Afghan Women Asked Where Is My Name on National Identification Cards
New Age Islam News Bureau
03
September 2020
• Women Business Owners In The UAE Innovate To Stay On The Road To Recovery
•
How Gender Equality Can Build A Prosperous Somalia
•
Muslim Woman Sues County After Being Forced to Remove Hijab Inside Michigan
Jail
•
Women's Rights A Key Issue During Peace Talks with Taliban
•
Israeli And Emirati Women to Lead 'Peace Starts From Within' Conference
•
European Parliament Asks Pakistan To Protect Women And Girls From
Discrimination And Violence
•
Prime Minister Imran Khan Orders Release of Women in Jail on Flimsy Grounds
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/afghan-women-asked-where-name/d/122784
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Afghan Women Asked Where Is My Name on National Identification Cards
By
Mujib Mashal and Najim Rahim
Sept.
2, 2020
Afghan
govt cabinet committee gives nod to inclusion of mother's name on national ID
cards
------
KABUL,
Afghanistan — Afghan citizens will soon have their mothers’ names printed along
with their fathers on their national identification cards, the government said
on Tuesday, after years of campaigning by activists to do away with the shame
associated with female names in public.
The
victory, even if symbolic, is seen as a small boost for women’s rights at a
time when the future of women’s role in Afghan society hangs in the balance
amid imminent government negotiations over a power-sharing deal with the
Taliban. When it was in national power in the 1990s, the Taliban’s Islamist
government largely confined women to their homes and stripped them of basic
rights like education and paid employment.
Afghanistan
has made major improvements in expanding women’s role in public in the two
decades since the toppling of the Taliban. Millions of girls attend schools and
universities across the country, and women hold important government jobs. But
activists say a misogyny justified by religiosity still runs deep, with the
Taliban’s bullying of women emblematic of a wider problem.
The
old Afghan taboo over women in public runs so deep that young schoolboys often
get into fights if someone even mentions the name of their mother or sister, an
act seen as a dishonor. In a country of war and widows, women struggle to
assert themselves as legal guardians of their children in government offices or
carry out business transactions in their own names without the presence of a
man. Even most women’s graves never include their names — only those of male
relatives.
The
Afghan cabinet’s legal committee headed by one of the country’s two vice
presidents, Sarwar Danish, said a proposal to amend the census law to include
the mother’s name on the national identity card had been approved in a
committee meeting on Tuesday. While the amendment still requires parliamentary
approval and signing into law by the president, a spokesman for the vice
president said officials expected those steps to be smooth.
“The
amendment changes the definition of identity — the new identity would comprise
of the person’s name, last name, father’s name, mother’s name, and date of
birth,” said the spokesman, Mohamed Hedayat. “In the old definition, mother’s
name was not part of the identity.”
Afghanistan
lacks an accurate census of its population, with the last one conducted in the
1970s, before four decades of war and upheaval. The country introduced a
long-delayed electronic ID system in 2018 with iris and biometric scans to help
law enforcement better identify citizens. But the process of issuing the IDs
quickly faced controversy over whether an individual’s ethnic group should also
be included.
Rights
activists saw an opportunity in the debate: While ethnic groups were jostling
for recognition, women — roughly half of the country’s population, and
representing all ethnicities — had long been denied their basic identities, and
the cards offered a new opportunity on that front. A hashtag campaign on social
media, #WhereIsMyName?, was already underway, and it quickly began gaining
ground.
While
Afghan social media has been full of celebration since Tuesday over the
announced change, many also feared that its introduction would deter people in
conservative rural areas from registering for the national identity cards.
Laleh
Osmany, one of the earliest supporters of the #WhereIsMyName? campaign in
western Herat Province, said they were fighting a deeply rooted misogyny that
used religion as cover. From a young age, girls are conditioned to believe they
are an appendix to a man, known in relation to the men in their families, with
no independent identity of their own.
“Most
of the limitations on women in society have no foundation in religion, and I
realized the depth of that in my four years as a student of Islamic law,” Ms.
