Daily Times

The trend in Pakistani women participation in social and cultural activities is increasing day by day. We see women in the police, in marines, in offices, as salespeople, as pilots, as anchor and every field of life. But women are not welcome at the work place and hence bear different problems at the workplace. The chances of sexual harassment are higher in private companies, something that leads to severe discomfort for women at the workplace.

According to an estimate 68% women are sexually harassed. If one looks at the definition of sexual harassment, one would surely find those behaviours and gestures that are quite prevalent in our society. In fact, constant staring, deliberately touching someone’s body, making sexually explicit remarks and gestures, are all so prevalent that probably many of us don’t consider that harassment. It has become an unfortunate part of women’s daily routines.

There are many types of social harassment women face at work. The most common ways sexual harassment is manifested are gazing, touching, bullying, unwanted jokes and dialogues, gender bias, intimidation, verbal insults, touching of hips, indecent body language and negative emails.

There are many reasons but the most common is the fact that male colleagues feel their female counterpart is working because she needs to work for her family. That’s a misconception because not only have women been snatching the top positions from men in school and college examinations, they have also been found to be better at handling pressure than men.

They bring the female perspective to matters which give an added advantage to the employers as well, making the environment competitive.

Most of the causes of sexual harassment remain unreported. Women who are harassed at work are always made to feel at fault, and if they complain, they may be fired, lose promotion prospects or have to resign. In some cases, victims are ashamed and humiliated, and concern that they will be labelled as immoral lead to them deciding not to go public with their complaints.

The government passed “The Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill” in 2010 in order to provide in order to provide a safe environment to working women. Turning the bill into law was a big step but unfortunately, the law served as a useless piece of paper. It was assumed that a male culprit would think a million times before harassing any women, but reality demonstrated otherwise. Pakistan is also a signatory to very few international agreements to advocate women’s rights.

Sexual harassment is an issue which has to be addressed seriously and with great concern. Steps should be taken to avoid this problem for women, especially those who want work outside the home due to financial hardships. Every organisation itself should provide effective measures to counter this problem because women comprise half of any society, country, and nation. The best tools to eliminate the sexual harassment are education and training. Women’s rights should be implemented practically by the government of Pakistan.