He said, she said: Committee formed to probe harassment complaint

The boy says he was slapped, insulted in front of fellow students.

FAISALABAD: The administration of Faisalabad Institute of Textile and Fashion Design (FITFD) of the Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF), has set up an inquiry committee to investigate a harassment complaint filed by a female student.

The committee is headed by GCUF Dean Dr Naureen Aziz Qureshi.

Irum Riaz Awan had filed the complaint on Wednesday alleging that Ammar, a fellow student, had been harassing her for several months.

She said that on Wednesday, on her way to a class, Ammar had stopped her and passed lewd comments at her.

She also said that when she tried to avoid him, he held her by the hand after which she slapped him on the face.

She said some students noticed them and gathered around. On seeing the students gather, she said, Ammar left. She said she, too, left.

She said she learnt an hour later that he had filed a complained against her on Thursday.

She said he also threatened to “catch her” off campus.

She said when she approached the principal, Tehmina Afzal, she was told not to attend the university for a few days.



She said the principal also informed her about the boy’s complaint in which he had accused her of “aggressive behaviour and physical assault causing him shame in the presence of fellow students”.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Awan accused the principal of favoring the boy.

She said instead of issuing the boy a warning, the principal had stopped her from coming to the university.

She said she had already complained it to the principal thrice, but was told every time to “concentrate on her studies and learn to cope up in a co-education school”.



The principal denied having received any earlier complaints.

Talking to The Express Tribune, she said the boy had filed a complaint first. She said he had sought a disciplinary action against the girl.

On receiving a complaint from Awan, she said, the university administration had set up an inquiry committee to deal with the issue transparently and free from bias.

She said she had advised the girl not to attend the university for a few days in of the incident. She said there was no other reason for stopping her.

GCUF Registrar Muhammad Ayub said that the case was being investigated in line with Higher Education Commission guidelines.

The university does not have a permanent committee to deal with harassment complaints.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2013.