With society’s steady move towards social responsibility, gender equality and such, one has seen multiple small scale organisations spring up calling for change. The Laraka Larki is a similar feminist initiative by one girl, who hopes to bring a new perspective on the ‘F word.’
Commencing with a panel discussion at The Second Floor (T2F) over the weekend, The Laraka Larki brought out director Adnan Sarwar, actress Sohai Ali Abro, feminist anthropologist and professor Areesha Banglani, and author Shandana Minhas to speak about what feminism really is. An open discussion ensued, bringing to light the reservations many have about being labeled as a feminist, the misconception of the movement and more.
Speaking to Manal Faheem Khan, the founder and Laraka Larki herself, we got a little insight to the initiative and the aim of the organization.
“I’ve been a victim of sexual abuse, along with so many other women that I know, and I think I reached a point where I just wanted to fight back against it. That’s where the name comes from. The organization will encourage women to be fighters,” Manal explained.
With the Aurat March and Girls at Dhabas reclaiming the city, what is the next step for this Laraka Larki?
“We don’t have anything definite planned as yet but some activists and lawyers have reached out to us to help work on bridging the gap between feminists of different social classes. So that’s in the pipeline. We will also be focusing on addressing issues of social media abuse and violence faced by women,” Manal told us.