She finally decided to speak up and lodge a complaint against her hockey coach Saeed Khan on the basis of sexual harassment. However, despite doing so, no formal inquiry was conducted and she was soon pressurized to drop the case. The woman I am talking about is Syeda Sadia Nawazish who was soon expelled from the national hockey team.
This is one of many incidents that regularly occur within the boundaries of our society. To mention some extreme cases 15 years ago Halima Rafique committed suicide after her accusation of sexual harassment was turned down when she and three other girls came out and accused the chairman of the Multan cricket club of sexual harassment. Yashfeen Jamal is yet another example of someone who had to go through similar circumstances when she filled a report against PTV’s then director of current affairs Agha Masood Shorish.
This further leads to the recent rise of events that once again highlight the ongoing sexual harassment that had been transpiring at some of the elite schools of Lahore, with numerous students and alumni stating the unprofessional actions of a few teachers; whose employment with the school was terminated. Hence, some disciplinary action was finally taken.
The main question that arises is what sexual harassment really is. In the Protection Against Harassment of Woman At the Workplace Act 2019 as passed by the National Assembly “ ‘harassment’ means any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours or other verbal or written communication or physical conduct of a sexual nature or sexually demeaning attitudes, causing interference with work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, or attempt to punish the complainant for refusal to comply to such a request or is made a condition for employment”
Through all of this one can clearly deduce that these harassment cases have been happening for a long time and can easily be traced back to at least a decade. 8 years ago on March 9, 2010, hundreds of professional women working in both government and private bodies protested and demanded solid laws to be established for their protection from the hands of any potential predators. Finally, the Government of Pakistan enacted the law against sexual harassment at workplaces into effect. Fouzia Saeed was the driving force behind the sexual harassment law and set up AASHA, who too realized that in order for women to feel safe and for accountability to be upheld, the presence of state laws is extremely vital. “Breaking the silence is critical when there are no systems in place. But now we have legal protocols, and they get undermined with media trials,” says Fouzia Saeed, referring to the accusations MPA Ayesha Gulalai made against Imran Khan.
It is also critical to be kept in mind that the laws that have been passed to protect women from such issues only extend to formal workplaces. This can arguably be problematic considering a major chunk of women are seen to be working in the informal industry such as in agriculture or within private homes etc. The existence of laws, however, does not protect working women fully who are forced to leave their homes in order to earn more to support themselves and their families. There is a dire need for such a law. We need to educate the public about their basic legal rights to keep them informed on how they are constantly being backed up by the legal system.
What is to be noted is that women need to act to the unjust treatment that is harassment of all sorts. The first step in this direction is calling out their predator to raise a collective voice. However, there are several reasons present that may force women globally to stay quiet and suppress their emotions. Firstly, women throughout the world, especially in developing countries like Pakistan, have started to work instead of staying home hence more women have to face sexual harassment. One of the main reasons behind the increase of women in the workforce includes poverty, economic inflation, and one bread earner does not meet the needs of a household. Hence, whenever a woman is subjected to the offense of sexual harassment they are scared to report due to the fear of losing their jobs.
Another reason that may aggravate the problem is the power hierarchy that may be involved. The risk of taunts, workplace ostracism, professional losses, being socially outcast, family opprobrium, and the added emotional toll which comes with reporting their case often becomes the reason why so many of them are not filed. With all of that in mind, it is commonly seen that the women are further ridiculed when they are blamed for their dressing, past behaviors, or choice of relationships. This can be seen in the cases of women belonging to the media and entertainment industry. However, it is important to add that a small minority of the population misuses the law.
Social mores of a patriarchal society also play their role. A huge chunk of reported and unreported cases invokes the harasser to be a family member. When the victim tries to address the crime, they are shunned instantly due to “izzat” or respect of the family being compromised socially.
Moreover, in countries like Pakistan, in various regions, it is propagated that being quiet and remaining silent in face of violence will garner women an ultimate reward in paradise. Hence it is ‘Islamic’ to bear `the physical and mental torture of their husbands. This extremely abhorrent teaching further adds to why women choose to stay quiet.
With laws present, women are further guaranteed protection, and additionally, media platforms are seen to play a great role in helping popularise violence against. This can be proved by the recent events of various students speaking up about the teachers who sexually harassed them; leading to their successful termination. Not only this but the success of the issue being voiced to such a great extent that it was brought to the light of the education minister Murad Raas who tweeted: ”I will deal with the case in Lahore Grammar School 1A1 myself. Have talked to the principal this morning. Getting all the details. These children are my children. I will protect them. This case will be brought to a proper conclusion according to law. Make NO mistake about it” dated June 30, 2020.
What further adds to the issue is that most of the cases reported are just a word of mouth, and considered hearsay. Hence, other ways are being crafted to find proof so the harasser can be punished by law. One of the common ways that are seen is detecting abusers through the common patterns found in their horrendous practices. “In 90% of the cases harassers target more than one person and it is not a stand-alone act. We know how to get to that.” Says Maliha Sayed executive director of Mehrgarh an institution specializing in this and has dealt with almost 4000 cases on sexual assault and harassment.
In conclusion, it can be very clearly stated that in order for a woman to step up and report her abuser she not only requires support from the society but government and law itself. It is to be made clear that setting up law is not enough but it needs to be enforced and implemented to give relief to the aggrieved party and this still remains a burning issue. Furthermore, the jurisdiction of most of the women protection laws is only restricted to formal workplaces ignoring the informal sector that employs a huge portion of the female population. That situation needs addressing. Not only that but all this can be put to use by taking the basic step of the long term solution to harassment is educating women and girls by making them aware of their rights and protection that is to be offered to them by the law. The school curriculum and workplaces are to be suitably adapted to include this burning issue and how to combat it.