Osmany said. “In Islam, there is nothing that limits women’s identity. But in
our society they associate every limitation — even on women’s identity — with
religion.”
The
change to the ID system “is about restoring the most basic and natural right of
women that they are denied,” Ms. Osmany said. “By printing her name, we give
the mother power, and the law gives her certain authorities to be a mother who
can, without the presence of a man, get documents for her children, enroll her
children in school, travel.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/02/world/asia/afghanistan-id-mothers-names.html
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Women
Business Owners in The UAE Innovate to Stay on The Road To Recovery
September
02, 2020
Esha
Nag
Dubai-resident
Rashi Punjabi closed her glow-in-the-dark mini golf course in Wafi Mall because
of Covid-19 and innovated to come up with other business ideas
Image
Credit: Supplied
-----
The Coronavirus pandemic has taught us several life lessons. We have learnt the importance of patience, resilience and have fought the odds with positivity and bravado. For many businesses, this has been an especially challenging time, but despite all obstacles female entrepreneurs in the country admit that the UAE provides immense opportunities for them to get back into action. The secret is sustainability and innovation and a clarion call to support homegrown businesses.
Dubai
resident Jennifer Blandos Hardie, who owns a training company called the
International School of Communication, says the emirate has the
“anything-is-possible” vibe. “I have always loved that!” says Jennifer, who is
also the co-owner of the Female Fusion, the UAE's largest platform for female
entrepreneurs. “I wouldn't want to have my businesses anywhere else. Dubai has
great infrastructure that makes running a business really easy. Over the past
10 years I've seen big changes in how the government operates businesses and
business licensing - it gets better every year,” she adds.
Talking
about the challenges that she had to face, Jennifer says, “My training company
was unable to deliver face-to-face training for months. Our biggest challenge
has been convincing clients that online training delivered well is just as good
as face-to-face training. All of our trainers went through a 12-hour
train-the-trainer programme to learn how to use technology and deliver a course
online, which is very different from face to face. Online training actually
requires a lot more planning to make sure that people are constantly engaged in
front of a screen, or they'll just shut off. From that investment in the
beginning, we have built a reputation with our clients for delivering engaging
online training. Many of our clients have told me that the online training
better not disappear once we return to normal!”
Be
ready to innovate
For
Jennifer the biggest takeaways during the pandemic has been the need to be as
agile as possible and be ready to change quickly to meet market demands.
“Pivot, pivot, pivot I would say! Stay positive, this won't last forever - we
just need to refine and adjust our product or service for current demands,” she
says.
What
she has also done is to support as many local businesses as she can to get that
narrative across to other residents as well. “At the International School of
Communication we source many of our products from local companies - from 100
per cent recyclable stationery to a local SME that produces the most wonderful
tea that we offer in our café at work," says Jennifer.
Simarna
Singh, founder of the social enterprise Coco Veda, agrees. She says, “Many
businesses who are over reliant on international supply chains, have been
affected significantly. There is an opportunity amidst this disruption, whereby
individuals are focusing on supporting local businesses. For example, Majid Al
Futtaim and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, have launched
Dubai’s first in-store hydroponic farm at its Carrefour market in Al Wasl to
help drive UAE’s sustainability and food security agenda by increasing the
quantity of local, fresh and sustainable produce. I believe that to showcase
the importance of supporting local we require re-education and these
conversations should take place on a daily basis at home and embedded within
the school curriculum in the UAE so that the youth are more involved.”
Business
models need to be sustainable
The
pandemic, Simarna feels, has taught entrepreneurs that while the fundamental
premise of a business is to be profitable, there needs to be an inclusive
consideration of the needs for the people and planet. “It is important to
recognise that sustainability needs to be embedded within the business model of
each organisation, The UAE Government recognises the importance of
sustainability in business. Therefore, the cabinet has implemented Vision 2021
and Centennial 2071 to develop an ecosystem to accelerate and track the
progress of the sustainable development initiatives.”
