By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
IN its recently released State of Human Rights 2008 report the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has devoted considerable space — the most number of pages — to the education sector in the country.
It is not a coincidence that the most backward, underprivileged and impoverished people who are denied their basic rights also happen to be illiterate and uneducated.
Continue reading Education – tool for oppression
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
THE list of human rights recognised by the international community continues to grow. Since 1948 when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly the dimension of the rights issue, especially its nature, has changed enormously.
Continue reading A question of human rights
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
ZAMIR Niazi, that indomitable champion of press freedom and honesty in journalism, died five years ago in June. His deep interest in the print media — its performance, its role as the disseminator of news, its relationship with the powers that be and the treatment it received from the rulers — prompted him to keep a close eye on the press.
Continue reading Remembering Zamir Niazi
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
SO we are back to square one. The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Ordinance (Thoto) promulgated in 2007 to check the commercialisation of organ transplantation in Pakistan has virtually become a dead letter.
Continue reading Mr Shahbaz Sharif please act
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
HAVE you noticed the invisibility of women in the IDP camps? Although they constitute a substantial number of the displaced, it is the men who speak on their behalf.
Not at all surprising. Remember for years the election commission reported areas in the NWFP where not a single female vote was cast because jirgas had banned women from voting.
Continue reading Trapped in their seclusion