Pakistan

Curbing sexual harassment: HEC sends policy to universities

HEC has sent an anti-harassment policy to all universities in light of the recent legislation.

Express February 23, 2011

ISLAMABAD: To combat sexual harassment in universities, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has sent an anti-harassment policy to all universities in light of the recent legislation.

This was announced on Tuesday during the fourth meeting of the Implementation Watch Committee of the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) which has been formed to ensure implementation of the anti sexual harassment legislation.

The commission has been working on a draft policy for several months under a task force chaired by Najma Najam, Vice Chairman (VC) Karakuram Univeristy.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Fouzia Saeed announced that the rules of the legislation, Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010, have been approved.

She stressed that the provinces now have to appoint an ombudsperson under this law for working women.

On the occasion Mussarat Hillali, the first ombudsperson, mentioned gaps in getting her office set up for a smooth operation.

Sajad Sipra, the head of Women and Development Department Punjab, assured the committee that the department is institutionaliding the Code of Conduct and is conducting training to sensitise people.

Maliha Husain said regulatory bodies have notified the organizations working under them for implementation of the regulation, however a reminder needs to be sent out for more speedy compliance.

Rukhsana Rehman, Joint Secretary (JS) Administration, Establishment Division said that dissemination of information about the law needs to be circulated time and again for internalisation of the mechanism.

Television channels were especially identified as being slow in terms of compliance. So far the committee has information from GEO, DAWN NEWS and Express News on forming committees.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2011.

COMMENTS (5)

Professor MK | 13 years ago | Reply @saeed irfan: And how about places such as the US where there are no "Mullahs" and still have 15,000 cases of sexual harrassment reported? Basically that proves your thesis incorrect. Simply blaming "Mullahs" for every problem in Pakistan just does not cut it. I believe instead it is the culture of this area (Indo-Pakistani) instead which is more of a problem. This is very different from other nations around nearby even, e.g. Iran http://www.sexualharassmentlawfirms.com/Sexual-Harassment-statistics.cfm

Dr. Saleem Siddiqi | 13 years ago | Reply All such policies made proved futile and went practically into waste paper basket due to their impracticalities and non-conformance. We being a Muslim nation if we will stick to our norms as defined by Allah in Quran and our Prophet (SAW) Hadiths, we can surely achieve this objectives. Islam has stictly ordered female to cover themselves to avoid intimidation from male folks but it is not observed in letter and spirit. Therefore if you leave an element of temptation for an offender there is all liklihood that Shaitaan will tempt him for such offences. So strictly follow the advise of Quran and Sunnat, the culture will automatically improved - Guaranteed.

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zeeshan farhan | 13 years ago | Reply what can be done about sexual harassment when the rabid mullahs preach misogyny from the loudspeakers of their mosques? i've heard maulvis repeatedly rant against self confident & educated women.The maulvis preach that women should be restricted to the chaar diwari,not be allowed to function as human beings but as personal property of their husbands,fathers,brothers. These maulvis are afraid of educated,working women as these women are intelligent & have brains of their own,they don't need to be told about how things work in the world & this thing the religious savages can't stand. The very thought of a financially independent woman is unthinkable for the vast majority of the men in our society. We think of women only as sex objects,to be kept restricted to homes,to function as baby making factories only & to be completely dependent on their husbands. The rabid mullahs help in reinforcing such misogynistic views through their teachings in their madrassas & their mosques.

shaiq aftab | 13 years ago | Reply Ours is a bigoted society where sexual harassment can't be removed.Our men think of women as objects created for their amusement & pleasure only.The religious fanatics believe this even more fanatically. our men can't stand a well educated,self earning woman who doesn't beg before her husband for his money for her food & living expenditure.We like our sisters,mothers,wives & daughters completely dependent on us so we can feel like real heroes when they beg us to do some work for them or when they beg us for money for their shopping . To be the one giving money is a very powerful feeling,one which we wont' give up,so if by harassing & raping girls who are brave enough to work or go get an education we seek to prevent the advancement of women & to keep them as beggars,completely dependent on the men in their families.

saeed irfan | 13 years ago | Reply when our society has relegated women to just sex objects & can't perceive them as CEO'S, CFO'S,sportspeople or brain surgeons then what does one expect.No matter how educated or well qualified a pakistani guy is his mentality remains the same misogynistic one. The mullahs reinforce the belief that women are instruments of great temptation best kept hidden under layers upon layers of cloth.Our girls are brainwashed from birth to feel ashamed of their bodies,that if they get raped it's their own fault. The maulvis in their madrassas & mosques incite violence against career women as any woman not absolutely dependent on her husband or father is not a good woman for these maulvis. The real reasons for sexual harassment in our society is the machismo culture & the misogyny spread by the maulvis in their sermons.

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