She
says that in the new digital economy, leveraging on technology, will accelerate
sustainable development. “The pandemic has given us the opportunity to drive
sustainability through innovation”
Innovate
to survive
Rashi
Punjabi
Innovation
is also the key to survive, says seasoned entrepreneur Rashi Punjabi. While the
pandemic left her with no choice but to close the18-hole glow-in-the-dark mini
golf course, Tee and Putt, in Dubai’s Wafi Mall for everyone’s safety, it gave
her time to think of how to use her resources and expertise elsewhere. “I spent
my time at home playing lots of games with family, and that’s how the idea of
Giftopoly personalised games came to me. I also got the opportunity to conduct
and develop mind mapping workshops on an online platform, reaching a larger
audience and helping children and adults boost their memory and creativity
during the lockdown,” she says.
Rashi,
also a strong supporter for local businesses, says such enterprises are always
innovating, have great service levels and help with local employment. “They
make the city special. We can help local businesses thrive by recommending them
to our friends and family and sharing their information on our social media
pages.”
https://gulfnews.com/business/retail/women-business-owners-in-the-uae-innovate-to-stay-on-the-road-to-recovery-1.1599048361847
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How
Gender Equality Can Build A Prosperous Somalia
September
2, 2020
Conservative
religious beliefs and a long history of gender division. In many parts of
Somalia
----
The
challenges of gender inequality in Somalia have become more apparent in recent
decades. At the forefront of this societal evolution is the redefined role of
women in the country, which is strikingly different in 2020 compared to the
turn of the century.
However,
gender inequality remains a problem in the Horn of Africa nation, reinforced by
its patriarchal system, conservative religious beliefs and a long history of
gender division. In many parts of Somalia, women are still considered
subservient to men and many are resigned to roles of childbearing and
housekeeping.
At
the same time, an increasing number of women in the country are studying at
university to become working professionals. However, certain disciplines are
still considered to be unsuitable for females – a modern sign of the conflict
within Somalia’s progression towards gender equality.
Causes
of gender inequality in Somalia
Improper
Education
“Knowledge
is power.” It might not be a strong point, but this is pointing more towards
some parts of Somalia that are rejecting western views on women, to stick to
cultural ones. Education is nothing if you leave all you learn in school and
still behave like a savage when you get back home. In other words, it must be obvious
that you are educated.
A
community that’s poorly educated can never know the worth of women and a woman
that is not educated cannot know her rights. It has also been noticed that
parents don’t usually encourage the education of their female children because
they believe it will be of no benefit to them, as any money or success she
earns in the future, due to her education, will be of her husband’s, not
their’s.
Tradition
and Culture
Tradition
is said to be the custom of a particular society, while culture is simply the
way of life. Tradition and Culture do not allow women to become rulers among
the ethnic groups in Somalia. In fact, it is deemed an abomination in almost
every tribal group. Thus, the typical cultural dogma has plagued many thrones and
political seats in the country and this ideology has passed down many
generations of conscious thought.
Mentality
It’s
hard to keep “mentality” as a standalone point, as it is largely influenced by
culture and tradition. However, if you look at it subjectively, from a woman’s
view, it stands alone. The reason that many women are not ambitious is that
they believe top positions are meant for men. Even some ladies complain about
having a female boss simply because they are used to having a male boss.
It
almost seems clandestine for women to want to occupy a political position or
the top positions in a company.
This
mentality is perpetuated by society but also the environment in which girls and
women grow up in Somalia, which illustrates how much progress still needs to be
made. Gender inequality is systematic and institutional in this conservative
society but it has also been normalised by long-standing tradition.
Religion
It’s
obvious that religion is one of the top contributors to gender inequality in
the world. Some religions or religious
practices restrict the role of women to domestic roles, making it impossible
for them to aspire for positions of power, political influence or corporate
success.
However,
according to Islam, women are not considered inferior to men. Men and women
have similar rights and, in some areas, women actually enjoy certain privileges
that the men do not.
Allah
has declared in the Holy Qur’an that He has created men and women as equal
beings.
