second wife)?
Where are you when a woman in your life is belittled, dismissed, or controlled?
The truth is, feminists have never stopped fighting. Maybe it’s time the rest of you started.
Arey, March 8 is over and I barely heard about the Aurat March happening this time around. What happened — have the feminists finally gone into hiding?
Oh, it must be because of the loss of the “foreign funding” I have confidently (yet baselessly) accused them of having gotten previously, which I think the administration of my dearest Trump has rescinded recently. Or maybe they didn’t do their annual show of vulgarity on public (read: men’s) streets this time because their fathers threatened to give them a beating if they did not put their hundred per cent into doing their many unpaid, unacknowledged jobs, like serving us warm enough sehri and iftaar. Serves these sinful women right for having the audacity to chant “Khud Khaana Garam Karlo (Warm Your Own Food)” in previous years, LOL!
But wait — before we get carried away celebrating the supposed disappearance of feminists, let’s take a moment to ask: where are the feminists now?
If you have spent any time on Pakistani Twitter (now known as X), you have probably seen this question thrown around whenever a case of gender-based violence (GBV) makes the news. A woman is murdered by her brother, a girl is assaulted at the park, a workplace harassment case surfaces, and suddenly, the same people who spent the entire year ridiculing feminists and dismissing their demands now demand to know why Aurat March isn’t out on the streets protesting and issuing elaborate statements on social media against the said crimes. The irony is, of course, lost on them.
The selective outrage of “where are the feminists?”
At its core, this question is not a genuine call for accountability — it is a distraction screaming of underlying misogyny. It assumes that feminists alone are responsible for addressing gendered violence, while society at large can remain passive. More than that, it ignores the emotional and physical toll of this work; many of the issues feminists are publicly fighting against also affect them in their personal lives, making it impossible for them to react individually to every single case that surfaces.
And yet, the people who ask this question every time a GBV case goes viral conveniently forget that feminists are the only ones consistently pushing for systemic change, and it is partly thanks to their public outrage and labour that society has started to recognise these issues as criminal enough to be reported in the first place.
Feminist activists have fought for the passage of workplace harassment laws; feminist groups like the Women’s Action Forum (WAF) have led campaigns for anti-rape legislation; feminist political organisations like the Sindhiani Tehreek have led the resistance against indigenous land and water rights; feminist lawyers represent victim-survivors when no one else will; feminist journalists report on these issues despite online harassment; and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
On the other hand, the people demanding to know “where the feminists are” never ask the same of lawmakers, state officials, or religious leaders — the very people who actually have the power to prevent these crimes.
One can’t help but wonder: where were these critics when Aurat March participants were being tear-gassed, baton-charged, and met with violent counter-protests? Or when organisers received death threats simply for demanding basic rights?
The feminists have been there all along — getting attacked, getting arrested, and still showing up. You just weren’t looking.
The feminist movement is evolving — are you?
Most detractors are under the false impression that Pakistan’s feminist movement is limited to a single-day spectacle. This may be one reason why they are detractors in the first place, with the other, arguably more likely reason being that they are purely bad faith actors — because, let’s be real, what person would oppose equal rights in good faith?
Regardless of the exact reason(s) behind one believing in this misconception, it’s important to put it to rest.
As we speak, feminists are organising against the proposed construction of canals along the Indus River, which will strip Sindh of its resources. They are recovering Hindu and Christian girls who have undergone forced conversions, advocating for the restoration of student unions, and fighting for the preservation of the arts in Pakistan. They are on the frontlines — sometimes at great personal risk — fighting for labour rights, environmental justice, and against inflation. The space for these struggles is often dominated by cisgender men due to the patriarchal influences within the left wing, further relegating feminists to the more controversial “women’s issues”, but that doesn’t mean their labour in these resistances is non-existent.
Feminists are also working within their own communities, organising safe spaces for survivors of domestic violence, advocating for legal reforms, pushing back against micro and macro-level attacks on bodily autonomy, and building solidarity networks with other marginalised communities. They are demanding justice for missing persons and standing up to the growing threat of censorship and surveillance, both digital and physical.
