Female journalist says was 'pushed out' from Azadi March's venue

ISLAMABAD: A female journalist on Friday said that she and her team were almost thrown out from the venue of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam Fazl’s Azadi March by a group of angry protesters, ARY News reported.

The reporter from a private news channel, Shifa Yousafzai, arrived to cover the developments in the Azadi March led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, said that she faced misbehaviour from the protestors.

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“Just after I have entered the venue to cover Maulana’s sit-in along with my colleague Owais, a group of men started shouted slogans and told me to immediately get out of there. They, however, don’t allow us to stand there despite recognising that we are media personnel and had arrived at the venue with [our channel’s] mic, camera and other equipment,” she revealed in a video that went viral on the internet.

The journalist shared her experience by further saying that a crowd has surrounded her and the team where they consistently raising anti-PTI slogans, “Just Go, Now Just Leave” until they came out of there.

Yousafzai added that the crowd started dispersing when she came out at a distance from the main venue of the Azadi March. She said that few people among the protestors are stilling monitoring them, however, they will not be able to attack her team now just what they did it in the vicinity of the protest site.

Read: ‘Women Not Allowed’: Azadi Marchers harass female media persons

It may be noted here that the marchers have banned entry to female journalists and news anchors in Azadi March without giving any logical reason for barring their access at the protest’s site.

On this development, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Asad Umar tweeted his dismay at the development saying: “One thing is clear from what has been seen of the opposition march so far…. Their vision of Pakistan is one where women have no place in the public space.”

Talking to ARY on the matter, leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sharmila Farooqi said that it was unfortunate that women are singled out from such exercises.

Farooqi said that women should be given an equal and fair chance to make their grievances and issues heard, be it for or against the government, institution or individual.