Daily Times

Living with the stigma of harassment – being as an accused or a victim – is not easy in our part of the world. A young lecturer of MAO College committed suicide on October 9 after harassment charges against him by a woman student ruined his family life. Despite being declared innocent in an official inquiry, he was denied the clearance certificate. The mental agony, which he underwent for months, claimed his life leaving a trail of questions about the execution of harassment laws. The timely issue of the certificate could have saved a precious life. An ensuing probe is to catch the culprit sitting on the clearance certificate. The single incident may leave a telling impact on otherwise good anti-harassment of women at the workplace laws in Pakistan.

Harassment of women is rampant in Pakistan. As per statistics by Madadgaar National Helpline 1098 and the National Commission for Children, 93 percent of women have faced sexual misconduct in public places in their lifetime. After the enactment of laws, working women started coming forward against harassment. A big boost to the trend came from #MeToo movemnet. The hashtag brought out the unsaid stories of sexual harassment. Millions of women have spoken out on the Internet with this hashtag. The number of women coming up with #MeToo was scandalously and shamelessly shocking.

The world has failed to properly challenge misogyny stemming from the patriarchal structure of society. Factors like abuse of power, weaker laws to apprehend harassers, the notion that sexual harassment is not as such a crime and so on have been breeding harassers in every corner of the world. The social media campaign was just a starter; real world predators should be confronted in the real world. Pakistan is one such country where predatory instinct runs high in every sector from the film industry to campuses, hospitals, media and technological houses and services, political and social forums and on streets and farms and in bazaars.

The death of the MAO College teacher is unfortunate. Authorities must introduce measures to discourage the misuse of anti-harassment laws. But let’s not forget, women should be encouraged to speak up, instead of looking the other way. If you are a working woman, you have the office of the ombudsperson to redress your complaint. If you are facing catcalling or harassment on the street or at home, use a smartphone App regarding women’s protection and police will readily be there to help you out. *