KARACHI - Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuro has said that people of Pakistan especially women have been suffering from the deprivation of fundamental human rights and are being made victims of injustice since several decades. Addressing the inaugural session of a three-day seminar titled "Access to Justice: Criminal Justice System" organised by Hamdard School of Law, APWA Legal Aid Call Centre, Committee for Welfare of Women Prisoners and Women Prisoners Welfare Society at a local hotel on Friday, he, in his keynote speech, said that women being unaware of their fundamental human rights are being victimised through many ways, adding that government had destroyed the judicial institution during the last five years which created hurdles to an easy access to justice for the people. He said injustices bring irritation and frustration among the masses and it is the root of terrorism because justice means rule of law. Khuro urged the jurists to come forward and help the government for provision of justice to the people and reformation of judicial system. Speaking on the occasion, Justice (R) Nasir Aslam Zahid said that ensuring citizens' access to justice is a crucial fundamental right and an important state obligation. He further said the provision of justice is an essential attribute of a civilised society and indeed civilised governance could be measured in direct proportion to the quantum and quality of justice provided to the masses. He said that it was hard to visualise a state or society sustaining itself for long without ensuring justice to the community because peace, security, liberty, freedom and growth of a society are directly related to even-handed justice. He concluded the inauguration session of the conference with these words 'nations disintegrate and civilisations collapse due to the failure in delivery of justice'. Ritu Dewan, Professor Centre for Women Studies, University of Mumbai, India, shared her view on "Patriarchy Within and Without: A Gender Economic Perspective on Imprisoned Women". She said that a mong the most crucial issues on which little research and advocacy are being conducted is that of economic justice meted out to women prisoners. "There is no reported study whatsoever on integrating the concept of economic and social justice with the status of imprisoned women based in Gender Economics perspective," she added. Professor Ritu said that patriarchy in Pakistan and India, with neither of them having given attention, has similar situation with regard to patriarchal economic and extra-economic structure. She concluded that prisons obviously can not exist as non-patriarchal island in a strongly patriarchal society but the State can surely make some attempts to examine the causes of offences committed by women, thereby and additionally reduce the unequal status of those incarcerated. Tahira Abdullah in her presentation on "Crimes Against Women and Appraisal of Increasing Trends in Pakistan" highlighted the reasons of crime against women. She mentioned that break-up of the fabric society, increasing awareness of rights and desire to assert it, intolerant society, massive involvement of weapons after Afghan war, no conviction for crimes and biased attitude of society towards women are some major reason behind the crimes against women. Barrister Ambar Dar, Justice Tilkawardane Shiranee, Dr. Faroogh Naseem, Justice (R) Dr. Nasira Iqbal and Akmal Waseem also participated in the conference.