Speakers at a documentary launch and interactive session here on Monday called for implementation of the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act at all organisations.
They were speaking at the launch of a documentary film chronicling a woman’s struggle to fight against sexual harassment at workplace at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts to mark National Working Women’s Day.
The documentary “I Was Not Alone” narrates Dr Fouzia Saeed’s campaign to secure rights of working women in the country. She herself had been victim of harassment at an international organisation and the pioneer to launch struggle against the crime.
The event attracted a large number of women from various strata of society, including health workers, peasants, police officers, nurses, lawyers, parliamentarians and union workers.
The participants shared their success stories in bringing perpetrators of sexual harassment to task by getting the law implemented in their respective areas. Their accounts revealed that despite the enactment of laws against sexual harassment, there is still a long way to go in implementing them and raising awareness to bring about change in society.
Speaking to the audience in an interactive session about her experiences, Saeed said, “If we all join hands and continue to work together no one can stop us from working and living our lives with dignity”.
Launched by the World Movement for Democracy (WMD) in collaboration with Mehergarh, the documentary has been shot by Black Box Sounds.
Launching the Alliance Against Sexual Harassment (AASHA) movement, Saeed along with hundreds of other women challenged the patriarchal mindset towards working women. The movement snowballed and led the country to stand up against sexual harassment at workplace, resulting in a passage of landmark legislation for the protection of women’s rights.
The process began with a case in the United Nations Development Programme Pakistan that turned into a struggle and was resolved only after almost all 11 women who had complained had left the organisation.
Many organisations joined hands to produce a code of conduct to combat this crime that every woman in society faces whether on the street, in her home, or at work.
The documentary has been produced as part of the Civic Space Initiative, a joint project of World Alliance for Citizen Participation, an international centre for law, and the WMD.
The movement identifies three individuals from around the world for their outstanding work for the rights of their fellow women and makes documentaries on their struggles and achievements.
Mehergarh awards were conferred on individuals and organisations for their contribution in promoting women-friendly work environment and enabling more to join the workforce.
Bushra Arain from Women Health Workers Association and Masood Raza from Pakistan Banks Association were presented with ‘Mehergarh’s AASHA for Excellence’ award. ‘Mehergarh Award for Leaders of Change’ was presented to Bushra Khaliq, the Executive Director of Women in Struggle for Empowerment.
A number of women parliamentarians from mainstream parties attended the event showing their solidarity with the working women and appreciated the efforts of civil society, in general, and Mehergarh, in particular, for working relentlessly for the promotion of gender-friendly culture at our workplaces and society at large.
They also shared their own experiences and hardships faced during their political careers and how they managed to overcome those hurdles.
A moment of silence was observed for the victims of the Peshawar Army Public School massacre.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2014.
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