HYDERABAD: The Sindh Human Rights Commission chairperson Iqbal Ahmed Detho has urged civil society to ensure provision of timely legal aid and essential needs such as appropriate clothing and safe living conditions to inmates at correctional centres.

He said during a visit of Youthful Offenders Industrial School (YOIS) and Women Prison in Hyderabad on Saturday that rehabilitation of women and children was the sole purpose of the establishment of separate prisons for the vulnerable members of society.

He directed authorities concerned to arrange legal support for eligible juveniles on an urgent basis and write to the officials concerned in this regard.

He said that the two institutions in Hyderabad were model correctional facilities for reform and reintegration and underscored the need for integrated and rights-based institutional coordination.

He said that reformatories and industrial schools served distinct functions, the former designed for juvenile offenders and the latter for destitute and neglected children, yet today’s YOIS must bridge these functions to create truly rehabilitative spaces.

He met 47 juvenile inmates as his team received applications for legal aid, transfer to other prisons, review of convictions and surety amount; inspected lodging facilities etc and assured them of SHRC’s commitment to protect their rights and dignity.

He urged the management of YOIS and Women’s Jails in Sindh to transform facilities into places of care, protection, learning, and recovery rather than keeping them as mere detention centers.

He reiterated a progressive correctional system must focus on reform, rehabilitation, and reintegration, upholding fundamental rights of every individual in state custody.

Detho was accompanied by SHRC Judicial Member, Meer Safdar Talpur, City taluka assistant commissioner Baber Ali, representatives of civil society organisations like SPARC and LAS working for prisoners’ rights and juvenile justice.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2025