President rejects appeal of workplace harasser

Dr Alvi stresses serious consequences of harassment on women

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi has upheld the penalty of “dismissal from service” imposed upon a bank manager after he was found guilty of the charges of sexually harassing a female colleague at the workplace.

While rejecting the representation filed by the accused, Mr Muhammad Munir Akhtar, a former employee of the Askari Bank Ltd (ABL), against the decision of the Federal Ombudsman for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace (FOSPAH), the president said that the incidents narrated in the complaint against the accused, when juxtaposed with the evidence, established the guilt of the accused for the charges of harassment.

The case was filed by a female employee of ABL under section 8 of the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 against the accused who was a staff member of the ABL, Hassanabdal branch.

She relayed in her case that the accused Bank Manager Muhammad Munir Akhtar, along with his friend had made it difficult for her to work in the branch by creating an offensive workplace environment. She alleged that the accused had forced her to go with his friend and after she was transferred to another branch, when she went to collect her card from the Hassanabdal branch, she was verbally abused by him, and he refused to hand over her ATM card.

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Following her complaints, the departmental harassment committee probed into her allegations and, after inquiry, concluded that the accused was indeed harassing the female employee and he was accordingly dismissed from service.

The accused then filed an appeal with FOSPAH, which was dismissed, after which, he filed a representation with the President.

The president in his decision observed that the accused had duly admitted the allegations about calls, text messages, and denial to hand over her ATM card to the complainant deliberately. “Facts admitted need not be proved,” he added.

The president further made it clear that workplace harassment could have very serious consequences for working women as they can risk losing their jobs or the chance of promotions if they refuse to give in to the unethical demands of someone in authority.

“The unwelcome conduct of co-workers makes the working conditions hostile and unpleasant, putting indirect pressure on women to leave their jobs”, he added. He remarked that sometimes a woman employee can be so traumatised by the harassment that she may suffer serious emotional and physical consequences and become unable to perform her job properly.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th 2024.