Women in Karachi Protest Against High Inflation and Taxes

In Karachi, Pakistan, on August 15, members of Jamaat-e-Islami organized a protest to voice their concerns about rising inflation and heavy taxes imposed by the government. The protestors, including many women, shared their struggles with the high cost of living and criticized the government’s policies.

One woman protestor said, “The only tragedy in Karachi is heavy taxes and expensive electricity. We are now fed up with these baseless taxes and skyrocketing inflation and are now forced to come out on the streets and raise our voices. Only the government is responsible for our agitation. The bills that used to be around mere hundreds are now totalling thousands of rupees, and that too is only because of inflation and taxes. We have even heard people committing suicide due to poverty. There are households where children lack education and people are not able to get enough food on the table. People are now able to afford either the education of their children, pay for their family’s food, or pay their bills.”

Another protestor added, “My only appeal to the government is that if they cannot bring down inflation, then raise the salaries or income of our fathers, brothers and sons, provide them more employment opportunities. Because if a person earns rupees PKR 30,000 per month and then gets a PKR 25,000 bill, from where would he pay? He would be forced to die by suicide because he has three kids at home, who are hungry. There is no gas to cook food, and there is no electricity, but the bills are not coming down. How will we pay? They are killing the public with inflation. People are dying by suicide. They are cruel, they don’t have any right to rule. They are looters, they have looted our country and sold it. We demand that bills should be brought down. Inflation should be brought down. And the unfair taxes in our bills should be cut down.”

Pakistan recently struck a 7-billion US dollar IMF loan deal that includes tough measures such as more taxes on electricity prices. This has raised concerns among poor and middle-class Pakistanis who are already struggling with inflation and higher taxes. The country is facing a severe economic crisis, with international lenders demanding increased taxes, further complicating the survival of its citizens.