Thousands of women marched on the streets of Balochistan’s Gwadar district on Monday demanding action against illegal fishing by trawlers, unnecessary check posts, water shortage and trade restrictions.

The rally was organised by ‘Haq Do Tehreek’ (give rights to Gwadar movement).

Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, the secretary general of Jamaat-i-Islami Balochistan who is leading the movement took to Twitter and said that it was a “historic day.”

Videos of the protest are being shared on social media. Pakistani Twitter is speaking up in solidarity with residents of the port city.

Activist Jibran Nasir tweeted a video of the rally in which scores of women can be seen marching and chanting slogans. “All have the same demand to provide the entire Makran area with basic amenities like portable and clean water,” he wrote.

“The have experienced displacement, seen ecological degradation and fear loss of livelihood as the infrastructure boom in Gwadar continues to ignore their plight. The cosmetic development in Gwadar left the local population far behind,” said Twitter user samar.

One user highlighted the stark contrast between Gwadar for its citizens and for tourists.

Twitter user Sabina Agha believes that the protests are a consequence of “state-led development that ignores indigenous population.”

The protests in Gwadar have been going on for the past three days. The locals are speaking up against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as they claim it has failed to provide any benefit to the community.