Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari has presented “Plight of Women in Pakistan’s Prisons Report” to Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The report highlights key observations and recommendations in terms of legislative, policy and training reforms needed to protect the rights of female prisoners in the country.
On May 29, 2020, Mr. Khan formed a committee to study and investigate the plight of women in the country’s prisons.
The Committee was chaired by the Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari.
The report highlights the critical need to reduce the proportion of prisoners under trial. It also recommends the development of sentencing alternatives and non-custodial measures for female prisoners.
The report also calls for l living conditions to be improved, and education and rehabilitation programmes in female prisons and barracks across the country.
It further recommended that the revision of prison rules is fast-tracked.
Official data received by the committee shows that out of 73,242 prisoners in Pakistan, 1,121 are female which makes 1.5 percent of the prison population.
Additionally, there are a total of 134 female prisoners who have children residing with them.
The total number of children in prisons is 195.
There are 46 female senior citizen prisoners and 10 female juveniles in total with approximately 300 prisoners detained away from their home districts.
There are 24 female medical workers available to cater to the health and nutrition needs of these female prisoners in addition to visiting doctors from nearby DHQs.
