Aurat March 2020: Mahira urges participants to march for those who cannot do it for themselves

Amidst the most heated debate on the Aurat March’s slogan and the fierce argument between the playwright Khalil-ur-Rehman and social activist Marvi Sarmad, Mahira Khan came forward voicing her support for the cause – all set to take place on March 8, urging the contributors to speak for the bases women are fighting for instead of holding placards “that are just there to initiate”.

“We don’t march for ourselves. We march for those who cannot march for themselves,” she wrote in a note on Twitter.

“As a privileged woman I march for those who are not in my position, who don’t have the basic rights that I have enjoyed since I was born,” the Superstar actress wrote.

Mahira asked, “Can we then please be careful with the slogans and words we put out? Can we hold placards of the causes we are fighting for, the issues we want to be resolved, the basic rights and needs of those who suffer because they are either unaware of their rights or they are not given to them.

“Can we hold banners of laws we would like to be put into place and those that have harmed women over the years? Don’t we want as many people as possible to understand why we march?”

The actress further said she was simply writing “out of pure observation” and the organisers who have been working for the cause of women’s rights “have a better idea”.

Likewise, in the past years, Aurat March has been a topic of sheer controversy across the country, this year the situation is no different— talk shows, social media debates, and rights activists all seem to have opinions on the event.

Earlier, on late Tuesday night,  Khalil-ur-Rehman — who was both criticized and lauded for his hit TV series earlier this year — appeared on a talk show alongside activist Marvi Sirmed to share his words on widely condemned on national level Aurat March 2020.

During the show, the two got into an argument about one of the slogans — “mera jism, meri marzi,” or my body, my choice — with Qamar saying it was “vile and filthy” and that he felt “hurt” that the LHC threw out a petition seeking to ban it.

As he was speaking about how the slogan “Mera Jism Meri Marzi” will support the vulgarity, Sirmed interrupted in between the talks. Consequently, he lost his cool and thrown some highly inappropriate remarks at Sirmed, adding to a clash between supporters and opponents of the Aurat March 2020.