“He
has created you from a single being; then from that He made its mate. ( Ch
39:V.7 )
Lessons
from history
Aisha
bint Abu Bakr was a female scholar of great importance and a voice of authority
in Islamic jurisprudence almost 1500 years ago. Aisha was the daughter of Abu
Bakr, one of the Prophet Muhammad’s closest companions, one of the first
converts to Islam and the first to assume leadership as Caliph over the Muslim
community following the Prophet Muhammad’s death.
Prophet
Muhammad fostered Aisha’s education and nurtured her intellectual pursuits. She
was considered more knowledgeable than most of her male contemporaries in
matters related to Qur’anic interpretation, poetry, medicine and history and
men and women alike studied under her instruction. Aisha also rendered legal
decisions (fatwa) and delivered speeches publically, powerfully and eloquently.
During
the Prophet Muhammad’s lifetime, Aisha participated in the early battles fought
by the new Muslim converts against the Arab pagans who persecuted members of
the fledgeling faith community. During the Battle of Uhud, she distributed
water bags to the Muslim combatants on the battlefield. Following the death of
Prophet Muhammad, Aisha’s role became increasingly important. When the third
Caliph Othman ibn Affan was assassinated, the Muslim community’s underlying
political system was jeopardized by internal division and conflict. Aisha
raised a leading and quite public voice against Ali, the fourth Caliph, in 656
CE. She delivered a public address at a mosque located in Mecca where she swore
to avenge the murdered Caliph’s death. As a result, she garnered the support of
many Muslims across Arabia and eventually led an army into the Battle of the
Camel. The speeches she delivered during the battle were noted for their force
and candour.
Aisha’s
life represents a powerful model for Muslim women’s excellence in scholarship,
political engagement and even military leadership. She excelled in public
speaking, commanded an army on the battlefield and instructed both men and
women in Islamic jurisprudence.
For
those Somalis weary of Western feminism and where Islam continues to hold
political, social and religious currency in the society, Aisha’s standard
provides a culturally authentic paradigm for Muslim women seeking a leading
role in the political, judicial or religious spheres. Her standing as the
Prophet Muhammad’s beloved wife and the daughter of the first Caliph is
incontrovertible among Sunni adherents as is her predominant role in
government, academia and the law.
As
noted above, such Islamic model can serve as powerful, culturally authentic
tools in advancing the human rights agenda towards increased female empowerment
in the political, social and economic spheres within Somali society.
Equality
can build a prosperous Somalia
Equality
between men and women is one of the core values of the Somali constitution.
This value has been enshrined in Somali legal and political frameworks. Based
on the constitution, the Somali government is committed to breaking the vicious
cycle of gender discrimination through developing gender-responsive policies in
different sectors. The government has taken different measures and a range of
activities aimed at empowering girls and women, protecting their rights,
transforming their lives and strengthening their voices as drivers of
sustainable development.
The
government wants to take further measures to ensure the empowerment of women.
However, if the government is really determined to support women, it needs to
focus on young women and harnessing the full potential of Somalia’s youth.
The
international community has commended the Government in its effort to promote
gender parity within political participation. It aims to provide women 30% seats
in parliament. However, significant progress still needs to be made before
women are able to enjoy the same opportunities in life and contribute to
society in the same capacity as their male counterparts.
Ensuring
gender equality requires both the government and society to take bold and
practical steps to curb gender discrimination. Somali government not only shall
develop pro gender equality policies and laws but it shall put them in place.
At the same time, Somali society shall dare to embrace the modern values and
principles in terms of gender issues in the country.
Reaching
social equality is hard, but not impossible.
https://eastafricamonitor.com/how-gender-equality-can-build-a-prosperous-somalia/
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Muslim
Woman Sues County After Being Forced To Remove Hijab Inside Michigan Jail
By:
Kim Russell
Sep
02, 2020
GENESEE
CO., Mich. (WXYZ) — A Detroit woman has filed a lawsuit she hopes will impact
policies at law enforcement agencies and jails across the country.
