A huge number of women belonging from all socioeconomic backgrounds, along with men who identify themselves as feminists, took to the streets on women’s day and demanded the rights of women.

The injustice is prevalent across Pakistan highlighted by a lack of education, basic health rights, employment opportunities for women. And perhaps the most fundamental and important of all – a lack of security for all those women who are present in the Pakistani society.

The Aurat march in Pakistan brought a lot of attention to the whole topic. The media shared the impactful speeches which were made at the marches in major cities such as Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. This included the sharing of the posters made by individuals themselves.

Many prominent celebrities were a part of the women’s day march and raised their voice. Each year the march causes a bustle in society and conversation regarding this topic is initiated too.

Changes must be made. However, improvement can only come for the women once every individual, regardless of their gender, realizes the importance of this conversation.

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Pakistani society is becoming aware of women’s rights and Aurat March involves countless women marching on roads with placards (against social values and in favour of women’s rights) in their hands. These placards called for equal opportunities for women, justice for victims of abuse, violence, and harassment, labor rights for women, daycare centers at the workplace, dowry, female fetus abortion, economic justice, and highlighted several major issues.

The march was labeled as propaganda by elitist women to instill western values in the lower roots of the society. Despite making it controversial by a large segment of society, next year in 2019, thousands of marchers came out instead of so much resistance by anti-feminists in Pakistan. This time the marchers didn’t only include people from the upper classes, but a large number of participants came from rural areas, underprivileged classes, trans community, and so on. The participants claimed that the sole purpose behind Aurat March is to claim equal rights for women/trans and don’t promote any Agenda.

The game got even bigger in 2020. The activists didn’t just rely on placards instead they had prepared a manifesto to show their demands and planned to build alliances in different segments of the society. Famous politicians including PTI’s (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) Shireen Mazari also supported the Aurat March and showed solidarity with the participants.

Artists have played a major role for Aurat March participating and earning wide media attention. Theatres, songs, poems, speeches, social media posts were made by artists in solidarity with Aurat March.

Famous actress Mahirah Khan has announced that she will be a part of Aurat March 2021. According to her, she will be participating to let people know that she is a part of this ideology. She added that the march might not be able to make a difference, but the impact it makes is huge. Mukhtara Mai, a social and gender activist, who was also a victim of gang rape in her past, also tweeted a video message of her inclusion in Aurat March 2021.

Last year, a large number of celebrities attended the march and some even shared their experiences of harassment and molestation. These celebrities included Mira Sethi, Adnan Malik, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Nadia Afgan, Osman Khalid Butt, Hajra Yamin, Ali Tareen, Saba Hamid, Samina Ahmed, among many others.

The placards that led to the nationwide outrage and made the march controversial were “Mera Jism, Meri Marzi” (My Body, My Choice), “Apna Khana Khud Garam kro” (Make food for Yourself), Follow Women’s Consent, Forced Hijab, and Taboo topics like menstruation, and the list goes on.

Religious segments on the other hand are not happy with the March and are trying their best to stop it. There have been even reports of threats by extremist groups as well. The agenda for 2021 revolves around budget increase for health, and trans and disabilities rights. Let’s see what this year holds for the newly born ritual.

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After many rounds of plans and proposals, ultimately in January 1971 Pakistan and the Soviets signed an agreement under which the USSR agreed to provide financial and technical assistance to set up a coastal-based integrated steel mill at Karachi.

The foundation of the project was laid by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on the 30th of December, 1973. With the aim of “Building the Nation, Serving the Nation”, the public organization proved to be one of the most fruitful and profitable assets of Pakistan.

However, PSM entered its death zone in the year 2008, when it started incurring losses. An accumulated loss of Rs. 169 billion have been recorded in the last 10 years. In 2015, PSM owed Rs. 35 billion to SSGC (Sui Southern Gas Company, Pakistan), which led to its default, and the facility was closed by the PML-N government. The government has been paying the salaries of 14,753 employees without being at operational capacity since 2015. The number of employees was reduced to 9350 in 2019.

Now the Government of Pakistan has decided to lay off all the workers of the Pakistan Steel Mills. For now, 4544 employees are being fired by the Government, and their termination letters have been dispatched to their addresses.

The government of Pakistan has been facing severe backlash for the decision of laying off and privatization. This backlash comes from the employees of Pakistan Steel Mills and the opposition parties – especially the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

However, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar has defended the Government’s decision saying that the “Governments have paid Rs. 92 billion for a bailout so far,” he added, “The monthly salary of a closed mill is Rs. 750 million.”

He explained that PSM owns a total of 19,000 acres of land out of which the Government is planning to sell out 1300 acres to cover up the losses incurred. A private investor will create their own organizational and management structure and will run the mill with the latest technology.

For a period of four months, 250 employees would be retained for the execution of the employees’ termination plan and other related work.

Pakistan Steel Mills is one of the biggest examples of Riches to Rags and people hope to see PSM rise and shine again. But who is responsible for all of this? The question remains unanswered!

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The potential ramifications for this decision are quite enormous as, apart from altering the domestic political arrangement of the nation, granting Gilgit Baltistan status as a province also has vast ramifications for the Kashmir conflict between Pakistan and India.

Gilgit Baltistan, although not ethnically or culturally contiguous with the wider Kashmir region is nevertheless considered a part of it. The Republic of India however, maintains that Gilgit Baltistan is a part of Indian Kashmir and is illegally occupied by Pakistan. Granting the territory provincial status will undoubtedly cause tensions between the two nations to flare up considerably.

Aside from upsetting its neighbor, Pakistan has also garnered the ire of Kashmiri nationalists and separatists whose desires for a Kashmiri ethno-state clearly clash with Pakistan’s attempt at integration.

