Harassment in any form needs to be considered abhorrent because it has far-reaching impacts on victims which can cause many of them to suffer from severe mental illness throughout their lives. It goes without saying that women — particularly girls — as well as children are the most vulnerable in our society. It is vital that parents provide an enabling environment to their children in order to make them comfortable to share harassment incidents.
A recently reported case of Nadia Ashraf, a PhD candidate, is a case in point. As per reports in the media, the victim took her life because she was being harassed by her supervisor. However, what seems to be even scarier is the fact that even though harassment cases have increased over the past years, it is impossible to count the unreported harassment cases that have been happening throughout the country. Therefore, the true extent of the problem remains unknown. The provision of safety is the foremost duty of the state. Laws against harassment exist, but implementation has always remained a problem.
The recent increase of such incidents shows that the problem has considerably aggravated in Pakistan, and if the concerned authorities don’t act in a timely fashion, our society may very well descend into a state of moral chaos. The urgency of action by authorities may also convince victims to come forward and report their cases. Furthermore, tougher prison sentences to perpetrators and would-be offenders may serve as a deterrent in this regard. Exposing such elements in order to save people from being further victimised is the need of the hour.
M Shahjahan Memon
Qamber
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2020.
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