Govt opposes amendment in harassment laws

PPP's Farhatullah Babar had proposed a fresh amendment to the law to include educational institutions

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday opposed an amendment in the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act as proposed by Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Farhatullah Babar.

Babar, the mover of the bill proposed a fresh amendment to the anti-harassment law which would also be applied to educational institutions.

The PPP stalwart suggested that the law should not only be confined to workplaces, citing the example of Quaid-e-Azam University where a teacher sexually harassed a female student. The teacher could not be terminated because of legislative lacuna as the Anti-Harassment at Workplace Law is not applicable in such a situation.

However, a secretary in the law ministry, Raza Aslam, on November 11 said to a Senate Committee on Law and Justice that such an amendment would disturb the overall scheme of the existing laws.

“Instead of patching up in the existing laws, a fresh legislation should be carried out to achieve the desired purpose,” Aslam said.

The committee chairman Senator Kazim Khan noted that the law currently lacks the definition of ‘harassment’.

“There is a need to expand the law’s ambit in order to protect women across society,” he said.

Kazim asked the law ministry to conduct further deliberation over the amendment bill and discuss all kinds of harassment, including harassment of students, women at workplace, hospitals, during travel and other places, during the next meeting.

Babar told the committee that the definition of harassment in workplace does not cover harassment in academic institutions even though the act itself is applicable to such institutions.

“The act relates only to employment in academic institutions and not matters relating to pursuit of studies,” he said, adding, the law and justice division did not hold any consultation regarding the amendment bill despite directives of the committee.

The committee urged the law ministry to hold further consultations over the proposed amendment with all the stockholders on November 14.

“In case of failure, the parliamentary committee will pass its judgment in form of recommendations,” Kazim said.

A law ministry official told the committee that the ministry had reviewed the amendment proposed by Babar in detail during a meeting held on October 20.

It was unanimously decided that National Commission on the Status of Women would constitute a committee, including representation from NGOs and universities, to thoroughly examine the act in light of amendments proposed and the discussions held among participants.

The official said that after detailed consultation during the upcoming meeting either the proposed amendment would be included in the bill or a separate law would be framed.

Senator Mian Raza Rabbani said that the bill should not be amended as it was framed after deliberation and hard work.

“If the bill is amended it this stage it would create problems,” he said.

While, Senator Jaffar Iqbal expressed a dire need to enact a law that covers all aspects of harassment.

“Eunuchs should also be listed in some category as they are also human,” he said.

Samina Amin Qadri, Vice Chancellor of Fatima Jinnah Women University Rawalpindi, Chairperson of NCSW, a representative of human rights bodies including HRCP and bar councils’ representatives also attended the meeting.