ISLAMABAD: Senator Sherry Rehman, the federal minister for climate change, criticized the police use of a baton to subdue protesters during the Aurat Azadi March on Wednesday. The federal minister claimed in a statement released here that the Aurat March participants were justified in feeling disappointed and irritated because the Islamabad police had no justification for using baton charges against a small, peaceful procession. Senator Sherry Rehman added that it was necessary to push back the conservative women rather than the liberal ones. The Minister demanded an investigation into the incident and strongly denounced the alleged police violence against the March participants.
“There is no excuse for this violence on International Women’s Day. This is not the attitude we have fought for and will not tolerate. The incident has been brought into the notice of Interior Minister,” Sherry Rehman said.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday said the women were like the backbone of our family system, society, country and economy in every sphere of life. In her special message on International Women’s Day, the federal minister paid her tribute to the women across the world in general and of the country in particular. Sherry Rehman said, “I pay my respects and congratulations to the brave, hardworking and valiant women of Pakistan, including the women of the world.” The purpose of celebrating this day was to encourage women, recognize their rights and spread awareness among people regarding the equal status of women, she added. “49% of Pakistan’s population consists of women.
Women across the country should have access to health, education and other basic facilities and an environment of equality,” Sherry Rehman said. The Minister said on this day the women in the country were not demanding more, rather asking for their human, constitutional and legal rights. Women, she said should get their rights and status according to the constitution and law so that they could lead a socially and economically dignified life. “This day symbolizes the “struggle” of women. I request all my countrymen to avoid prejudices regarding this day,” Sherry Rehman said. The Minister dedicated this day to the country’s workers, labourers and flood-affected women, and urged the countrymen to also dedicate this day to women belonging to different sectors of their home, neighborhood, society and country. “Lets appreciate their hard work, efforts and achievements,” Sherry Rehman said.
