PESHAWAR: On eve of International Women’s Day, women from various political parties and civil society organisations organized a peace rally to highlight the challenges faced by women and to call for measures ensuring their safety and security.
Participants from diverse backgrounds, political parties and organizations gathered outside the Peshawar Press Club to highlight the problems of war-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Led by noted women’s right activist Rukhshanda Naz, Jamaima Afridi and others, they were chanting slogans to promote peace and underline the need for creating a safer environment for women across Pakistan.
Speaking during the event, participants noted that insecurity and difficult conditions continued to affect women’s daily lives.
They urged authorities to establish peace nationwide to make life safer and more accessible for women.
Later, both women and men took part in a walk, calling on the government institutions to address hardships faced by women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and across Pakistan due to terrorism and instability, emphasizing that peace was crucial for women’s safety and equal opportunities
“The people in other parts of the world are raising their voices for basic rights, but women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are yearning for peace. We want the war in the region to end. We have been suffering for a long time, as our region and people are being used for the benefit of others,” said Jamaima Afridi, a women’s rights activist. The participants also expressed concern at war in Iran and the killing of over 160 girl students in airstrikes there by US and Israel.
Earlier, members of the Students Human Rights Council of Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, addressed a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club and shared the findings of Human Rights Council of Pakistan on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
They said that around 5 percent of women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faced violence on a daily basis, while 70 percent of gender-based violence cases remained unreported, according to a report released by the Human Rights Council of Pakistan on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
The findings were shared by provincial chapter president Izharuddin Khan alongside the organization’s central chairman Jamshed Hussain while launching the council’s 2025 Human Rights Report.
According to the report, only about 30 percent of violence cases against women were reported, leaving the majority undocumented due to social pressures, lack of awareness, and fear of retaliation.
The report highlighted several alarming trends including sexual harassment, violence against women, and targeted killings of transgender persons.
Addressing the media, Jamshed Hussain said 2025 was a difficult year for women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He criticized the allocation of reserved seats for women in the provincial assembly, claiming that local women were deprived of their rightful representation.
The Human Rights Council of Pakistan urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to introduce legislation to protect women’s rights and ensure their safety. The council demanded the early approval of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Women Empowerment Policy, legislation against acid attacks, and stronger laws to combat domestic violence.
Meanwhile, an event marking International Women’s Day was organized by Hum Log Organization here on Saturday in collaboration with the Directorate of Youth Affairs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and with the support of Government Frontier College for Women, Peshawar.
