Aurat March, the country’s wide event, using the Urdu word for women, has been attended by tens of thousands over the last two years to mark International Women’s Day on March 8.
A Pakistani court on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to the country’s largest women’s rights event but told organizers to ensure participants adhere to “decency and moral values”.
The court told organizers to consult local officials to finalize arrangements for the event, which campaigns for reclaiming space for women as well as the LGBT community.
Global watchdogs have expressed concern in recent years over what they see as a growing clampdown on rights campaigns in Pakistan.
“The court remarked that the participants should not ignore decency and moral values while carrying placards and chanting slogans,” the movement’s lawyer Saqib Jilani told Reuters, adding that organizers had been ordered to devise a code of conduct but already had one.
Local police, told to ensure security for the march, submitted a report to the court stating the event faced a threat from radical groups including Pakistani Taliban militants.
The police told the court they would provide security but it was essential for organizers to prohibit participants from engaging in “controversial acts”.
There was uproar in conservative circles over slogans at last year’s event. Some said: “My body, my choice!” “My body is not your battleground!” and “Stop being menstrual phobic!”
Following last year’s event, organizers said they faced a backlash including murder and rape threats.
Ahead of this year’s event, volunteers and organizers in Islamabad and Lahore say posters and murals are being vandalized.
