March 30, 2024
By BILAL BASEER
ISLAMABAD
The Aurat March activists gathered outside Fatima Jinnah Park F9, Islamabad, on March 29 to urge an investigation into the recent F9-rape incident.
Led by activists Dr Farzana Bari, Bariya Shah and Uzma Yaqoob, they demanded justice for rape victim.
While speaking to Voicepk, Bariya Shah lamented the unsafe environment for girls in the capital: “The government authorities must ensure public places are made safe for women.”
She highlighted the prevalence of such incidents in the park: “When the rapist was apprehended, he confessed in police custody to committing more than twenty rapes in this park, and 70 across Islamabad.”
She questioned, “If the capital isn’t safe, how can we ensure safety for women in the country’s peripheries?”
Dr. Farzana Bari remarked, “Pakistan has become a graveyard for women. It’s disappointing that despite the presence of ICT police and CDA administration, incidents of rape still occur in this park.”
She said that it’s the state’s responsibility to ensure women’s safety in parks, roads, homes, and workplaces – “By allowing convicts to roam freely, the state is endorsing patriarchal norms, leaving women to feel insecure.”
She demanded justice for the victim girl and called for the rapist to be punished.
Uzma Yaqoob recalled the murder of a girl in Toba Tek Singh and demanded the government to issue an emergency in the country for women’s protection and enact legislation.
The women participants of the protest marched on the streets of Islamabad, displaying placards and banners.