The
lawsuit lays out what happened. Cora Cave was driving home from work. She says
she got pulled over for going six miles over the speed limit.
The
Michigan State Police trooper who stopped her told her she had an outstanding
warrant for a ticket she says she thought was taken care of. Her attorney says
it turns out it was. Still, she was arrested and taken to the Genesee County
Jail.
As
deputies at the jail booked her she says she told them, like some Muslim women
do, she believes wearing a hijab is part of being faithful. She says they told
her she had to take it off.
“I
told her I don’t uncover in front of men. She told me you have to take it off
and take it off right now,” said Cora Cave, the plaintiff in the suit.
Cave
said she had no choice, but to comply.
“I
felt extremely violated,” she said.
Her
lawsuit is not the first of its kind. Seven Action News covered similar suits
filed against Dearborn and Dearborn Heights several years ago. The cities
currently have policies that allow women to wear head coverings in front of
men. To prevent personal clothing from being turned into a weapon, special
hijabs designed for incarcerated women are provided to those under arrest.
“Cora
has the right to express her religion by covering herself. And it is a gross
violation of the law for a jailer to violate that right,” said Jim Rasor, her
attorney from the Rasor Law Firm.
“It
represents how we praise our lord. He wants them to come to him pure and clean.
And one way to do it is to cover,” Cave said.
Sheriff
Chris Swanson said his office has not yet been served with notice of the
lawsuit and could not provide comment.
Genesee
County Prosecutor David Leyton responded to our story saying the allegations
are something the county takes very seriously. It has not yet received the
lawsuit, but will review the suit and investigate what happened.
https://www.wxyz.com/news/muslim-woman-sue-county-after-being-forced-to-remove-hijab-in-jail
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Women's
rights a key issue during peace talks with Taliban
Aug
31, 2020
The
prisoner swap in Afghanistan is completed. The Taliban and the Afghan
government are now ready to talk peace. But women's rights hold little value
for the Taliban. A hardline group who banned girls from going to school
This
group whipped women accused of adultery or even the ones seen without a burqa.
Fawzia
Koofi is a high-profile women's rights campaigner. Just when the Taliban and
the Afghan government announced the peace talks. She survived a second
assassination attempt. Koofi has endured the oppressive Taliban rule once. Now
she's set to face them.
She
is one of the five Afghan women set to face the hardliners in peace talks.
Fatima Gailani and Habiba Sarabi are the other two.
Fatima
Gailani said: "Every woman in Afghanistan has a fear not just because of
this conversation, we always have a fear that whenever there are changes in
Afghanistan, whenever there is a political change, always women are hurt."
16
men from the afghan team and an all-male Taliban side will outnumber these
women, but for a patriarchal Afghanistan.
The
humble female presence is a turning point. Even more for Sarabi---Afghanistan's
first female provincial governor. She said: "I think it's a big success.
Of course we are not very happy. We are not-, we think it's not enough. But
it's a big success for us, because we will have our voice at the table."
So
far, the Taliban have given no assurance about women's rights. But for Gailani,
an Islamic-law expert. The first step
for negotiations to move forward is 'ceasefire'. She said: "I think it's
premature to talk about any kind of detail now. Whether it is about women or it
is about men or in general, the values that we stand for. For now, i think with
all these dilemma that we went through, with the release of prisoners with all
these sort of going forward and backwards forwards and backwards for the long
time, the most important achievement today is ceasefire."
The
other two women on the negotiating team are Shahla Fareed, a lawyer, women's
rights activist and university lecturer, and Sharifa Zurmati, a former
broadcaster and local politician in Paktia.
https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/womens-rights-a-key-issue-during-peace-talks-with-taliban-324361
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Israeli
And Emirati Women To Lead 'Peace Starts From Within' Conference
By
SARAH CHEMLA
AUGUST
31, 2020
Now
that peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates was announced on the
political level earlier this month, two women – one from each country – decided
to take action to implement this peace agreement on non-political levels.
