This post is also available in: العربية (Arabic) اردو (Urdu)
Sexual harassment is a gender-neutral offense, at least in theory. It comes as no surprise that sexual harassment is such a surreptitious affair. Yet this issue is not particular to this country, and neither is it limited to any social or professional demographic.
The word harassment is defined as a series of continuous annoying, unwanted and disgraceful actions evidenced by a person against another which usually involves threats and demands. It is one of the most common issues faced by the people of Pakistan.
According to a research conducted by UNISON, more than 50% working women face sexual harassment in Pakistan. An increasing number of violence cases are filed every day and there is an even bigger number of incidents which go unreported. All incidents of sexual harassment – no matter how large or small or who is involved – require employers or managers to respond quickly and appropriately. Just because someone does not object to inappropriate behavior in the workplace at the time, it does not mean that they are consenting to the behavior.
Sexual harassment is against the law. Some types of sexual harassment may also come under criminal law and should be reported to the police, including indecent exposure, stalking, sexual assault and obscene or threatening communications, such as phone calls, letters, emails, text messages and postings on social networking sites.
The similar case was observed in Karachi at Jinnah Homeopathic Medical College. As Sar-e-Aam team received many complaints about principal,
Dr. Muhammad Ali.
The elderly college principal was caught on camera asking for sexual favors from at least three girls during a job interview as Sar-e-Aam team sent them to assure the complainants’ claim.
Furthermore, when the woman went to the local police station to lodge her complain, she had to listen to different tantrums of the police officials, mostly that they had better things to do than go after her harassment claims. In a country where the law supports these inhumane vultures, progress should be considered a forlorn hope.
