KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday turned down a petition seeking a ban on Aurat March, a public demonstration held annually in various cities to mark International Women’s Day.

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh observed that the petition did not disclose any valid cause of action and appeared to be nothing more than an attempt to seek publicity.

The court imposed a cost of Rs25,000 on the petitioner.

Regular litigant Bisma Naureen approached the SHC asking it to ban the march as participants might raise slogans contrary to the socio-cultural norms.

The petitioner also argued that participants in such marches had previously raised the “obscene slogan mera jism meri marzi”.

The bench observed that arguments advanced by the petitioner were apparently based on mere surmises and assumptions as to the possibility of a future conduct.

“Even as far as the particular slogan cited by the petitioner is concerned, we see nothing objectionable therein, as to our minds it merely seeks to convey the sense of agency and self-efficacy that a woman is entitled to have and exercise over her person and actions, for whilst “feminism” and feminists may sometimes be viewed with opprobrium by those of a patriarchal or conservative bent of mind, it must be remembered that women’s rights are human rights, and in a country based on democratic values, women are entitled to and need to be extended the full measure of freedoms enshrined under the law and Constitution,” the bench ruled.

About fundamental rights to freedom of movement, assembly, association and speech to all citizens, the bench also said that such rights admit to reasonable restrictions as qualified in each case, in the absence of any curb imposed by the state, it did not fall to the court to itself take on that function through proceedings under Article 199 especially when no fundamental right of the petitioner was being curtailed nor she qualified as an aggrieved person.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2023