The missing girls.

Byline: Zubeida Mustafa

SINCE 1986, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has acted as a conscience keeper of the nation. Its flagship, the annual State of Human Rights in Pakistan, should jolt any government out of its stupor.

How did this government respond to the latest report? The human rights ministry, headed by Shireen Mazari, had a knee-jerk reaction and apparently without reading the report carefully issued a statement accusing the HRCP of having 'overlooked several major milestones towards securing and safeguarding the rights of vulnerable groups' in 2019. It even questioned the 'intent' of the HRCP.

The HRCP immediately issued a statement giving meticulously the page numbers indicating the locations of all those 'milestones' that Ms Mazari's ministry had overlooked.

The fact is that the working of the government is tardy and inefficient - especially in matters affecting the common man, woman or child like Zainab, the little girl who was raped and murdered. Take the case of the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act, 2020, (adopted in March) that took two years to legislate in the National Assembly. It still has to become functional. No director general has been appointed so far to head the Zarra Agency. This was pointed out to me by Naeem Sadiq, that intrepid champion of the Right to Information Act, 2017, and Citizens against Weapons. He has written to the prime minister and Ms Mazari's ministry asking for information on this matter.

The state cannot safeguard the security of its women and children.

While the government hems and haws, we do not know how many little girls will be meeting a fate similar to Zainab's or would be there being trafficked for prostitution.

This is another issue that needs the government's immediate attention. I hope the HRCP will also single it out in their future reports rather than garb it under the cloak of 'violence against women and girls'. The annual report states, 'Despite the legislation enacted to protect and promote women's rights in recent years, violence against women has escalated.' The report mentions all kinds of use of force and discrimination against women. But it fails to take explicit note of trafficking for prostitution. The closest it comes to this taboo issue is when it reveals that '629 women had been trafficked as brides to China'. This is nothing to be made light of.

I have been following this issue closely since I stepped out to help a 'vulnerable woman', my domestic help...