8 March 2019 - We Women's Feminist Eid

The backlash, the vitirol that can be seen online by the guardians of the Pakistani state and society; the openly sexist and lazy views of ordinary women and men; the sheer, the gaping hypocrisy of those who criticised women's right to political protest and expression has at least gone to show us that the Aurat March was at least a success in some measure. It's not as if we don't know what a sexist, violent and hypocritical society we come from. It will do no good to be depressed or throw away the sense of solidarity, exhilaration and courage that the Aurat March gave life to. 

See some of the best writing that has come since 8 March, our Feminist Eid: 

1) Let me womansplain the Aurat March to you Some unsolicited advice to men: smile, you’ll look prettier that way in Dawn - Prism by Rimmel Mohydin: 

As we’ve learnt, a woman’s wit is offensive. She can be the subject of many sexist jokes, but if she cracks one, your masculinity does as well.
She can tell you that she won’t warm your bed if you don’t warm your food, but what really gets you hot and bothered is that she, a woman, could laugh at your expense.
But here’s what many have failed to see. Comedy is supposed to be tragedy plus time and for many women, their lives have never been anything but a series of tragedies.
Every wise crack, every sassy one-liner, every catchy slogan masked years and years of invisible pain that women have suffered.

2) Should feminists claim Aurat March’s ‘vulgar’ posters? Yes, absolutely | Feminism with conditions is no feminism in Dawn - Prism by Sadia Khatri

We allow feminism to discriminate and gate keep, and this gatekeeping is patriarchy’s way of reinforcing the binary of purpose vs pleasure, where the feminism of purpose (health, education, marital rights) is ‘good’ feminism, and the feminism of pleasure (sexual politics, bodily autonomy, agency over time and leisure) is ‘bad’ feminism, ‘immoral’ and ‘frivolous’.
It pits the two against each other, rewarding the feminists who rally for legal rights and work-life balance, and slutshaming those who reclaim gendered slurs and carry the posters they did at the March.
Feminism with conditions is no feminism. It maintains the division between what is ‘acceptable’ and what is ‘immodest’, what is ‘public’ and ‘private’, allowed and not.
It is dangerous because it doesn’t simply deem some fights more ‘worthy’ and ‘respectable’ than others, it actively rejects and disqualifies the others.

3) A rising movement by Tooba Syed in Dawn

Overwhelmingly, the backlash is evidence of the immense success of the marches to pose an existential threat to patriarchal forces within the country. The criticism, oft-repeated by right-wing men and establishment feminists, is essentially one of how younger feminists have indicted the cultural fabric that has been weaponised to subordinate and subjugate us. This dismissal is a policing tool to shame women back into ‘traditional’ roles. The incessant need to silence such women goes to show how we as a society are forever in search of that elusive perfect victim to empathise with — a meek woman who asks politely and acquiesces easily.