75-Year-Old Bharatanatyam Dancer Sheema Kermani Detained by Police Outside Karachi Press Club During Aurat March Preparations

On May 5, 2026, Karachi Police briefly detained 75-year-old classical dancer and prominent women’s rights activist Sheema Kermani outside the Karachi Press Club. She was among several Aurat March organisers attempting to address the media and demand a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for the annual women’s rights march scheduled for May 10. According to reports, police cited Section 144, which prohibits public gatherings, and stopped the press conference. Activists, including Kermani and transgender rights activist Shahzadi Rai, were taken into custody for a few hours before being released later the same evening following intervention by the Sindh Home Minister.

Who is Sheema Kermani?

Sheema Kermani is a renowned Pakistani classical dancer, theatre artist, and feminist activist. She specialises in Bharatanatyam, along with Odissi and Kathak. Trained in Karachi and later in India, she has been performing Indian classical dance forms in Pakistan for more than four decades. During General Zia-ul-Haq’s military regime in the 1980s, Kermani continued her dance practice and performances at a time when such art forms were discouraged by the state. She is the founder of Tehrik-e-Niswan (Women’s Cultural Action Group), an organisation that uses dance and theatre to raise awareness about women’s rights and social issues.

Kermani has consistently spoken against religious extremism, forced conversions of Hindu minorities, and violence against women. In 2023, she was awarded Pakistan’s Pride of Performance for her contributions to the arts.

The Context of the Incident

Aurat March, organised annually around International Women’s Day and on other significant occasions, has become a highly polarising event in Pakistan. Organisers highlight issues such as gender-based violence, harassment, forced marriages, and patriarchal structures. Critics, however, accuse the march of promoting provocative slogans and Western feminist ideas. This year, organisers claimed they had applied for the mandatory NOC well in advance but received no response. When they attempted to hold a press conference at the Karachi Press Club to draw attention to the issue, police intervened.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and several rights groups condemned the detention, calling it an attempt to suppress peaceful protest and civic activism.

Significance

Sheema Kermani’s detention has attracted widespread attention because of her age and her long-standing contribution to preserving classical dance traditions in Pakistan. Many view her work as an effort to keep alive the shared cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent, particularly the classical dance traditions that originated in the region. Her insistence on performing Bharatanatyam while wearing a sari and bindi has often been interpreted as an act of cultural resistance in a country where such symbols are increasingly viewed with suspicion by conservative sections.