Kashmala urges girls to shed fears
Federal Ombudsperson Kashmala Tariq has urged the female students to know their rights and shed fear while working with men.
She was addressing an awareness seminar against harassment at the workplace Tuesday in University of Engineering Technology (UET) to create awareness among the youth regarding harassment especially women.
Kashmala Khan, Federal Ombudsperson, Federal Ombudsmen Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) was the chief guest on the occasion.
The event was attended by a large number of students and staff.
Kashmala said, FOSPAH was established in 2010 and has worked a lot in the field through online complaint registration. She informed the audience on how to approach FOSPAH for protection in case women face harassment at workplaces.
She said FOSPAH is aimed to protect women so that they could work without any fear, adding, “that all of us have to stand up, speak up against harassment”.
She urged the students to get rid of fear and know their rights while working with men. She said, FOSPAH will ensure that women get justice provided that they are aware which institutions are to be approached for reporting. She urged the need to have a harassment committee at universities so that matters for timely solution of cases, adding, FOSPAH assures to extend free legal counseling support and register appeals.
Regional Commissioner, Peshawar Rubab Mehdi in her address said, the harassment cases have tripled in the present tenure, however property rights and financial empowerment for women are the focal areas for FOSPAH.
Vice Chancellor UET Peshawar Professor Dr Iftikhar Hussain said UET Peshawar has established a proper grievance redressal system for any such case.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2021.