1,100 women in Pakistani jails

Islamabad, June 9 (IANS) Of nearly 75,000 prisoners lodged in various jails in Pakistan, around 1,100 are women, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said.

The latest report by the HRCP titled “State of Human Rights in 2012” states that nearly three dozen women were given death penalty, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

An HRCP official said the women prisoners lacked medical assistance as most of the prisons where they were kept did not have full-time doctors.

“Women in prisons are the most vulnerable detainees in Pakistan,” the official said.

He said a women police centre in Lahore has a lock-up that is exposed to passers-by, while a bathroom inside the centre had only a four-feet-high wall.

Describing it as violation of privacy for women, the official said women were being kept in lock-up much beyond the stipulated time, while there were no separate juvenile cells for young girls under 18.

Detailing crimes against women, the HRCP said at least 41 women became victims of acid attacks in 2012, 15 women had their limbs amputated mainly over suspicion of immorality, while heads of 37 women were shaved and 49 women were set on fire across the country.

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