Thread by @AuratMarchKHI

M is for Mera Jism Meri Marzi

It is mind-boggling when this poster from the last Aurat March went viral that men asked, “Oh now women want to parade naked in the streets?”

#AuratMarch2020 #AtoZFeminism

When it is the patriarchal, oppressive and inhumane jirga system that has forced hundreds of women to be stripped naked and paraded in the village under the alleged crime of adultery.

‘Mera jism meri marzi’ means that women want bodily autonomy and independence. To be able to have the right to choose in matters concerning their bodies. To choose what to wear without fear of rape. To choose who to marry.

To choose whether they want to have children, how many, and when they want to have them. To not have their husbands rape them because they feel entitled to their bodies after marriage. To not have their bodies maimed in the name of having their sexualities controlled.

In Pakistan, female genital mutilation occurs behind closed doors and in whispers. There is no basis in any text or science for it except to control a woman's sexuality. It is not 'circumcision', it is violence. It is a violence enforced on young children by their families.

It is a loud call to remind you that women are and should be in charge of their own bodies - just like men. Mera jism meri marzi means an enforcement of a human right every individual is born with, but women, trans, and non-binary persons are robbed of.

Here is a deeply personal and painful story shared about FGM in particular:

Damage by @M_Karimjee link.medium.com/KhvaMxwrn4