PESHAWAR – The organizers of Peshawar’s first ever women’s bicycle rally canceled the event on Friday (last week) amidst threats posed by religious parties against what they termed as an event meant to “spread obscenity”, according to reports.
The ‘peace rally’, organized by women’s rights organization Zama Jawandoon, was scheduled for January 19 and at least 35 women were set to participate in the event. Members of the transgender community were also invited to join the rally.
However, religious parties, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), threatened to protest against the rally for “spreading obscenity”.
Reportedly, JUI-F leader Maulana Rafiullah Qasmi, in a meeting on Thursday, announced that all relevant departments would be contacted for the cancellation of the event and if the event is not canceled, they would hold a protest demonstration against it. Amidst the threats from religious parties, the organizers decided to cancel the event.
Speaking to a private news channel, lead organiser, Wafa Wazir, said that they had obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Peshawar district administration before announcing the rally and the only reason why they postponed the event is because they did not want it to take place in a state of unrest and amidst protest demonstrations.
Reportedly, the police said that they were not approached for a NOC or for seeking security and when they had contacted the organizers after being informed of planned protests, they were informed that the rally had been postponed.
Social media also reacted to the cancellation of first ever women bike rally in Peshawar.
https://twitter.com/faranrafi/status/1086234042511564801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1086234042511564801&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.dawn.com%2Fnews%2F1181698
https://twitter.com/AkhtarRabia/status/1086509451476127744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1086509451476127744&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.dawn.com%2Fnews%2F1181698
https://twitter.com/AhsanAbbasShah/status/1087198461366358017
https://twitter.com/Mwaqar09/status/1086411474833207297
https://twitter.com/Astanizai786/status/1086521512893562880
https://twitter.com/AlamSabah/status/1086532442930896896
https://twitter.com/turyalazamkhan/status/1087016662170259457
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