Women Democratic Front (WDF) is a Pakistani independent

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

organization. It was founded in the federal capital

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

on March 8, 2018, by hundreds of delegates from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

and

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a province of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the fourth largest province of Paki ...

. WDF aims to unite women across the country to build a socialist feminist movement to transform the International Women's Day celebration in Pakistan into real means of action. The manifesto and constitution of WDF strives to a broad-based struggle against capitalism, patriarchy, religious fascism, national oppression and Pakistan's authoritarian political system. The Front was inaugurated on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

, 2018, when a large number of students, working women, intellectuals and political activists gathered for

Aurat Azadi March The Aurat Azadi March () was started in 2018 in Pakistan by members of Women Democratic Front (socialist-feminist organization), other organizations like Women's Action Forum (Women's rights organization), Elimination of Violence against Women and ...

, 2018.

Background

WDF is a women's organization based in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

which aims to build an organic socialist-feminist mass resistance movement by bringing together struggles of working-class women (doing mental or physical labour) from rural and urban areas. WDF adopts democratic and peaceful and means of resistance.

Foundation

WDF was formally established as a resistance movement on

International Working on March 8, 2018, in

at a foundation congress by delegates from provincial units which were functional since 2014. The congress laid the foundation of

(Women's Freedom March) in

Ideology

WDF considers violence, discrimination and patriarchal oppression as part of overall oppression and exploitation of the masses in

on the basis of class, gender and nation – pillars of capitalism, imperialism, feudalism and religious extremism. WDf is committed to continue its struggle until the women's right to life, their emancipation from all forms of oppression, progress and peace; and to establish people's democracy in

. Their ideology is described by socialist-feminism and history of women's political struggles.

Organizational structure

WDF is a federal organization with country-wide presence as four national units in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

;

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...

and a federal unit. WDF also aims to make units in the disputed territories of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

to organize women of these areas making them part of the movement. WDF has following intertwined elected structures: *Congress: a political structure for political and ideological decision making *Council: an organizational structure consisting of a secretariat called the "Cabinet" for implementing decisions for day-to-day affairs These structures exist at three levels of district, federal and provincial/national levels.

Leadership

The Federal Cabinet of WDF comprises five members: President:

Ismat Shahjahan Ismat Raza Shahjahan (Pashto/Urdu: عصمت رضا شاہ جہان; b. May 6, 1963) is a socialist-feminist political leader from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. She is the president of Women Democratic Front (WDF), the deputy general-secretary of t ...

General Secretary:

Alya Bakhshal Alya Bakhshal (Urdu: عالیہ بخشل, born June 3, 1978) is a Pakistani Feminism, feminist, political worker and organizer. She is Secretary (title), general secretary of the Women Democratic Front and women secretary of Awami Workers Party, ...

Secretary Information and Publishing:

Tooba Syed Tooba Syed (Urdu: طوبیٰ سید, born May 29, 1991) is a Pakistani feminist organiser, writer, and gender researcher. She is the secretary information and publishing of the feminist organization Women Democratic Front. Activism Syed is asso ...

Secretary Education and Art:

Shahzadi Hussain Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Pers ...

Secretary Finance: Lubna Kifayat

Jalila Haider Jalila Haider (Urdu/) is a Pakistani human rights attorney and political activist from Quetta in Balochistan, Pakistan. She is known to be the first woman lawyer from Quetta's Hazara minority, and an advocate for the rights of her persecuted c ...

, one of the provincial president of WDF, from

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

was named in the 100 Women in 2019 Nargis Afsheen Khattak (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter of WDF)

References

{{reflist Women's movements based in Pakistan Women's rights in Pakistan Feminism in Pakistan Feminist organisations in Pakistan Women in Pakistan Feminist movements and ideologies Socialist feminist organizations Socialist organizations Socialist feminism Progressive International