Legal Aid and Justice Authority and Justice Project Pakistan have launched a new initiative aimed at improving legal support for women imprisoned under drug-related charges in Pakistan.
On Thursday, the two organizations trained the first group of lawyers under the Digital Legal Aid Pilot for Women Incarcerated under Drug Offences. The programme focuses on providing trained, gender-sensitive legal representation to women detained in Islamabad and Rawalpindi while also digitally tracking case progress and legal outcomes.
Many women currently held in Pakistan’s prisons on drug charges are still awaiting legal hearings, bail decisions, or proper representation rather than serving final convictions. According to officials involved in the initiative, most are first-time or low-level offenders who became involved due to poverty, coercion, or dependent relationships.
Speaking during the training session, Director General of LAJA, Adil Anwar, said the programme represents a shift toward a more accountable and structured legal aid system for vulnerable women.
The training sessions, conducted by Justice Project Pakistan, included guidance on harm reduction, trauma-informed legal support, bail strategies, and the Bangkok Rules — international standards for the treatment of women prisoners.
Ayesha Saleem, Team Lead for Data and Research at Justice Project Pakistan, said understanding the personal realities of detained women, including caregiving responsibilities and dependency issues, can help lawyers pursue fairer legal outcomes.
The initiative will also use the Vakeel Online digital platform to monitor lawyer-client interactions and track case results. Organizers say this is the first time legal aid for women facing drug-related charges in Pakistan will be systematically measured through a digital system.
Thursday’s session marked the beginning of a wider training programme expected to continue in the coming months.