These
women – an Emirati civic activist and an Israeli meditation teacher – will host
"Peace Starts from Within," a one-hour open video conference on Zoom
this Sunday, August 30 at 8 p.m. UAE time, 7 p.m. Israel time, aimed at
promoting a mindset of unity for a wide Middle Eastern audience.
“I
invite everyone who has a glimmer of hope that peace will prevail to join their
energy to ours,” said Mariam al-Ahmedi, an Abu Dhabi-based founding member of
the Arab Council for Regional Integration, a pan-Arab initiative dedicated to
fostering a spirit of partnership that knows no borders.
“By
building inner peace," she continued, "we can overcome the
programming of hostility that has been implanted in us and gain the strength to
love one another.”
“I
feel privileged to share in this effort with Mariam, a woman of valor and a
kindred spirit,” said Michal Lichtman, an Israeli yoga and meditation guide
based in New York who has led Israelis, Palestinians and others in courses on self-healing
and self-realization.
"We
both agree that peace starts from within, and will be appealing to those who
join us to turn their inner light on,” she added.
The
two hosts launched a media campaign to draw attention to the session, including
a joint interview on Israeli national radio and pan-Arab outreach via media
across the region.
The
program will feature a dialogue between the two women, followed by a meditation
session, and then a Q&A with the participants.
The
link to the Zoom conference can be found here.
In
the aftermath of the historic peace agreement announced earlier this month
between Israel and the UAE, many projects emerged to gather Israeli and Emirati
civilians around non-political collaborations.
This
agreement signals a major geopolitical shift in the Middle East, and has
already prompted massive interest in lucrative opportunities in the business,
technology, tourism and academic sectors that have now been made possible.
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European
Parliament Asks Pakistan To Protect Women And Girls From Discrimination And
Violence
August
28, 2020
Brussels:
The European Parliament has asked Pakistan to protect the rights of women and
girls after rising incidents of honour killings, acid attacks and social
restrictions on movement and jobs reported from the country.
Recently,
a question was raised that despite the fact that Pakistan benefits from the EU
GSP+, both the current and former Pakistani Governments have done little for
Pakistan’s women and girls.
In
the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, an official circular forcing school girls to
wear the hijab or the abaya was issued a few months ago. After widespread
outrage, the local Government had to revoke the decision.
Ishaq
Khakwani, a former federal minister and one of the leaders of the current ruling
party, Tehreek-e-Insaf, has admitted that the Government has not paid enough
attention to addressing the issue of violence against women.
In
a reply, the European Commission said, “The Report shows that Pakistan is
making some progress on effective implementation, e.g. on the elimination of
honour killings, the protection of transgender persons and the protection of
women’s and children’s rights. The report also notes that more progress is
needed, including with regard to discrimination and violence against women and
girls”.
It
further added, “Within the GSP+ monitoring process, the Commission sent a list
of salient issues to Pakistan in June 2020 recalling the need to take effective
measures to prevent child marriage across the country, make progress on the
bill raising the legal age for marriage to 18 years and on the bill on
prevention and protection from domestic violence against women”.
It
is waiting for a response from the Pakistan government, which is expected by
September 2020.
The
reply also added, “Discrimination and violence against women and girls were
also discussed during the 10th EU-Pakistan Sub-Group on Democracy, Governance,
Rule of Law and Human Rights in November 2019”.
The
European Commission also raised concerns over growing child labour in Pakistan.
“The
EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore raised the tragic case
of Zohra Shah, and the matter of child labour more broadly, with Federal
Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari on 27 June 2020, highlighting the EU’s
serious concerns. Minister Mazari informed of legislative efforts to ensure
that domestic child labour below 14 years of age would stop”, said the
Commission in a question raised over the issue.
It
further added, “The topic of child labour features prominently on the agenda of
the EU-Pakistan Joint Commission’s Sub-Group on Human Rights, and is also
addressed in the context of the Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable
Development and Good Governance (GSP+), the 2018-2019 Report on the Generalised
Scheme of Preferences (GSP) and its assessment on the implementation by
Pakistan of the conventions on labour and human rights covered by GSP+”.
