Photo-essay competition

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) held a nationwide photo-essay competition in 2021 to create greater awareness of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. To view the winning entries of this competition on HRCP’s online exhibition webpage, click here.

The right to freedom of peaceful assembly:

“Every citizen shall have the right to assemble peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of public order.” (Article 16, Constitution of Pakistan)

Assemblies are platforms to advocate for change and to raise awareness of civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly allows a democratic society to function smoothly by giving every citizen the chance to express their beliefs, convey their grievances and pursue change collectively. This right also facilitates a participatory form of government, and is simultaneously dependent on other rights, such as the right to freedom of expression, the right of movement, the right to freedom of association, the right of non-discrimination and the right to liberty.

This right is also preserved by international law, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of which Pakistan is one of the founding signatories. The UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), form the ‘International Bill of Human Rights’ and together enumerate a series of rights, including the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, that call upon state parties to protect, respect and fulfil these rights. Pakistan ratified the ICESCR in 2008 and the ICCPR in 2010, hence undertaking an obligation to bring domestic law related to freedom of peaceful assembly in consonance with international standards and best practices.

Despite being enshrined in Pakistan’s constitution, the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is routinely curtailed by various legal provisions that directly or indirectly allow state authorities to impinge upon this right. For an exhaustive review of these legal provisions, click here.

HRCP’s photo-essay competition:

In 2021, HRCP invited Pakistan-based photographers to submit photo-essays (a series of photographs that tells a story) that illustrated the right to peaceful assembly. The submissions focused on a single public gathering or more than one, connected to a particular theme. The gatherings included protests, rallies, marches, sit-ins, vigils, demonstrations or protest camps that took place between 1 January 2021 to 15 March 2022.

The winning entries of the competition include a photo-essay submitted by Mr Sibth Ul Hassan Turi that depicts land dispossession in Rawalpindi’s villages; a photo-essay submitted by Ms Muskan Firdous that depicts a rally by women labourers; and a photo-essay submitted by Mr Aun Jafri on marches for women’s rights in Lahore. These entries were selected as the winner and runners-up respectively by an independent panel of artists, photographers and human rights defenders, and illustrate how the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is exercised in Pakistan by everyday people.

To view these entries on HRCP’s online exhibition webpage, click here.