Law against corporal punishment in schools soon

islamabad — Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen M Mazari on Thursday said the government was working on a draft legislation to ban corporal punishment in schools.

Talking to media, she pointed out that Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) had already banned corporal punishment in schools.

She said corporal punishment was repugnant to teachings of Islam.

Earlier, Mazari told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that the cabinet had approved a bill to ban corporal punishment for children, adding that the same would be introduced for debate and passage by parliament.

During hearing of a petition, filed by singer and activist Shehzad Roy, against corporal punishment for children, IHC

Chief Justice Athar Minallah questioned what had become of lawmaking on the issue by the federal government, reports

The court wondered why — despite the the federal cabinet having approved a bill on the issue in March 2019 — the relevant bill was not brought to parliament and directed the law ministry to appoint an officer to ascertain the reasons behind the delay.

He also inquired whether laws in provinces were being enforced to stop violence against children.

Responding to the court’s queries, Mazari confirmed the federal cabinet had approved the bill and it would be sent to parliament now.

Roy’s lawyer informed the court that lawmaking had been done in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh to stop violence against children.

“What is the problem with the federal government then?” questioned Justice Minallah.

Mazari told the court that while her ministry “fully supports” Roy’s petition, the “law ministry said it is out of your [ministry’s] jurisdiction”.

Ensuring safety of children from such violence was the “job of the federal government and it is a human rights issue”, remarked Justice Minallah.

Explaining why the bill had not been tabled in parliament despite being okayed by the cabinet, Mazari said the ministry of interior had sent the bill to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CCI) and the council had “raised objections” to it. —