ISLAMABAD: Women’s rights activists at a seminar on Saturday called upon the provincial governments to appoint ombudspersons to hear the complaints of sexual harassment at workplaces. They also asked the federal government to provide suitable offices and the required staff for the Federal Ombudsperson to start working.
They urged the provincial governments to take immediate steps for the swift implementation of the law to protect women against harassment at workplaces. The seminar was organised by Alliance Against Sexual Harassment (AASHA) -- a coalition of about 12 civil society organisations working to promote women’s rights.
The speakers said that chief ministers should issue directives to all ministries, divisions and departments to enforce the law that serves as “a ray of hope for women of the country struggling for decades to get their just rights, particularly at workplaces.”
Dr Fouzia Saeed, Chairperson of the National Implementation Watch Committee (NIWC), said, “No other law has been accompanied by such awareness campaigns and community efforts. We have seen visible results in a short time period.”
NIWC is responsible for overseeing, monitoring and facilitating the implementation of the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010. Saeed said most of the federal ministries have implemented the law and the few remaining were in the process of implementing it.
The Punjab Chief Secretary, she said, had already issued directives to all provincial departments to implement the law. Three-member committees have also been formed in the departments to probe into the complaints of women against harassment. These committees will also ensure that people in their departments are well aware of the act by ensuring that the code of conduct is displayed at conspicuous places in the workplace. The Sindh government, too, was following suit, she said.
Similarly other government organisations including Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, Higher Education Commission, and State Bank of Pakistan have already implemented the law and written letters to the organisations that operate under them to enforce it.
AASHA, she said, was facilitating implementation of the law by preparing training packages and arranging orientation sessions for the senior managements in the public and private sector.
Maleeha Hussain, Director Mehargarh, part of AASHA, said her organisation was running six legal aid centres in Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Hyderabad in the country to provide free legal services. Each centre has one lawyer, she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2011.
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