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.

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.

“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).