Ayeza Haider of Pakistan: She speaks for the voiceless

An animal rights activist, a supporter of women rights, a health and wellness consultant, a homemaker, and a mother of two children, Ayeza Haider is the antithesis of a largely misconstructed stereotype of a woman in hijab. In Ayeza’s own words, “Although I take immense pride in being a student of the Holy Quran for the past forty years, I am also a champion of woman's rights and emancipation and a very passionate animal rights activist.” Ayeza’s NGO Voice for the Voiceless is the most empathetic manifestation of her love for the most abused and the most vulnerable of Pakistan: animals. It is also an emphatic endorsement of the Islamic teaching of compassion for all living beings—human and animal.

I asked animal rights activist Ayeza Haider a few questions:

What was the motivation behind the initiation of your advocacy for animals?

I had been a social media activist for more than ten years. When the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf [PTI] won the 2018 elections, I realized that all of us should put in our own individual efforts to make possible the creation of the Riyasat-e-Medina model, which was our dream and our motivation. I loved animals, I had always kept pets, and that is why I felt really bad whenever I saw the plight of street animals, animals used for labour, and captive or abused ones. They seemed like innocent, helpless children who were unable to complain or prevent the abuse meted out to them by human beings.

In June 2019, I decided to set up the Voice for the Voiceless [VfV] to physically help and/or rescue animals in need. It was in a meeting of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals [SPCA] where I heard that PTI’s Ayesha Iqbal, Punjab Member of Provincial Assembly, was raising questions about animal abuse in the Punjab assembly. I traced her through the internet and messaged her. We talked; she was traumatized by a recent dog culling that had happened in her area of residence. We decided to work together to fight cruelty against animals and gather like-minded people who wanted to help. A WhatsApp group was created that day, I contacted everyone who I saw was doing any work for animals, and I kept adding them to form a network across Pakistan.

Several animal lovers, animal rescuers and NGOs joined hands to report and help our furry friends in case of injury or sickness. At the same time, we worked at reviving SPCA in Punjab, the only official institution assigned to check abuse against animals. But SPCA was working under the ancient colonial law of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1890. SPCA was almost ineffective then and was working under the Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Department [LDD&D] to vaccinate dairy animals instead of preventing cruelty to animals.

Three years later, SPCA is now rescuing animals with the help of 1122 [Punjab Emergency Service Department], keeping checks on shelters, conducting raids on any report of abuse, running an animal shelter, and implementing an official Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return [TNVR] programme. Most of the credit for that goes to SPCA’s Honorary Secretary Professor Dr Masood Rabbani who took special interest in SPCA’s revival after taking charge of its operations.

One of the major issues you have been working on is the treatment of animals at Lahore’s Tollinton Market. How did you notice the status of animals there?

Tollinton was basically a wholesale market to sell fresh meat, not pets. Lahore Development Authority confirmed this fact before the Lahore High Court when the Tollinton Market administration disputed it, the main point being that out of its 150 shops, only 15 dealt with pets. Six or seven shops had adequate facilities where pets were kept in a good, sanitized condition, but the rest were simply pathetic. Smelly cages with poor hygiene; undersized cages for animals; overcrowded bird cages; dogs and cats put alongside each other, creating stress in both species; sick animals that needed medical treatment; and worst of all, animals smelling blood and witnessing slaughter of other animals all day long.

We negotiated with the market administration to conduct awareness campaigns. We held free medical camps, conducted raids with SPCA, and formulated proper SOPs, which were displayed in all shops so that no one could claim ignorance.

What are the key features of your petition in the Lahore High Court, highlighting the terrible conditions in which animas are kept and treated at Tollinton Market?

It was our privilege that Justice Ayesha Malik [Pakistan’s first female Supreme Court judge] attached the Tollinton Market issue with our first petition regarding unlawful dog culling. Justice Malik instructed Commissioner of Lahore Captain [retd] Muhammad Usman Younis to assess the situation and revamp Tollinton Market. To determine the facts, Commissioner Younis constituted a high-powered committee comprising Metropolitan Corporation Lahore, Water and Sanitation Agency [WASA], Lahore Waste Management Company, Punjab Food Authority, LDD&D, Wildlife Department, SPCA, and members of civil society.

We held several meetings and came up with a unified plan, which was presented before the honourable court for approval. It stated that the meat selling section of Tollinton Market should be immediately separated from the pet market, as it poses a threat to human health and can potentially spread zoonotic diseases in humans. A new pet market will be set up, under SPCA governed rules, at a designated venue, and WASA will ensure a better hygiene mechanism.

Pet licensing, animal tracking, and punitive action against animal cruelty were the main features of that report.

You have been working on a proposal for humane treatment of animals. Who else is involved in the formulation of that, what does it comprise, and what is its status with the government of Punjab?

We created Pakistan Animal Rights Advocacy Group [PARAG] for the purpose of making new policies and laws and to upgrade the existing ones. Our first success has been the new dog policy in Punjab, which has ensured that the scientific method of TNVR will be used to ensure overpopulation and disease control, especially rabies in street dogs [Indus Hounds], instead of the failed system of poisoning or shooting, the prevalent inhumane acts to deal with issues related to stray animals.

In a landmark judgment, Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah declared animals as the ‘Non-human citizens of Pakistan’.

Our second project was the formulation of the ‘Punjab Animal Welfare Bill 2021’, which defines the real meaning of the word ‘welfare’. We wanted to ensure that animals rights were guaranteed in the new legislation. Wildlife Department, LDD&D, WWF, NGOs, civil society, and lawmakers, especially MPA Ayesha Iqbal, were involved in the preparation of the new document.

The proposed bill is now with the Punjab law ministry, and Punjab Minister for LDD&D Sardar Hasnain Bahadur Dreshak has given us his assurance to table it in the Punjab Assembly. The passing of this bill will be a historic step as it will be the first animal welfare act in the history of Pakistan, setting a precedent for the other provinces and the centre, inshaAllah.