Extreme
poverty in some provinces of Pakistan forced many children to work as
laborious. The situation is grim in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (ANI)
https://newslivetv.com/european-parliament-asks-pakistan-to-protect-women-and-girls-from-discrimination-and-violence/
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Prime
Minister Imran Khan Orders Release of Women in Jail On Flimsy Grounds
Syed
Irfan Raza
03
Sep 2020
ISLAMABAD:
In light of the Supreme Court’s (SC) orders, Prime Minister Imran Khan on
Wednesday directed the relevant authorities to make arrangements for the early
release of female prisoners — both under-trial and convicted.
According
to the Prime Minister Office (PMO), Mr Khan announced the decision at a meeting
and later in his tweets.
A
source in the PMO told Dawn that it was brought to the notice of the prime
minister that a large number of women prisoners were facing imprisonment only
because they were unable to pay petty fines.
The
prime minister vowed that the government would bear all expenses for the
release of women prisoners whose remaining sentence was less than three years
and they were serving imprisonment due to non-payment of petty fines, the
source added.
Says
decision is in light of SC ruling, asks authorities to arrange funds to pay
fines
The
prime minister directed the provinces and other authorities to generate funds
through Baitul Mal and social welfare departments to pay fines of the women
prisoners so that they could be released immediately.
In
his tweets, Prime Minister Khan said he had issued the directions after a
meeting with Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, the attorney general and
Barrister Ali Zafar.
“I
have asked for immediate implementation of SC order 299/2020 for release of
under-trial women prisoners and convicted women prisoners who fulfill criteria
of SC order,” he tweeted.
He
also asked for “immediate reports on foreign women prisoners and women on death
row for humanitarian consideration”.
Human
Rights Minister Shireen Mazari hailed the prime minister’s decision, calling it
a “great move forward for human rights and humanitarian approach to prisoners”.
She
further said Prime Minister Khan had also asked the ministry to provide him “a
complete timeline on prison reforms implementation”.
In
her tweet, she said: “This is just the start. PM has asked for a complete
timeline on prison reforms implementation — our report on prison reforms is
ready & now going to prepare implementation timelines with Barrister Ali
Zafar.”
The
prime minister was referring to an interim order issued in April, in which the
apex court had directed the government to release prisoners suffering from a
physical or mental illness, under-trial prisoners who were 55 or older, male
under-trial prisoners who had not been convicted in the past as well as female
and juvenile prisoners.
The
Supreme Court had recalled the bails granted to under-trial prisoners by the
high courts of Sindh and Islamabad to prevent a coronavirus outbreak in
over-crowded prisons. However, it allowed the government to release prisoners
who fell in the afore-mentioned criteria.
The
prisoners included in the above categories had been spared on the counsel of
the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP).
The
AGP had recommended the apex court not to extend bails of prisoners accused in
cases involving abuse or violent acts against children and women.
Later,
in a TV programme, Barrister Ali Zafar said he attended the meeting on
Wednesday in which the prime minister ordered immediate release of women and
juvenile (children less than 16 years of age) prisoners.
He
said all provinces had been directed to make arrangements for their release.
“Under
the prime minister’s directives, all women and juvenile prisoners will be
released except those sentenced in severe cases like murder,” he added.
Barrister
Zafar said according to a report of a committee formed by the prime minister
six months ago, more than 500 women and juvenile prisoners were facing
imprisonment in petty crimes and they would be released.
“Almost
75pc of the 500 prisoners are in Punjab and three to four in Balochistan,” he
added.
He
said the report also suggested that women prisoners should be detained in jails
in their hometowns or close to them and that women and juvenile prisoners
should be kept in separate compounds.
He,
however, agreed that at present they were being detained in the same compounds
where male prisoners were kept but in separate portions.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1577671/pm-orders-release-of-women-in-jail-on-flimsy-grounds
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