Woman on a bike
(WorldNews Pakistan)

A lot can be learned about the state of the country today by who is allowed to hold public events and who isn’t. So, while the violent extremists of the TLP are free to hold entire cities hostage, a small group of women who only wanted to have a bike rally in Peshawar, and even obtained a No-Objection Certificate from the authorities, are pressurised into cancelling their event. The bike rally was organised by Zama Jawandoon, a women’s rights organisation that was holding the rally this past Saturday to reclaim public space that is often denied to women. Once religious parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema Islam got wind of the event, however, they threatened to...