Sindh High Court’s Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Sheikh has rejected a petition to ban Aurat March and called it an attempt to gain publicity as the petitioner had no substantial argument to support her case.
The court imposed a Rs25,000 fine on the petitioner named Bisma Noreen and ordered for her national identity card to be blocked by NADRA if she does not pay it within a week.
The court asked why she wanted Aurat March banned. Bisma Noreen replied that Aurat March slogans are against (what she felt were) society’s values. To illustrate her claim, she said that participants in previous marches had shouted “obscene” slogan: ‘Mera jism, meri marzi’ (My body my choice).
The court said, however, that the slogan was not objectionable as it merely tries to convey the sense of agency and self-efficacy that a woman is entitled to have. Justice Ahmed said that women’s rights are human rights and that the Constitution grants freedom of movement and assembly to all citizens.
The judgment said that the petitioner did not qualify as an ‘aggrieved person’ according to Article 199, which states that a person cannot be said to be an aggrieved party, if his or her rights and interests are not adversely affected or if he or she suffers no loss or injury by a particular order.
Earlier this month, Lahore Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider rejected permission to organize Aurat March in Lahore. The decision was taken because of “security concerns, threat alerts, controversial cards and banners for awareness of women’s rights, and strong reservation of the general public and religious organizations, especially Jamaat-e-Islami.”
In response, Aurat March organizers submitted a petition to the Lahore High Court under Article 199 of the Constitution and called the DC’s actions a “blatant denial” of their fundamental rights as a people’s movement.
The organizers said that they did not require an NoC to exercise their constitutional right to march. “There is no legitimate public order rationale to prevent us from assembling, marching, and making our voices heard,” they said on Twitter.
The interim Punjab government claimed on Sunday that it would not put any obstacles in the way of the Aurat March and that the government will provide complete security to the participants of the March.
The Lahore High Court summoned Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider and SSP Dost Muhammad to be in court on March 6, Tuesday. The administration said it was denying permission to stage a rally in the city because of “security concerns”.
