The Deputy Commissioner of Lahore has denied permission for the "Aurat Rally" citing, “controversial cards and banners for awareness of women’s rights” amongst other reasons on International Women's Day that is celebrated on March 8.
"The DC’s actions are a blatant denial of our fundamental rights as a people’s movement. We do not require an NOC to exercise our constitutional right to march. There is no legitimate “public order” rationale to prevent us from assembling, marching and making our voices heard," the Aurat March Lahore said in a statement.
The Aurat March organising committee recalled that their rally was cut short last year despite providing a No Objection Certificate (NOC). "Aurat March Lahore chose not to escalate things after the march was arbitrarily cut short by the district administration, despite being given an NOC. Permission was still given to violent and hateful groups to hold a counter-protest along the route of the march," they said.
According to a report by Dawn, the Aurat March organizing committee had requested a NOC from the district administration to hold a rally on March 8 at Nasser Bagh, Lahore, followed by a march around the perimeter of the park. However, DC Haider rejected the plea in the wake of threat alerts from security agencies.
Rights group Amnesty International said that the action "amounts to an unlawful and unnecessary restriction of the right to assembly". "According to international human rights law, authorities must facilitate and protect this right. We call on the Lahore district administration and all administrations in Pakistan to respect, facilitate and protect the right to assembly, particularly of women in line with international human rights law," the group said.
