In 2023, the Human Welfare Association (HWA) observed ongoing legal setbacks for peasants and rural workers in Sindh. The Government of Sindh (GoS) did not withdraw its appeal against a 2019 Sindh High Court (SHC) ruling that had overturned regressive tenancy laws, reflecting GoS’s support for feudal systems.
In November 2023, SHC Justice Salahuddin Panhwar reaffirmed the Cooperative Societies Act of 1925 as supporting small-scale landowners and landless peasants. The SHC’s Circuit Court Larkana also resolved a longstanding land dispute, underscoring the Sindh Tenancy Act’s poor enforcement.
The Sindh Women Agriculture Workers Act, 2019, and the Sindh Industrial Relations Act (SIRA) remain largely unimplemented, and the Sindh Tenancy Act, 1950, continues to be ineffective, leading to forced evictions and wage theft.
Bonded Labour System
The Sindh Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 2015, remains underused. By 2023, District Vigilance Committees (DVCs) were established in all districts, but effectiveness was limited. HWA reported the liberation of 542 peasants from bonded labor through police raids in 2023. The number of DVCs grew from seven in 2019 to 14 by 2022, covering all districts by 2023.
Sindh’s eight Hari camps for released bonded laborers remain neglected, and the Sindh Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy 2022 failed to adequately assist peasants displaced by the 2022 floods.
Sindh Water Policy and Related Issues
The Sindh Water Policy, aimed at improving water management, faces implementation challenges. In 2023, HWA documented around 60 protests by over 3,000 peasants and rural workers, addressing land rights and economic issues.
The Sindh government’s 2021 Hari Card program for underprivileged peasants has seen little progress, with concerns over its lack of documentation. The November 2023 minimum wage increase to Rs. 32,000 per month for unskilled workers is not enforced in rural areas.
Sindh faces severe food insecurity, with 7.6 million people at risk by 2030 due to climate change, worsened by the 2022 floods that displaced millions and deepened poverty.
Read the full research here: The State Of Peasants’ Right In Sindh In 2023