Women Workers take the roads
Musharaf must go,
Where are the Missing persons?
Over 5000 attends Women Workers Help Line and Labour Education Foundation 8 March Rallies
The 8 March rallies at Murdan, Lahore and Karachi by Women Workers Help Line and Labour Education Foundation attracted over 5000. This was the largest mobilization of women across Pakistan by any other group on 8 March 2008.
The Women Workers Help Line rally in Lahore took up the issue of missing persons and score of relatives of missing persons told their unbelievable stories of state repression and disappearances on their loved ones. The rally started from Abbot Road and reached at Shimla Pehari Lahore with deafening slogans of Go Musharaf Go, No to military dictatorship, where are the mission persons? We want democracy, Revolution is the answer of every problem, Restore the top judges.
Earlier, over 2500 attended a seminar by WWHL at Mehfil Theater, which was over packed to capacity and many, has to out side the theater hall. They heard the representatives of advocate movement, missing persons, Labour Party Pakistan and WWHL.
Special awards were given to outstanding women in struggle included Nazli Javed, Riffat Maqsood, Rabia Bajwa, Fardous Butt, Azra Shad and Jamila Begum. Rabia Bajwa and Fardous Butt are the main leaders of the advocate movement. Nazli Javed is secretary women of Labour Party Pakistan. Jamila Begum, Riffat Maqsood and Azra Shad are the main leaders of WWHL.
The Labour Education Foundation (LEF) Karachi rally started from Regal Chouck and ended at Karachi Press Club. Over 2400 participated in the historic rally. It raised slogans against the military dictatorship, restoration of judiciary, discrimination laws against women and minorities and for democratic set up. The two-hour rally was full of banners, posters and many were singing Faiz and other revolutionary poets songs. It was the largest mobilization of working women in the largest city of Pakistan. Organized with the support of Sangi, the rally ended with a great enthusiasm.
Later a cultural evening with the cooperation of Action Aid Pakistan was attended by many hundreds and many had to go back home, because the capacity of the hall was not matching the size of the participants.
At Murdan over 60 women participated in the seminar organized by Women Workers Help Line NWFP at Labour Party Pakistan office in the city. The speakers included Dr. Fahmida Zafar, Fouzia Israr, Naveeda, Farooq Ahmad, Rehana and Saeeda. They spoke against the primitive customs of selling and buying of women and against all sort of violence on women. They spoke about building a women movement in the province with progressive ideas. “the economic, political and social equal rights for women is the only way forwards for the progress of women” they told the seminar participants.
The Labour Party Pakistan supports the two organisation.
The three events made headlines across all the main steam electronic and print media in Pakistan.