Time to change the law
Article 12 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights dictates right of movement and basic right to choose residence. These principles were adopted by United Nations Human Rights Council to draft a resolution for the elimination of all discriminatory laws against leprosy in its member states in 2010. The draft emphasises that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. These words thereby reaffirmed that persons affected by leprosy and their family members should be treated as individuals with dignity and are entitled to all human rights and fundamental freedoms under customary international law, relevant conventions and national constitutions and laws.
The aim of this draft is to ensure equal protection among all individuals and to reissue the rights previously suspended to “lepers” in almost all member states. This draft specifically ensures that persons affected by leprosy and their family members should have the same rights as everyone else with respect to marriage, family and parenthood. To this end: (a) No one should be denied the right to marry on the grounds of leprosy; (b) Leprosy should not constitute a ground for divorce; (c) A child should not be separated from his or her parents on the grounds of leprosy.
The aim of this draft is to ensure equal protection among all individuals and to reissue the rights previously suspended to “lepers” in almost all member states
It is expected that this draft will come in for discussion in the UN Human Rights Advisory Council meeting scheduled for February next year. As a Research fellow of RSIL, I am assisting Mr Ahmer Bilal Soofi, President RSIL and Member UN Human Rights Advisory Council on the matter. During my initial research, I was amazed to see the extent to which the laws of Pakistan discriminate against lepers. The Lepers Act of 1898, more than a century old, remains in place. The Lepers Act provides for segregation and control of lepers in different circumstances. Many different laws have emerged as a result of this Act. For example, Pakistani Dissolution of Marriage Act cites “leprosy” as a ground for dissolution of marriage. Similarly, the Motor Vehicle Act absolutely disqualifies “lepers” to obtain a drivers license for private or public transport. Furthermore, “lepers” are not allowed to travel on public transport including rail and air travel.
Provincial Children Laws empower district management to remove leprosy-affected children from schools and transfer them to “leper asylums.” Interestingly, provincial laws also empower district magistrates to remove “lepers” from city limits and “exterminate” them. Other laws in force prohibit “lepers” from seeking employment in food, clothing and service industry while if employed; their employers are liable to fine and possibly jail time.
Observing such discrimination and isolation of law for a disease-ridden person intrigued and prompted me to visit Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre’s Head office in Karachi to learn about this disease. Upon my arrival, Dr Ruth Pfau and her team of medical experts greeted me, and spent several hours with me explaining the disease and answering my queries. She described Leprosy as a bacterial disease, which is slightly contagious, but majority (95 percent) of the human immune system is strong enough to fight it off. She conceded that in the past due to lack of treatment and social stigma, lepers were segregated and forced off to live in leper colonies, but since the arrival of new medication in 1980s there is nothing to be scared about, and the thinking towards the disease needs to be changed. She explained that the disease is easily treatable and WHO is providing the treatment free of charge worldwide.
Upon sharing the reason of my visit, I discussed the current laws of Pakistan discriminating against lepers. Naturally, she was appalled. She categorically denied the need of any such laws while appreciating UN taking such a noble initiative and stated that in her decades of service in Pakistan, she has come across a massive social ridicule related to leprosy, but never was she aware that such laws existed. In her opinion the disease is nothing short of a trauma and that psychiatric care plays a major role in the post treatment phase. Segregating such patients or stripping them of their basic rights is not just and kind.
Provincial Children Laws empower district management to remove leprosy-affected children from schools and transfer them to “leper asylums”
During my meeting with Mr Ahmer Bilal Soofi he said, “With the modern age of medicine, many diseases such as leprosy are now easily curable and well contained, in these times; there is a severe need for the laws to evolve as well. The UN draft on the elimination on discriminatory laws on leprosy is nothing what is not already granted to the individuals under fundamental human rights. Many countries including India have already started work on this issue. And recently many of the Indian state laws, which were discriminatory against leprosy, have been amended or repealed. Pakistan should also look towards that end.”
Come February, while we will be discussing the United Nation’s draft in the Council meeting, it is opportune time for the government of Pakistan to also adopt the UN’s recommendations and eliminate all such laws that discriminate against leprosy or persons affected with leprosy. Steps need to be taken by concerned authorities revamp the laws of the country.
Note: This is part two of a two-part article. The first part can be accessed here.
