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PAKISTAN: A women in Sindh is barred from her job for nineteen years

October 21, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-140-2009



22 October 2009
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PAKISTAN: A women in Sindh is barred from her job for nineteen years

ISSUES: Right to employment; working conditions
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Dear friends,

 
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a woman in Sindh has been arbitrarily denied her job in the civil service for nineteen years. Though officially appointed as a Social Welfare Officer in Karachi in 1990, she has been barred from taking up the job since, without explanation or official confirmation.

CASE DETAILS:

Ms. Saeeda Soomro was officially appointed Social Welfare Officer, Grade 16, by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) in Karachi in July 1990. She was offered the job through the correct channels, interviewed by a Larkana city official and chosen from among several candidates.

However when she reported for work Soomro was told at the secretarial office that her position had been canceled due to a flux in parliament (the government of then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had just been dissolved). Her attempts to get this decision in writing were rebuffed and she was told by officials that she would hurt her career if she tried to mount a legal case. Other civil servants in the district were reportedly treated in a similar manner.

As other officers continued to be recruited, her attempts to take up her position were rejected, though her job offer was never officially withdrawn. She reports having been continuously assured of an upcoming appointment, but this year officials at the department told her that she must abandon her claim.

This case is a clear breach of employment procedure and begs a great many questions about the operation and the professionalism of the Social Welfare Department. Saeeda Soomro's case must be dealt with according to procedure, and appropriate redress and compensation arranged where necessary.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the officials below asking them to ensure that the case is investigated appropriately.

Dear -------,

Re: PAKISTAN: A women in Sindh is unofficially barred from her job for nineteen years

I am writing to express my concern about the case of a woman who has been arbitrarily denied her job at the Social Welfare Department for nineteen years.

Documents show that in July 1990 Ms. Saeeda Soomro was officially appointed Social Welfare Officer, Grade 16, by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) in Karachi. She was offered the job through the correct channels, interviewed by a Larkana city official, chosen from among several candidates and passed her medical examination. Her employment was confirmed by Mobeen Ahmad Khan, then secretary to the Sindh government, in writing on July 26.

However when she reported for work Ms. Soomro was told at the secretarial office that her job had been canceled because the government of then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had just been dissolved. Her attempts to get this decision in writing were rebuffed and she was told by officials that she would hurt her career if she tried to mount a legal case, and that she would still be employed at a later date. I am informed that other civil servants in the district were treated similarly.

During the following years other officers continued to be recruited, but Ms. Soomro's attempts to take up her position were continually rejected. However the decision was not officially confirmed and she has continued to be assured of her upcoming appointment. This year officials at the department told Ms Soomro that the job offer was too long ago and that she must abandon her claim.

I believe that this case clearly breaches employment procedure, and begs a great many questions about the operation and the professionalism of the Social Welfare Department. It appears that Ms Soomro is due an extremely belated official explanation, and may well be entitled to claim damages for the wages denied her during the last nineteen years.

Please ensure that her case is immediately taken up according to procedure, and that appropriate redress and compensation is arranged for her. The government officials proven to have been negligent in this case must be dealt with according to the law.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan
Governor of Sindh province
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 5043
Tel: +92 21 920 1201
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk

2. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
Email: pressecy@cmsindh.gov.pk

3. Mr.Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani
Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +9251-9204108
Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com

4. Ms. Tauqir Fatima Bhutto
Minister of women development
7th Floor, New Sindh Secretariat, Karachi, Sindh province
Fax: 92-21-99213886
Email: bhutto.tauqeer@hotmail.com

5. Mrs. Nargis N.D.Khan
Minister, Social Welfare
Government of Sindh,
Block 79, Sindh Secretariate,
Opposite MPA Hostel,
Karachi, Sindh province
PAKISTAN

Telephone: 92-21-99213867, 92-21-99213868
FAX -92-21-99213868

6. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: registrar@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk

7. Ms. Nadia Gabol
Minister for Human Rights
Government of Sindh,
Pakistan secretariat, Barrack 92,
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9207044
Tel: +92 21 9207043
E-mail: lukshmil@yahoo.com

8. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk 

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Thank you.

Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-140-2009
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.