SC concerned over rising women harassment cases

K-P govt’s plea against PHC order dismissed

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has expressed serious concerns over increasing incidents of harassment of women in government departments and other places.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, issued a six-page order dismissing the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government’s plea challenging the decision of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against the shutting down of women crisis centres in the province.

The order lamented that male-dominated institutions had made inactive the females who were about half the population.



The judgment authored by Justice Dost Muhammad Khan in Urdu observed that “we through our conduct made the half of population [females] dependent on males”. However, there was no doubt that those women who earned an opportunity to get higher education and training had made many achievements in various spheres, it said.

The judge said that in the prevailing circumstances, a substantial number of women were serving the nation by doing jobs in the army and police, adding that male and female citizens had equal rights under the Constitution.

The court observed that even though reserved seats had been allocated for women in various professions, including parliament, they faced discrimination.

It lamented that non-state actors were busy in an organised manner in spreading terror and waging so-called ‘jihad’ against girls getting education, doing jobs and taking part in sports.

The court observed that Pakistan was a signatory to a number of international treaties to curb domestic crimes against females and bound to comply with them.