Work Place Harassment – Page 71 – Pakistan Gender News

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013

Sexual harassment at CDA: Female rescue staffer takes assistant director to court

By: Obaid Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday sought a detailed report from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) regarding the harassment case of its Rescue1122 employees.

The application was filed by medical field staff of the emergency service department while seeking action against Security Assistant Director (AD) Muhammad Ramzan for allegedly harassing female employees in the department.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui directed CDA Administration Member Chaudhry Munir to submit a copy of the report of the CDA inquiry committee —which was set up by the agency’s chairman — by the second week of September.

The female employees have alleged that Ramzan began harassing a female employee when she made a leave request.

The application submitted by the victim’s female colleagues says the incident took place on July 6. After this, the CDA Security Directorate constituted a probe committee which found Ramzan guilty. He was then transferred to hte Directorate of Municipal Administration. However, after 20 days, he was reinstated to his previous post by the current Administration member.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Ramzan, who was a grade 8 employee during Imtiaz Inayat Elahi’s chairmanship, was promoted to grade 17 by former CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal, who saw him as a favourite.

During the course of the hearing, Munir tried to assure the court that the CDA chairman had constituted a committee which will probe into the matter. He said that after its findings come out, strict action will be taken against accused if guilty. He also requested the court not to pass any orders till the findings of the inquiry report are available, a request that the court turned down.

Earlier, the female employees also informed the court that there was no separate room for them in the department and they are compelled to sit with the same male employees that harass them. “We are on duties for many hours including nights and there is no separate room for us. We must even share the washroom with men,” they complained.

Justice Siddiqui directed Munir to facilitate the female staff with a separate workspace and adjourned the matter till the second week of September.

Express Tribune

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013

‘Gender bias’

THIS is in response to Raja Shafaatullah’s letter ‘Gender bias’. I think we must at least give credit to those who have done something for women in our society by giving them more than equal opportunities.

Besides equal opportunities for competing in public-sector jobs, women are given additional 10 pc quota so that they could fill the gap.

For protection of women in offices a bill has been passed for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace.

Some of the fault lies on part of the women and mostly their families.

As regards medical profession, I have seen that the ratio of women is more than that of men in public-sector educational institutions where the government spends millions on them, but it has been noticed that most girls do not opt for continuing the profession.

I seems that reason behind becoming a doctor is to get a good marriage proposal.

Not just in medical profession but other educational institutions are also full of women students.

However, when we look at the merit lists of competitive examinations, we don’t see enough number of women candidates. This is because they decide to get married and be housewives.

Our society also doesn’t accept women working in private and public sectors, except for a few professions like medical and teaching.

Thus, non-recognition of household work results in reinforcement of gender discrimination and inequality.

The situation must change.

IRFAN KHUHRO
Islamabad

DAWN

August 1, 2013August 20, 2013

Respecting women in the workplace

Recently, there has been some attention drawn to a long-standing issue that many women face in the workplace and at other institutions. The issue highlights the fact that the mainstream working society in Pakistan is still not accustomed to working with female colleagues. However, the issue is not just that men are estranged from the concept of having women in the workplace; it is that they sometimes act as superiors thinking that it is acceptable to harass a woman, sexually, physically or even verbally. Shamefully, the legislation to protect women against harassment at the workplace is only three years old, as we had ignored the problem — which itself has been occurring for much longer — for all that time previous. Nonetheless, now that the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 by parliament is in place, those in the corridors of power, as well as employers and institutions, should work to make the law accessible to employees in the workplace.

One of the primary issues is that many women do not have an executive body to report such issues in the workplace. As per the Act, all institutions, government and private, are required to have a committee with, at least, three members and, at least, one woman to oversee harassment matters and report to provincial ombudsmen for ruling. As of now, the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa do not have provincial ombudsmen and institutions in all provinces lack governing committees. To tackle these dilemmas, there needs to be a countrywide awareness campaign. This should include posters explaining the Act hung in every workplace to inform women and men of their rights to seek harassment charges should they feel they have been wronged. This way, both offenders and potential victims — including bosses, employees and even visitors to the workplace — will be made aware of the repercussions. We also need to address issues at the higher level with legislators, rights activists, NGOs and all institutions working in unison to spread awareness and implement these laws when the need arises. Until people face consequences for their wrongful actions and are made examples out of, harassment issues against women in institutions will continue to occur at their current frequency.

