Provincial politicians in north-western Pakistan have denounced as anti-Islamic women’s marches held earlier this month across the country to mark International Women’s Day.

Politicians in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa provincial parliament unanimously adopted a resolution denouncing the marches as a “shameless and un-Islamic act”.

The politicians included those from Pakistan’s ruling party of former cricket star-turned-prime minister Imran Khan and those from opposition parties, including the left-leaning Pakistan People’s Party now led by the son of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto.

A Pakistani woman takes part in a rally during International Women’s Day in Islamabad
A woman takes part in a rally during International Women’s Day in Islamabad (BK Bangash/AP)

On the holiday, observed every March 8, Pakistani women carried posters demanding women’s rights, attacking Pakistan’s patriarchal society and celebrating being single or divorced.

The posters caused uproar on social media, with conservative and right-wing religious leaders condemning them as immoral.

Women’s rights activists condemned the resolution.