HYDERABAD, March 8: A group of NGO activists staged a march from the gymkhana to the press club here on Monday to mark International Women's Day. The participating NGOs included the Hyderabad Development Forum, Strengthening Participatory Organization, the local chapter of Oxfam and the SINGOF.

Speaking at the end of the march, Fouzia Tanvir said that the women of Sindh, like their counterparts in other provinces, were deprived of their inherent rights.

She said that feudalism and jirga system and the black custom of Karo-kari (honour killing) were prevalent in one or the other form throughout Pakistan. She said that the women were being victimized through the misuse of the Hudood Ordinance and demanded abolition of anti- women laws and customs and equal rights for the women.

Shazia Nizamani of the Oxfam said that the women were being treated as a property and added that time had come to emancipate them. She said that the society would have to change its attitude towards the women and added that inherent rights of the women should be guaranteed and protected.

Ilyas Khokhar of the SINGOF said that murder of a woman was the murder of entire humanity because she was the mother. He demanded that Karo-kari killing should be treated as a murder and the perpetrator of the heinous crime should not be given any relief or concession.

Others who spoke on the occasion included Akhtar Mallah, Gopaldas and Naseem Sehr. Meanwhile, the activists of the Green Rural Development Organization and Action Aid staged a rally outside the press club to mark the World Women's Day.

A large number of women, carrying placards and banners inscribed with different slogans, attended the rally. The Green Theatre Group staged a street play, depicting the sexual harassment of the women.

Speaking on the occasion, People's Party Parliamentarians leader Jam Saqi, Apa Najma Baloch and others demanded repeal of discriminatory laws against women. They said that protection should be provided to the working women, particularly the peasants, and those being held hostage by the landlords should be recovered.