#makeourpublicspacessafe

[girlsatdhabas]

When we arrived to protest the disappearance of activists and bloggers at the Arts Council Roundabout today, we were greeted by the riot police -- stationed there long before we came. First, we were told to move inside Arts Council and abandon the chowrangi. We obliged, and lined up our banners on the opposite sidewalk, facing the traffic. Almost immediately, a row of policemen was ordered to stand in front of us, blocking us from all views and directions. 1/5 #RecoverAllActivists #MakeOurPublicSpacesSafe #Karachi (at Arts Council)

[girlsatdhabas]

We finally dispersed when the Sunni Defence / Tehreek e Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (s) protestors showed up (having been allowed to march from Press Club to us, it seemed) and began pelting stones our way. At least four protestors were injured by stones, and one narrowly missed a protester's head. We left in anger at our 'protectors' and in frustration at our 'supporters' (civil society, where were you? media, why are most of you not covering this?) --- but we are in no way discouraged. If anything, today only proved why the fuck we need to get out and sustain our fights. #RecoverOurActivists #MakeOurPublicSpacesSafe #Karachi (at Arts Council)

[girlsatdhabas]

We finally dispersed when the Sunni Defence / Tehreek e Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (s) protestors showed up (having been allowed to march from Press Club to us, it seemed) and began pelting stones our way. At least four protestors were injured by stones, and one narrowly missed a protester's head. We left in anger at our 'protectors' and in frustration at our 'supporters' (civil society, where were you? media, why are most of you not covering this?) --- but we are in no way discouraged. If anything, today only proved why the fuck we need to get out and sustain our fights. 5/5 #RecoverOurActivists #MakeOurPublicSpacesSafe #Karachi

[girlsatdhabas]

Several comrades pointed out how ironic the unfolding scene was; on the one hand, we were yelling slogans for freedom and against state brutality-- on the other hand, among the din of our naraas, the same state-assigned protectors were breathing down our throats, blocking our way, and telling us to disband and leave. 4/5 #RecoverAllActivists #MakeOurPublicSpacesSafe #Karachi

[girlsatdhabas]

By the end, the protesting crowd was essentially confined to an area we could not get out of-- policemen still kept pushing us further into each other, and several times, the entire crowd stumbled; many of us fell, and the ones up front were hit among the chaos. 3/5 #RecoverAllActivists #MakeOurPublicSpacesSafe #Karachi

[girlsatdhabas]

We shifted beside the policemen. As our numbers grew, we managed to move back to the roundabout and cover most of it. On all sides however, we were aggressively surrounded by the police, guns ready on their shoulders. They were not 'allowing' us to march (as we intended) in the direction Press Club, where a counter-protest by the name of 'Islam Bachao' was taking place. When some of us attempted to cross the police, we were pushed back with batons, manhandled, and told to go home. One protester yelled she had been harassed by a policeman; even though there were policewomen around, policemen had no qualms hitting the women up front. Two policemen also destroyed one of our posters. 2/5 #RecoverAllActivists ##MakeOurPublicSpacesSafe #Karachi