Twenty-four hours, 365 days a year.
And the work of these women and gender minorities doesn’t end here. They are faced with the mammoth task of making their efforts sustainable enough to keep the movement going in the long run — which brings us to how they are evolving with time to shape long-term, structural change.
This year, the movement is shifting shape. Instead of a single march on March 8, Aurat March organisers in different cities planned mobilizations on various dates: Lahore on February 12, Multan on February 23, Islamabad on March 8, and Karachi and Mirpurkhas on May 11.
Alongside these, initiatives like Behnon ki Baithak (being organised by the Women Democratic Front and Aurat Azadi March) continue to create spaces for feminist organising and solidarity.
Rest assured, the movement isn’t disappearing — it’s adapting, as it always has.
Let’s get real
Instead of asking, “Where are the feminists?”, the real question should be: where is everyone else?
Where is the criminal justice system when victim-survivors of rape are forced to waste years — sometimes, their whole lives — seeking justice?
Where are the policymakers when women demand protections against domestic violence?
Where are the ‘nice’ men when their friends catcall women, make sexist jokes, or brag about getting a “doosri biwi” (second wife)?
Where are you when a woman in your life is belittled, dismissed, or controlled?
The truth is, feminists have never stopped fighting. Maybe it’s time the rest of you started.
Aurat (WOMEN'S) March in Islamabad concludes after police block major arteries
As part of the rally, empty beds were placed on the protest ground, with signs attached reading “women’s rights” and “democracy”, symbolising their absence in the country. Marchers also chanted slogans while beating drums and tambourines.
Published March 8, 2025
DAWN
DAWN
Marchers carry a banner at the 2025 Aurat March in Islamabad on March 8. — Photo by author
The Aurat March in Islamabad concluded on Saturday afternoon after police stopped marchers from proceeding towards D-Chowk.
Since its inception in 2018, the Aurat March has been held annually nationwide on or around International Women’s Day, symbolising a collective feminist tradition of protest and resistance.
A day before the march, the organisers of the Aurat March vowed to go ahead with their planned event in the capital and hold the rally from the National Press Club (NPC) to D-Chowk despite not receiving formal permission from the administration. “We will have our show outside the NPC as per previous years and will try to march towards D-Chowk to mark the occasion [of International Women’s Day],” rights activist Dr Farzana Bari had told Dawn.com last night.
Marchers gathered outside the NPC today with placards, banners and megaphones.
The Aurat March in Islamabad concluded on Saturday afternoon after police stopped marchers from proceeding towards D-Chowk.
Since its inception in 2018, the Aurat March has been held annually nationwide on or around International Women’s Day, symbolising a collective feminist tradition of protest and resistance.
A day before the march, the organisers of the Aurat March vowed to go ahead with their planned event in the capital and hold the rally from the National Press Club (NPC) to D-Chowk despite not receiving formal permission from the administration. “We will have our show outside the NPC as per previous years and will try to march towards D-Chowk to mark the occasion [of International Women’s Day],” rights activist Dr Farzana Bari had told Dawn.com last night.
Marchers gathered outside the NPC today with placards, banners and megaphones.
As part of the rally, empty beds were placed on the protest ground, with signs attached reading “women’s rights” and “democracy”, symbolising their absence in the country. Marchers also chanted slogans while beating drums and tambourines.
A marcher beats a drum during the 2025 Aurat March in Islamabad on March 8. — Photo by author
Simultaneously, a demonstration demanding the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui — a Pakistani neuroscientist serving a prison sentence in the US — took place at the same location as the Aurat March.
A Dawn.com correspondent present at the scene reported that as the marchers attempted to move towards D-Chowk from the NPC, police requested reinforcements and blocked off major roads. As a result, the march was called off.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Bari said that the organisers did not get the no-objection certificate (NOC) “as usual”.
