Women, children live miserable life at shelter homes in KP: survey

PESHAWAR: The women and children live a miserable life in the state-run shelter homes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as they face a host of problems including lack of food, accommodation, and legal, medical and security issues.

This was stated in a survey report filed by the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter after a visit to the shelter homes. The report, a copy of which is available with The News, was prepared after visits to the state-run shelter homes at Mardan, Nowshera, Mansehra, Charsadda, Abbottabad, Peshawar, Swat, Haripur and Kohat. The report stated that the laws and policies announced for the betterment of women and children in the province are partially implemented, followed and obliged. “Minimum standards for the shelters are not followed or were ignored by the administration. Guiding principles approved by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government have not been implemented in letter and spirit,” the report stated.

It pointed out that Abbottabad, Mansehra, Peshawar, Haripur and Kohat shelter homes were functioning in designated buildings of the Social Welfare Department, while the ones in Nowshera, Mardan, Swat and Bannu were running in rented buildings where inmates were facing lack of space, grounds, entertainment, education and environment. “Some are in poor condition with broken doors and cupboard wings hanging from the shelves, no curtains on the window, worn out mattresses, broken and moving hinged beds without bed sheets, barely carpeted floor, low supplied and bare floored kitchen with limited utensils are worth mentioning,” the report revealed. It said that during visit to the Women Crisis Centre in Peshawar, Superintendent Alia complained about the improper security measures in terms of both technology and personnel.

“Presently, there are 58 women confined in the centre who have taken refuge in criminal/honour, violence, and elopement cases,” she informed, adding that 98 percent cases are belonged to courts or police referred. It said that the centre looks like a sub-jail as there is strong desire and need for security personnel to ensure full security of the shelter home. She demanded deployment of at least four female and two male constables on full-time service.

She pointed out that the law and order situation in the centre is questionable as one resident is threatening the other residents, torturing them mentally and physically and depriving them of their belongings. “The situation of security in all state-run shelter homes was found worse and the staff of the women shelter homes at Abbottabad, Mansehra, Swat, Charsadda, Mardan, Kohat and Charsadda unanimously demanded security personnel on emergency basis,” the report stated. The NCHR team assessed that CCTVs cameras fixed for security purposes were insufficient and majority were non-functional. When asked about the CCTV cameras, superintendents of the shelter homes informed the team that funds for the repair of the cameras were not available. It was also observed that no proper medical facilities existed for the inmates of shelter homes under the health policy or according to guidelines of the shelter homes. During survey, it was also revealed that women and children complained that sometimes insufficient food was provided and they at times fought over snatching for food.

However, it said that the privately run shelter homes like Sarhadi Yateem Khana Mardan, Khapal Kor Charsadda, Idara Tadreesul Quran Abbottabad, Zamog Jazba Mardan and SOS Village Dohyal have great achievements in the field of education, skills and social development. Talking to The News, NCHR KP Deputy Director Rahat Ali said that the commission has given recommendations to the government on the basis of the report for improving the living conditions at the shelter homes and implementation of the guidelines and provision of basic facilities.