Harassment incident: ‘PTI capable of protecting its women’

Women leaders of the party say the PML-N is responsible for harassment incident at the May 1 rally

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf women-wing leaders have strongly reacted to the criticism that the party had failed to protect its women activists from harassment at its recent public gathering in Lahore.

Addressing a press conference at the Chairman’s Secretariat, PTI women-wing leaders held the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz responsible for harassment incidents. They said the PML-N’s ‘Gullu Butts’ were involved in such incidents. She said the PML-N government was also responsible for mistreatment of the Pakistan Awami Tehrik’s women activists in the Model Town incident. “It is nothing short of an irony that the party is now expressing concern over harassment of women at the PTI’s jalsa,” she said.

PTI central women wing president Dr Munaza Hasan condemned the PML-N leaders’ remarks over the incidents and said that the PTI was fully capable of standing up for the rights of its women workers.

She said the PTI had lodged a police complaint in which it had sought action against the PML-N for the harassment incident at its May 1 jalsa.

Dr Hasan said the government had failed to take effective measures that could have prevented the incident.

She said the PTI had taken adequate precautions and had arranged a separate enclosure for women to avoid any untoward incidents. “What was the police doing? Where were the women police officers?” she asked.

Addressing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Mariam Nawaz, she said, “We are political workers. We know how to stand up for our rights and for those of our people.”

She said women had always played a vital role in the PTI. The party needed no reminders about its responsibility towards its women activists.

She encouraged women workers to participate in the PTI’s public gathering in Faisalabad jalsa scheduled for Sunday. She said foolproof security for women activists would be ensured.

The press conference was also attended by PTI Punjab women-wing president Saloni Bukhari and MPAs Saadia Sohail, Shanila Ruth and Dr Nosheen Hamid.

The press conference was held a day after three PML-N women leaders – Anusha Rehman, the state minister for information technology; Maiza Hameed and Mariam Aurangzeb – criticised the PTI during a press briefing for its failure to protect its women activists.

Meanwhile, PTI MPA Shoaib Siddiqi and Uzma Kardar filed a complaint with the Civil Lines police holding the PML-N responsible for the harassment incident. It said that the party had put in place all out measures to ensure protection of women participants at the rally.

It said that there had been no untoward incident during the PTI chairman’s speech.

The incident had occurred when people were leaving the enclosure at the conclusion of the speech, it said. This could be confirmed through footage of the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, it added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2016.