It’s interesting to note that Pakistan’s new decision to create a Gilgit Baltistan province is not too dissimilar to India’s earlier attempt to end Kashmir’s special status. This indicates a wider trend of territorial consolidation between the two countries. A trend where each seems to want to strengthen their hold on their respective portions of the Kashmir valley.

Perhaps, it could even be said that the creation of a Gilgit Baltistan province could possibly lead to the end of the Kashmir conflict in its entirety.

Both states seem to favor consolidation of the territory that they already occupy, and both are deeply opposed to any calls for an independent Kashmiri state.

For Kashmiri nationalists and separatists, this attempt to ‘divide their homeland’ is nothing short of a betrayal from Islamabad and, a signal that maybe Pakistan is no longer committed to Kashmiri freedom or unity.

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The parents of the man often demand an excessive amount of money and wealth from the bride’s parents. This has caused the ratio of married women in Pakistan to fall because many parents cannot afford millions to give their daughters a dowry.

The Ministry of religious affairs made this decision to prevent the groom’s side from asking for expensive gifts, furniture, cars, and sometimes property. The bill also restricted the parents from giving their daughter gifts worth more than 10,000 pkr.

Additionally, the bill will regulate the marriage functions and events. Part of this regulation is a statement that the food menu of the functions will be limited.

Any violation of this new law may result in a Rs. 200,000 fine, imprisonment or a combination of both. So, the fulfillment of this law is necessary from now on.

The goal of this bill is to regulate the extravagance of the wedding functions. The dowry ban in Pakistan should help put to focus back on the marriage and the couple.

In many other countries like America and Europe, people do fancy wedding functions that, in the end, are just a waste of money. Money that the couple could instead use for their future.

Pakistan is the first Muslim country undertaking a dowry ban in a legal action.

The credit goes to Pakistani women who fought for their rights, and made this an example for all the women of the world. This, perhaps, is one of the best examples of women empowerment in the world.

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The Education ministry had decided to reopen schools in different phases. In the first phase, grades nine, ten, colleges, universities have welcomed students back. However, secondary and primary classes will resume later in this month.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a tweet, “It was our priority and collective responsibility to ensure that every child can go to school safely to learn”.

The National Command Operation Center (NCOC) issued instructions telling parents to ensure their children follow SOPs, which includes wearing masks. The Center also ordered that children should not go to school if they are having symptoms including cough and fever.

In that case, parents should have the child tested. If they any test positive for Covid-19, they are asked to inform the educational institution.

Usage of sanitizer and ensuring social distancing is also advised by NCOC.

Education Minister ‘Shafqat Mehmood’ said parents, teachers, and administrations have to play an active role in upholding all safety measures.

Unfortunately, after the gradual reopening schools, it has been reported that 22 educational institutions have been closed across the country.  These schools reportedly failed to follow SOPs as required by the NCOC.

The agency said that it had to close the schools that were not in compliance in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.

16 of these educational institutions are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1 in Islamabad, and 5 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

It is unclear as to when, or if, these schools will be allowed to re-open.

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While Pakistan has had issues with its overall healthcare system, the country has managed to successfully ‘flattened the curve’ as it relates to new COVID-19 cases.

Across the globe approximately 27.5 million people have been infected by Covid-19 and reports indicate that as many as 900,000 or more have died since December 2019.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus touted seven countries including Pakistan, Italy, Thailand, Mongolia, Mauritius, and Uruguay at a recent press event. Tedros pointed to these countries as examples to the rest of the world in terms of how to deal with a global pandemic.

Dr. Tedros said, “Pakistan has used the infrastructure it developed in its fight against polio to tackle Covid-19”. “Community health workers who previously were used vaccinate children from polio, have been redeployed for contact tracing and monitoring”.

Tedros mentioned that Italy was among the countries to experience a very large outbreak. He then said that it was the dedication of health workers with unity and solidarity which he believed ultimately brought the outbreak under the control.

In Mongolia, where so far there have been no COVID related deaths or even cases reported, Terdos commended the government for reacting quickly and activating its State Emergency Committee back in January.

Dr. Tedros explained that Thailand has benefited from 40 years of a well-resourced public health and medical sector which are supported by strong leadership in Thailand.

The system there centers around trust and compliance. This is achieved using one million village health volunteers who communicate and build confidence with the people.

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Pakistan is certain that intra-Afghan dialogue could help in regional stability, however, the peace process remains stalled over disagreements on a prisoner exchange.

This meeting was also attended by the head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt General Faiz Hameed. Several analysts say that ISI, a spy agency, has close ties with armed groups in Afghanistan.

Pakistan is among the three countries that recognized the Taliban’s government when it ruled Kabul between 1996 and 2001. This is the second Taliban visit to Pakistan. Last year in October, a delegation led by Mullah Baradar visited Islamabad.

The main purpose of this meeting was to focus on recent developments in the Afghan peace process and the assembling of Intra-Afghan talks. Other issues, including Afghan refugees, were also discussed in the meeting.

If we trace the reasons for the slowed Intra-Afghan peace talks, the primary factor appears to be the delay in the release of the remaining 320 Taliban prisoners by the Kabul government.

Afghanistan was to release 5,000 Taliban fighters in exchange for its 1,000 security personnel held by the insurgents under an agreement signed between the United States and Taliban in February.

The Foreign Office said that FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi emphasized the need for implementing the US-Taliban agreement entirely – indicating that Afghanistan is not living up to its part of the deal.

Many diplomats say Pakistan, a leading regional active player, has been playing a crucial role for a reduction in violence and soothing the way for peace talks.

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