Referring to the protest for Aafia’s release, Bari added, “Those people over there have a sound system available, while the car carrying ours was taken away.
“Whenever we celebrate Women’s Day each year, we celebrate in challenging circumstances and receive many threats. We celebrate in a fearful climate,” she lamented. “It is because of the strength and courage of women that we are able to carry out this march, even in Ramazan.”
When asked if the gathering had ended, Bari replied in the affirmative and added that roads to D-Chowk had been blocked. “A lot of people went home because they could not find a path through,” she said, adding that they also did not push further because a lot of the attendees were fasting.
Simultaneously, a demonstration demanding the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui — a Pakistani neuroscientist serving a prison sentence in the US — took place at the same location as the Aurat March.
A Dawn.com correspondent present at the scene reported that as the marchers attempted to move towards D-Chowk from the NPC, police requested reinforcements and blocked off major roads. As a result, the march was called off.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Bari said that the organisers did not get the no-objection certificate (NOC) “as usual”.
Referring to the protest for Aafia’s release, Bari added, “Those people over there have a sound system available, while the car carrying ours was taken away.
“Whenever we celebrate Women’s Day each year, we celebrate in challenging circumstances and receive many threats. We celebrate in a fearful climate,” she lamented. “It is because of the strength and courage of women that we are able to carry out this march, even in Ramazan.”
When asked if the gathering had ended, Bari replied in the affirmative and added that roads to D-Chowk had been blocked. “A lot of people went home because they could not find a path through,” she said, adding that they also did not push further because a lot of the attendees were fasting.
Marchers carry a banner during the 2025 Aurat March in Islamabad on March 8. — Photo by author
“Our demands are the same as those we’ve made over the past several years because they are never enforced,” Bari said. “This year, we have told the state that if they fail to prioritise Pakistan’s 120 million women and their health, education and safety, then they will become more disconnected from the state.
“It is therefore essential to understand that if women become independent and free, then the nation will be too.”
According to a post by the Aurat March Instagram page, this year marked the first time that the march would be held on different dates across the country.
“This year, the marches in Lahore, Multan, Karachi, and — for the first time — Mirpur Khas will take place with the same passion but on newer dates,” the post said, adding that the marches in Karachi and Mirpur Khas would take place on May 11.
On February 12, hundreds of women participated in the Aurat March in Lahore, demanding freedom and social justice for women.
The march commenced at the Lahore Press Club and culminated in front of the PIA building. Women from different walks of life participated in the march, carrying placards and banners and demanding justice and equality.
Marchers chanted slogans such as “siyasat, muzahamat aur azadi” (politics, resistance and freedom), and “ghar ka kaam, sab ka kaam” (housework is everyone’s duty).
“Our demands are the same as those we’ve made over the past several years because they are never enforced,” Bari said. “This year, we have told the state that if they fail to prioritise Pakistan’s 120 million women and their health, education and safety, then they will become more disconnected from the state.
“It is therefore essential to understand that if women become independent and free, then the nation will be too.”
According to a post by the Aurat March Instagram page, this year marked the first time that the march would be held on different dates across the country.
“This year, the marches in Lahore, Multan, Karachi, and — for the first time — Mirpur Khas will take place with the same passion but on newer dates,” the post said, adding that the marches in Karachi and Mirpur Khas would take place on May 11.
On February 12, hundreds of women participated in the Aurat March in Lahore, demanding freedom and social justice for women.
The march commenced at the Lahore Press Club and culminated in front of the PIA building. Women from different walks of life participated in the march, carrying placards and banners and demanding justice and equality.
Marchers chanted slogans such as “siyasat, muzahamat aur azadi” (politics, resistance and freedom), and “ghar ka kaam, sab ka kaam” (housework is everyone’s duty).
This year’s Karachi Aurat March is being held on Mother’s Day to pay tribute to their unpaid labour
The organisers called for socioeconomic and political change in the system during a press conference on Saturday.
08 Mar, 2025
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