By Sumble Butt
The word sexual harassment does not sound new to any woman whether she is working in the formal or informal sectors of the society. Having worked as an HR Manager with several multinationals I have witnessed several cases of sexual harassment of females employees from their peers, seniors and clients at the work place. In my opinion one in ten women step forward and file a written complaint against a colleague or senior, the rest never muster the courage knowing the corporate culture in most organizations are still pro men. The question, however, is what happened with those harassment cases? We filed them in employee files, sent gentle to mild warnings to accused employees to correct their behavior at work or else just shredded the complaints.
Last evening, OPEN provided an opportunity for its members to meet with Dr. Fauzia Saeed a social activist and gender specialist. In the talk with Dr. Fauzia she shared her story of being confronted with sexual harassment at her work place which was no other but a United Nations Organization based in Pakistan. She also briefly shared the contents of her newly published book, "Working with Sharks" in the discussion. She in her book, very bravely narrates her personal experience of being confronted with work place harassment as well as experiences of several other women as she took the plunge to take the matter seriously. Extremely inspiring and talented Fauzia shared her journey with AASHA, an alliance formed against sexual harassment. The aim of AASHA was primarily to raise awareness on the issue of sexual harassment and assist government and private sector to create a society free of sexual harassment. In December 2001 AASHA got the Government of Pakistan(GoP) to start working on the policy frame work on sexual harassment which, aimed to become an anti-sexual harassment policy. After nine years of continuous combined efforts of she and her team members Fauzia was able to get the policy approved by PPP Government. As of December 2010, anti-sexual harassment bill is part of the enforceable laws in Pakistan and GoP has formed an implementation and governance body whose role is to ensure implementation in all Government and non-government organizations. Any person found guilty under the crime is punishable under law for three (3) years of imprisonment or Rs. 500,000/- fine. Fauzia also shared her experience of working with the parliamentarians in process of getting the bill on anti-sexual harassment passed by the GoP and how she faced many hurdles in the process and eventually got it passed in December of 2010. Fauzia commended several politicians and their caliber as she experienced working closely with them against the popular view that Pakistan's politicians are all corrupt and incompetent.
I found Dr. Fauzia Saeed to be a true patriot and positively motivated Pakistani national who wishes to share a positive side of Pakistan where a lot good is happening besides corruption and terrorism which the country has faced since 2001. According to her there is a huge gulf between the perceived view of Pakistan abroad and the actual Pakistan. She is currently based in Washington DC and continues her collaborative efforts to ensure better understanding of Pakistani culture and its vision as a country.
Last evening, OPEN provided an opportunity for its members to meet with Dr. Fauzia Saeed a social activist and gender specialist. In the talk with Dr. Fauzia she shared her story of being confronted with sexual harassment at her work place which was no other but a United Nations Organization based in Pakistan. She also briefly shared the contents of her newly published book, "Working with Sharks" in the discussion. She in her book, very bravely narrates her personal experience of being confronted with work place harassment as well as experiences of several other women as she took the plunge to take the matter seriously. Extremely inspiring and talented Fauzia shared her journey with AASHA, an alliance formed against sexual harassment. The aim of AASHA was primarily to raise awareness on the issue of sexual harassment and assist government and private sector to create a society free of sexual harassment. In December 2001 AASHA got the Government of Pakistan(GoP) to start working on the policy frame work on sexual harassment which, aimed to become an anti-sexual harassment policy. After nine years of continuous combined efforts of she and her team members Fauzia was able to get the policy approved by PPP Government. As of December 2010, anti-sexual harassment bill is part of the enforceable laws in Pakistan and GoP has formed an implementation and governance body whose role is to ensure implementation in all Government and non-government organizations. Any person found guilty under the crime is punishable under law for three (3) years of imprisonment or Rs. 500,000/- fine. Fauzia also shared her experience of working with the parliamentarians in process of getting the bill on anti-sexual harassment passed by the GoP and how she faced many hurdles in the process and eventually got it passed in December of 2010. Fauzia commended several politicians and their caliber as she experienced working closely with them against the popular view that Pakistan's politicians are all corrupt and incompetent.
I found Dr. Fauzia Saeed to be a true patriot and positively motivated Pakistani national who wishes to share a positive side of Pakistan where a lot good is happening besides corruption and terrorism which the country has faced since 2001. According to her there is a huge gulf between the perceived view of Pakistan abroad and the actual Pakistan. She is currently based in Washington DC and continues her collaborative efforts to ensure better understanding of Pakistani culture and its vision as a country.
