The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, said that the women of Pakistan would not cow down to intimidation, and threats from the "agents of the patriarchy and misogyny."

He said that Benazir Bhutto was a shining beacon, who had lit the way for women to have agency over their own labour and bodies, said a press release issued on Saturday.

"Women will carry forward her struggle and every Pakistani woman will become Benazir, if she continues to fight for her rights," the PPP chairperson stated in his message on the eve on International Women's Day being observed across the globe today (Sunday).

He claimed that the PPP had always strived to ensure and extend the rights of women, against the pushback from anti-women and anti-equality parties who believe in patriarchal structures.

"Women and marginalized communities are the real strength of the PPP, and the party will fight together with them against those who are plotting to enslave them in the chains of patriarchy," the PPP leader vowed.

The chairman said that the people of Pakistan voted and elected first women prime minister among Muslim-majority countries of the world.

Bilawal said that Benazir carved the path for women in the male-dominated state structures.

From appointing the first female judges to the high courts, to establishing dedicated women police stations, to launching the First Women Bank to facilitate the financial empowerment of women, Benazir made sure that she raised all other women with her.

Bilawal said that the revolutionary social safety net Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was launched by President Asif Ali Zardari to fulfill the vision of Benazir Bhutto and that the BISP had been an internationally-acclaimed programme, which was financially supporting the poorest of the poor women in the country. Bilawal promised that he would always stand for the rights of women.-PR