PM forms body to examine plight of women in prisons

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday constituted a committee to study and investigate the plight of women in prisons convicted or awaiting trial. The committee has been constituted in overall context of gender biasness prevalent in the society at large and issues associated therewith, and to put in place the institutional arrangements to address the issue in a comprehensive manner.
The committee terms of references are to assess whether prison rules, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 and international best practices are being adhered to with respect to women prisoners, especially their protection, rights, health, security, and wellbeing as well as to ensure that gender-specific services are available for women prisoners addressing their physical, psychological, emotional, and sociological needs.
The committee will review prison rules and other relevant laws with a view to suggest gender-specific changes in order to bring improvements for women inmates and overall governance, legal aid and management systems/processes in prison administration, especially with regard to women prisoners, and to suggest improvements.
The body will review individual cases of human rights violations and victimization of women inmates and suggest measures for institutional accountability. The committee will also review situation of children accompanying women in jails and work to help mainstream such children, especially with regard to their education and social integration.
The committee will suggest comprehensive and workable system of governance of prisons with a view to ameliorating the plight of women in prison. The body will review post-release programmes to ensure that women prisoners are able to adjust in society after they leave the prison; and any other task assigned to it by the chairperson in the interest of the welfare and protection of women prisoners.
The committee shall submit its report in the matter for further orders of the prime minister within a period of four months.
The committee consists of Federal Minister of Human Rights as chairperson, Secretary, Ministry of Human Rights (Secretary), secretary Ministry of Interior, home secretaries, governments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan as well as IG Prisons, Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Sarah Belal, and Haya Zahid. The chairperson may co-opt any person as member of the committee.