Daily Times

The Punjab government’s decision to review and pass amendments to the 2013 Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act is a welcome recognition that more legislation is needed to curb patriarchal and sexually threatening practices that are common in Pakistan. As the name suggests, the 2013 Act is focused on preventing workplace harassment, a very specific form of sexual harassment. A recent case of several female students successfully claiming that they were being harassed by their professor at a prestigious Lahore university gained widespread coverage in the media leading to demands by women’s rights groups that the scope of the law be extended to include harassment of students at educational institutions. Other cases reported from a leading academic institution in Islamabad also gained notice when it was learnt they involved several senior members of the university’s administration. Officials from the provincial Women’s Development Department say that in light of these events an amended draft of the law will soon be tabled in the Punjab Assembly (PA) that is expected to cover harassment at schools and universities. Reports from human rights and women’s rights organisations show that women are often treated with disdain, neglect, or find themselves the victims of even more sexual harassment or abuse when trying to report similar crimes to the police, in light of which the current law provides for sexual harassment cases to be passed to a federal ombudsman for review.
Officials and activists also say that the scope of the law pertaining to sexual harassment should be expanded to include a number of other areas where women often suffer from misogynistic attitudes. Legislation is required to address issues including domestic violence, underage marriages, rights for home-based women workers, and the formulation of a provincial commission for women to oversee implementation of the law. These issues are far outside the scope of the current law and will require considerably more legislation to address as they also overlap with other areas such as labour, civil and criminal laws, which will require time to formulate in full. The Punjab Assembly’s decision is a step in beginning this process of legislation and indicates how much more effective lobbying for women’s rights has become in recent years, partly because of the media scrutiny surrounding sexual harassment cases. The government has been forced to take notice of and address some issues in light of public demands for safe environments for female family members. The media can also be a powerful tool in changing attitudes that lead to sexual harassment, though they will take longer to adjust and require a concerted awareness campaign to address. Combining awareness with legislation is the logical way forward in beginning to change sexual attitudes and perceptions towards women in Pakistan. *