Hyderabad:Millions of rural women living in rural Sindh are without basic amenities including health, education and wages, most of them are directly engaged in agriculture, livestock and fisheries but had not received their rightful entitlements,
These views were expressed by Akram Ali Khaskheli, President Hari Welfare Association (HWA) in a press conference at Hyderabad Press Club on Thursday.
He said that HWA had compiled a report on violence, abuse and exploitation of women and girls in Sindh from January to June 2024, which reveals 837 cases 174 suicides (suspected murder), 140 abductions, 125 rapes, 118 murders, 68 domestic violence incidents, 63 honour killings, 13 forced marriages, 6 child marriages, and 3 acid attacks. Also, 127 cases of harassment in the agricultural sector.
He added that the highest number of cases were reported in Sukkur and Larkana divisions, mostly due to lack of enforcement of women’s protection laws. Akram lamented that women’s issues were not taken seriously, and reporting
cases is difficult in rural areas.
Husna Chand, President of Latif Hariyani Mazdoor Trade Union, Matiari, grieved that due to the non-implementation of the Sindh Bonded Labour System Abolition Act of 2015, the Sindh Tenancy Act of 1955, thousands of peasants and workers were living in harsh conditions often without basic human rights. She added that the district vigilance committees, established under the Sindh Bonded Labour System Abolition Act to prevent forced labour, had taken no action in any district.
Marvi Gambhir, General Secretary of Latif Hariyani Mazdoor Trade Union, Matiari, said that the economic conditions of women peasants and workers in agriculture, farming and livestock sectors were worsening day by day due to no or low wages. The minimum wage law set by the government is not enforced in the agricultural sector, and currently, women earn between 500 and 700 rupees per day, while toil hard more than eight hours, she said.
Akram Ali Khaskheli added that HWA and other pro-peasant rights organ
izations have also been urging the government of Sindh to further amend the Sindh Tenancy Act to meet the current needs of peasants and protect their rights.
He demanded that STA be amended by consulting with peasants’ rights trade unions, lawyers and other civil society stakeholders. He added that each year, hundreds of peasants are evicted from their lands and the existing system does not address their concerns. Thus, he demanded that special peasants’ courts should be established in each district to hear and address peasants’ grievances.
The press organizers also lamented that the government of Sindh had opposed peasants’ rights also by challenging the historic decision of the Sindh High Court on peasants in 2019 in the Supreme Court through civil petition 652.
They demanded that the government of Sindh should immediately withdraw its appeal in the supreme court against the Sindh High Court’s pro-peasants’ judgement and amend the Sindh Tenancy Act according to current needs, and its implementation to en
sure peasants’ rights. The laws against forced labour should be enforced to eliminate forced labour in Sindh, they said and added, the Sindh Agriculture Women Workers Act 2019 should be implemented soon, and women farmers should be registered and issued Benazir cards.