Religious Affairs Minister Wants to Declare Aurat March 2022 as ‘Hijab Day’

Minister for Religious Affairs, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, wants Prime Minister Imran Khan to ban Aurat March 2022, while declaring March 8 as Hijab Day to express solidarity with the Muslim women facing issues of religious independence and human rights violations across the world.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Qadri said that Aurat March 2022 should be banned because they are most of the time inappropriate and March 8 should be declared as Hijab Day, which would help draw attention of the international community towards the physical and psychological maltreatment of Muslim women across the world.

The statement comes at a time when Muslim girls are being mistreated in India and IOJ&K for wearing Hijab at colleges and universities at the hands of Hindu extremists backed by the Modi-led BJP Government. Qadri added that Pakistan should ask the UN to intervene and prevent the inhuman acts against Muslims in India.

The Religious Affairs Minister said that so-called human rights activists and organizations took out rallies under the banner of ‘Aurat March’ to highlight issues being faced by women across the world but they disregard the problems being faced by Muslim women.

He added that instead of raising genuine issues being faced by Muslim women, the Aurat March ends up maligning principles of Islam for women. He said that Islam was a complete code of life and women’s rights were highly protected in Islamic societies.

The Religious Affairs Minister had recommended banning Aurat March 2022 and declaring it as Hijab Day to mark solidarity with all Muslim women facing issues of religious independence across the world. Qadri urged the Government to not let anyone ridicule the divine injunctions, particularly regarding Hijab in the wake of ‘Aurat March’.

Aurat March Controversy

International Women’s Day (locally known as Aurat March) has been observed since 1960s, however, the event has become controversial in recent years with slogans such as “my body, my choice,” which is more commonly known as “mera jism, meri marzi,”

Religious Organizations consider these slogans as ‘inappropriate’ and they believe that Aurat March is promoting vulgarity in the country. These organizations are constantly requesting ban of Aurat March and several petitions have been filed in this regard as well.

Read more: What is “Mera Jism, Meri Marzi”?

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