Express Tribune

August 1, 2013August 20, 2013

Laws on women’s issues: All-female committee to start dialogue soon

KARACHI: To initiate consultation with different stakeholders on laws for women’s issues, the Sindh government formed an eight-member committee comprising female legislators on Wednesday.
This was decided at a meeting chaired by the law and parliamentary affairs minister, Dr Sikandar Mandhro, held in the committee room of the Sindh Assembly. The committee comprises female MPAs of different political parties in the Sindh Assembly, including Pakistan Muslim League- Functional’s Mahtab Akbar Rashdi and Nusrat Seher Abbasi, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani, Sharmila Farooqui and Kulsoom Chandio, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Sorath Thebo and Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Irum Azeem Farooque.

After the meeting, Dr Mandhro told the media that the government wants to initiate dialogue and consultation with different stakeholders, including women rights organisations, before moving the bills on women issues.
“After the 18th Amendment, the provincial government has the right to make new laws and bring amendments to the old acts,” he said, adding that priority would be given to all the pending bills tabled in the assembly. “PPP tries its best to make comprehensive laws.”

According to PML-F’s Nusrat Seher Abbasi, this was the first meeting on the matter and it was decided that the process of consultation with various stakeholders would be expedited after Eidul Fitr. “Multiple bills, including ones on honour killing, child marriage, harassment of women at workplaces and acid throwing, have already been moved by different lawmakers in the Sindh Assembly,” she said while talking to The Express Tribune. “The committee with consultation of law experts, social activists and women rights organisations will review these draft laws and give them a final shape.”
Facing problems

Heer Ismail Soho of the MQM blamed male lawmakers for not being sincere in the legislation on women issues. “I have been trying to move a bill against honour killings in the assembly for the last five years but my plea has always been turned down,” she said. “The male lawmakers are laughing at us, but we are committed and will again bring forward the law for the protection of women.”

Mahnaz Rehman of the Aurat Foundation told The Express Tribune that laws were made in rush without the consultation of proper stakeholders. “The government should not only focus on making this law but also make all out efforts to implement it,” she said, adding that the federal government had passed the domestic violence bill and Sindh Assembly also followed suit, but not a single protection committee had been formed as yet.

“The government has to form the protection committees, comprising representatives of NGOs, officials of health and social welfare departments and other notables, to hear the complaints of women and redress the same. Serious efforts, however, have not been made as yet,” she lamented. She noted that there were flaws in the domestic violence bill which should be rectified to make it more useful.

Express Tribune

July 30, 2013September 8, 2015

Harassment at the workplace: Fear, inertia keep women’s protection law under wraps

By: Riazul Haq

ISLAMABAD: What does a student do at a crossroads when her two options are either to allow herself to be sexually harassed or to fail in her exams if she refuses to cooperate? Sara*, a management sciences student of Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, is facing this dilemma, and doesn’t know whom to report to as there is no sexual harassment committee at the university.
Sara is one of thousands of women who are daily harassed at different institutions, government and private offices. There is currently no platform to report these advances, nor is there enough awareness about related laws.

Three years have passed since the passage of the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 by parliament. As per rules, it has to be acted upon with the help of ombudsmen offices in provinces. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan do not have ombudsmen yet.

Most of the public and private organisations’ employees and bosses remain unaware of regarding the act. They also don’t know which forums to approach in case of harassment-related issues.

As per the legislation, all organisations, including federal and provincial government ministries, departments, corporations, educational institutions, private commercial organisations and registered civil society associations, will be required to form inquiry committees of at least three members each – one of them a woman – to probe complaints and give their findings within 30 days to the competent authority concerned, that will award recommended penalties.

No action at the provinces

“Here, we are dealing with the federal capital area, and we facilitate offices in provinces which are connected with the centre,” said Aziz Iqbal, an official at the Federal Ombudsman for sexual harassment office in Islamabad.

Aziz said that so far, their office has received only 139 applications and appeals since its inception, of which 130 have been disposed of and nine are under process.

The situation is no better at the provincial level. K-P’s organisations and institutions have not as yet followed the orders as per the Act and establish three-member committees.

Balochistan’s situation is similar, where the Women’s Development Department is looking to enact its own law. The law is currently with the law ministry for vetting.

Salma Qureshi, the focal person and additional secretary at the Department, Quetta, said that as the law is yet to be passed by the provincial assembly.

“People can go to the district court against any department and person violating the act or not implementing the provisions,” she said, adding that they have not received any application of harassment since constitution of the body. In Qureshi’s opinion, the environment in the province is generally respectful for women and incidences of harassment are isolated.

The province of Sindh does have an ombudsman while Kinnaird College Lahore’s former principal, Dr Mira Phailbus, has been appointed the Punjab ombudswoman.

Another official at the office, on condition of anonymity, said they receive dozens of complaints from females about sexual harassment but don’t want to be named for fear of action.

Member, Alliance Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace (AASHA), Maleeha Hussain said that “if people see any violation of law, they should report to lower courts, as the offices of ombudsperson have not been formed by some provinces.”

Express Tribune