Ongoing political and economic turmoil, including rising inflation and the fallout from former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest in May 2023, has deepened existing gendered inequities and compounded rollback in Pakistan (Djankov and Siddique 2023). Increasing political polarisation has led to greater restrictions on civil and political rights (CIVICUS 2024) and a crackdown on dissent, exemplified by the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Reporters Without borders (RSF) 2024), which has curtailed civil society freedoms and increased risks for human rights defenders. Political instability undermines governance, enabling perpetrators of violence to act with impunity, and licensing customary justice systems steeped in patriarchal traditions over formal legal protections (Djankov and Siddique 2023).
For the past two years, Pakistan has ranked 145th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, reflecting its entrenched gender inequalities (World Economic Forum 2024). Economic hardships have deepened social vulnerabilities. Pakistan’s substantial debt – 75 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), along with rising external debt – has severely constrained investment in social services, exacerbating poverty and inequality, and limiting initiatives for women’s empowerment (Wahid 2023).
Imran Khan’s term (2018–2022) was marked by a surge in anti-American and anti-Western rhetoric, framing various feminist and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and more (LGBT+) initiatives as un-Islamic and foreign-funded or instigated (Amnesty International 2023). The growing influence of Islamisation and conservative forces has complicated efforts to protect gender and sexual minorities, as seen in the 2023 Federal Shariat Court decision to invalidate parts of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018 (ibid.). This has contributed to what can be described as a silent trans*[i] genocide, particularly severe in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which has seen 2,000 cases of violence and 91 murders of trans* individuals between 2015 and 2021 (Farrukh 2022).
Women from religious minorities, including Ahmadiyya, Christian, Hindu, and Hazara Shia communities, face compounded marginalisation rooted in gender, religious/ethnic identity, and socioeconomic status (Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID) and Institute of Development Studies (IDS) 2020). Baloch women, who have been victims of state militarism through enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, have faced further rollback. In 2024, Baloch women’s protests were met with state repression through detentions, roadblocks, and media censorship (Hafeez 2024). The Aurat March, a prominent anti-rollback movement, has faced significant attacks from militant Islamist groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, as well as from state and federal legislators and religious leaders who argue that the march is antithetical to Pakistani cultural values (Bergsten and Lee 2023). The severe threats faced by human rights defenders in Pakistan are well documented, but their full extent – particularly under Imran Khan’s regime and in regions like Balochistan, KP, and FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) – remains unclear (Janjua 2021).
Landscape of anti-rollback actors
Pakistan’s women’s and LGBT+ rights organisations operate within a complex and often hostile environment, marked by a shrinking civil society space that exposes human rights defenders to severe threats (ibid.). This brief analyses nine key organisations, supplemented by insights from smaller groups and individuals working against rollback. The scale of operations is evenly split between national and sub-national levels. Sub-national activities are concentrated in KP and the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which were merged with KP in 2018 (Al Jazeera 2019). Membership of the nine organisations is primarily grass-roots-based, with two organisations functioning as issue-focused activist networks and another as an identity-based membership network. International donors dominate the funding landscape – for instance, Global Affairs Canada earmarks part of its funding to counter rollback by supporting capacity development in organisations focused on gender equality and women’s empowerment (Global Affairs Canada 2023). The collectives studied address multiple issues, with gender-based violence (GBV) being the primary focus, followed by women’s public participation, sexuality and reproduction, and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). The collectives often employ intersectional approaches, focusing on women with disabilities, Hindu women’s rights, and displaced Afghan women’s rights.
Counter-rollback strategies
Despite active repression, protests remain a key strategy to challenge rollback. The Aurat March and Moorat March are significant sites for countering backlash, demonstrating an effective strategy with considerable discursive potential. The Aurat March (launched in 2018 in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad) uses marches alongside digital and street art, and has gained significant participation and attention in the years since its launch (Azmat 2022). However, it is important to recognise conflicts within and between chapters, including allegations of marginalisation and tokenism (ibid.). The Moorat March, first held in 2022, became Pakistan’s largest trans* pride parade, celebrating indigenous trans* culture amidst rising anti-trans* sentiment (Athar 2023). The term Moorat, meaning ‘of the soil’, reflects a deep spiritual connection to humanity (ibid.). Although the trans* community had long participated in the Aurat March, this separate event focused on specific trans* issues, fostering a sense of joy, solidarity, and acceptance (ibid.).
Evidence building and advocacy with a view to changing norms is a central strategy to counter rollback. The Digital Rights Foundation documents rollback through research on privacy, online harassment, and misinformation, publishing blogs such as Technology-Facilitated Gendered Surveillance on the Rise in Women’s Private Spaces (Dad, Khan and Baloch 2024). It was also instrumental in advocating for the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act (2022). Other significant successes in this regard include the Aurat Foundation’s campaign for women’s seats on the National Press Club’s governing body and facilities for women journalists (Women’s Learning Partnership n.d.). Another organisation, Blue Veins, also promoted women’s voting rights in KP, leading to greater female participation in the 2015 local elections.
Collectives also engage in service provision, capacity building and training. Initiatives include the Cyber Harassment Helpline by the Digital Rights Foundation, providing shelter and legal support to GBV survivors; medical services for sexually transmitted illnesses; and leadership and training programmes for young women on digital literacy, legal rights, and mental health.
Movements also engage in coalition building to strengthen advocacy efforts. The All Pakistan Transgender Election Network (APTEN) coalition (which included the Trans Action Alliance KP, the Sindh Transgender Welfare Network, and others) was able to successfully push for the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act (Parshall 2017).
The legal and policy domains are also key sites for countering rollback. Legislative wins include the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act (2022), the Anti-Rape Laws (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act (2015), the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act (2013), and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act. Regionally, Blue Veins successfully advocated for increased funding for girls’ education in KP (Malala Fund 2022).
Gaps and areas for future research/work
Accessing information about collectives and their work is challenging due to shutdowns and restricted digital access. Addressing these gaps requires better documentation of threats, increased non-governmental organisation (NGO) transparency, improved digital infrastructure, and thorough evaluations of funding and grass-roots efforts. Effective funding should focus on locally rooted projects that address internal conflicts, including issues of tokenisation, to ensure equitable outcomes.
Notes
[i] We use trans* to indicate the inclusion of gender identities such as non-binary, gender-fluid, agender, etc., alongside transsexual and transgender.
Credits
This Country Brief was written by Harshita Kumari. It was supported by the project Rapid Scoping Review – The Nature of Feminist and LGBT+ Movements in a Range of Selected Countries, funded by UK International Development from the UK government. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of IDS or the UK government’s official policies.
First published April 2025.
Suggested citation: Kumari, H. (2025) ‘Rapid Scoping Review 2025: Pakistan’, Countering Rollback Country Brief, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/IDS.2025.031
© Institute of Development Studies 2025.
This is an Open Access brief distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited and any modifications or adaptations are indicated.
