Insani Huqooq Ka Irtiqa Aur Tasawwur
By Tauseef Ahmed Khan and Irfan Aziz
Workers Education & Research Organisation (WERO)
ISBN: 978-969-7753-09-1
316pp.

Behind the flourishing or decay of societies and states, one factor operates quite noticeably — the presence or absence of human rights.

Rights enable people to harmonise with one another and allow the state to secure the legitimate adherence of its citizens. Other factors notwithstanding, human rights ensure the sustainability of both state and society and energise them. An understanding of the idea of human rights and its practical manifestations helps individuals locate their own situation within society.

Although there is no dearth of literature on human rights, the book under review — Insani Huqooq Ka Irtiqa Aur Tasawwur [The Evolution and Conceptualisation of Human Rights] by Tauseef Ahmed Khan and Irfan Aziz — is noteworthy for its wide scope and its inclusion of themes generally held taboo in a hypocritical society and by a reluctant officialdom. Leaving aside the low level of awareness about human rights in Pakistani society and the state’s failure to create an enabling environment, one encounters hesitation, if not resentment, towards the idea of human rights at the level of successive governments.

One recalls that human rights education was introduced into the national curricula only after persuasion by the United Nations, which had declared 1995 to 2005 as the Decade of Human Rights Education. The Ministry of Education and the Higher Education Commission undertook this task reluctantly, inviting university faculty to suggest topics for inclusion. These consultations revealed sharply divided perceptions.

An Urdu book free of complex theoretical jargon and clearly intended for students combines conceptual discussions about the idea of human rights with the history of attempts to realise them in different societies

Some argued that human rights were a Western agenda; others claimed NGOs used the discourse to undermine the moral fabric of society by encouraging women’s liberation and empowerment. There were assertions that traditional society, grounded in tribal and mediaeval values, had little need for such concepts. A commonly proposed solution was to divide human rights into ‘Western’ and ‘Islamic’ chapters. Even senior faculty appeared deeply divided on the concept and the utility of teaching human rights.

In one meeting, the suggestion that violations such as honour killings or marriage to the Quran be included in curricula was aggressively opposed on the grounds that students would be exposed to vices they supposedly did not know existed. Such reactions revealed how difficult it was, and remains, to educate new generations about rights. The situation has not changed substantially since that decade ended.

The authors, both professors of Mass Communications, have written this book with the objective of having it included in academic syllabi. Written free of complex theoretical jargon, it is clearly intended for students. The question remains: how will it be received?

The book is organised into seven chapters that combine conceptual discussions with historical and practical efforts to realise human rights in different societies. The authors focus primarily on rights that have been formally accepted, rather than those that are still emerging or are contested.

They begin by examining the evolution of the state and the need for law in societies. Ancient civilisations, including Egypt, Iraq, Greece and the Indus Valley, are discussed in relation to agrarian economies and divisions of labour that necessitated defining duties and rights. In these societies, the state functioned as a regulator of social relations through law.

Particular emphasis is placed on means of production and the division of labour in Athens and Mesopotamia, including Hammurabi’s legal code, often described by anthropologists as the world’s first written constitution. Moving into the mediaeval period, the authors examine religious traditions including Confucianism, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, highlighting shared ethical teachings, such as kindness, dignity of labour, justice, sacrifice and honesty.

While these values may retrospectively be described as human rights principles, the book rightly notes that human rights as a coherent doctrine, supported by legislative and institutional frameworks, emerged in the modern era, with the rise of nation states.

The book then turns to the evolution of rights among different social groups, including peasants, labourers, women and slaves. These groups are discussed separately, with attention to the historical struggles through which their rights were realised. Several movements receive detailed treatment, including peasant struggles in mediaeval England, the erstwhile Yugoslavia and India. The impact of the French Revolution on human rights and the long history of struggles in the Western world are also explored.

Slavery is discussed as a practice that was abolished at different stages in different societies. Similarly, women’s rights took centuries to gain recognition and legal codification. Labour rights evolved gradually from the 16th and 17th centuries onward, achieving varying degrees of success across societies and historical moments.

The 20th century is examined in terms of rights movements and the institutionalisation of human rights. The book discusses in detail the creation of the League of Nations after the First World War and the United Nations following the Second World War in 1945. The authors explain the historical context that necessitated these organisations, their objectives, and areas of contribution, particularly by the United Nations, to peace and harmony, as well as their failures. The evolution of foundational documents over time is also addressed in a critical manner.

In a separate chapter, human rights are classified thematically. The topics discussed include the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), women’s rights — particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) — the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The expanding scope of the UN human rights frameworks to include LGBTQ+ and transgender rights is also addressed, and a historical background is provided.

Turning to Pakistan, the book surveys major human rights institutions and their work, including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the National Commission for Human Rights, the National Commission on the Status of Women, the Pakistan National Commission for Minorities and the Pakistan Information Commission, alongside several provincial bodies.

Despite its comprehensive scope, the omission of a dedicated discussion on the Fundamental Rights chapter of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution is surprising. The chapter is substantial in its original form and has been further enriched through constitutional amendments.

Overall, two broader issues merit attention. Firstly, the subject of human rights benefits from a historically grounded approach that traces not only the expansion of rights but also the changing meanings of particular rights over time. Historicism also requires that past concepts be understood within their own contexts rather than retroactively imposed with contemporary categories.

In the case of slavery, for example, it is difficult to meaningfully apply the concept of rights within a system that fundamentally negated human personhood. The abolition of slavery marked the first formal recognition of slaves as humans entitled to rights.

Secondly, rights must be understood within their social context. The recognition or codification of rights is distinct from the ability to exercise them. Access to rights is socially structured; a reality that complicates rights-based discourse. The guest article by journalist Sohail Sangi at the end of the book addresses this issue through a Marxist lens, questioning which classes truly benefit from the rights regime.

The reviewer is Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Sohail University, and Director, Institute of Historical and Social Research (IHSR), Karachi

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, January 25th, 2026