RAWALPINDI – The Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment(FOSPAH ) at Workplace Kashmala Tariq Tuesday said that education for womenwas very vital so that they could stand with men equally and contribute tothe country’s economic development.
Addressing a function in connection with “World Women Day” at theRawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) office here, she saidwomen should aware of their rights and should not tolerate the injusticesdone to them.
“Sending ‘good morning’ text messages to women at the workplace is alsoconsidered harassment”, Kashmala clarified.
“I have received complaints in which peons have also harassed women atoffices,” she said. Tariq said that harassment is not only limited to beingsexual but can be of any form.
“If someone constantly asks you out for tea, it is also a kind ofharassment,” said the FOSPAH.
Kashmala said that all the institutions, offices and organizations shouldhave indoor harassment committees adding that organisations must reporttheir status of compliance with the workplace harassment law.
The federal ombudsperson said that not only harassment be reported toFOSPAH, adding using mobile phones to intimidate or stalk others, textmessages at social media like Facebook, Instagram etc falls underharassment and must be reported.
She lauded RCCI efforts for promoting women entrepreneurship and said thatthese women playing a remarkable role in the economic uplift of thecountry. “Women are coming out of the taboos and social bars and now we cansee professionals in different sectors other than education sectorincluding IT, Air Force and board members at corporate levels”, she added.
Read Top Stories
She stressed gender equality and asked participants to raise awarenessamong fellow members with respect to workplace harassment.
Ambassador of Somalia Khadija Muhammad and Director development and FinanceNazia Parveen Sudhan also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the womenrole, responsibilities and safeguards being provided by Islamic teaching.
Earlier, President RCCI Malik Shahid Saleem in his welcome address saidthat the aim of celebrating women day was to acknowledge the role andcontribution made by women in uplifting the socio-economic condition in thecountry.
He said that no nation could make progress without the contribution ofwomen. Rawalpindi Chamber always welcomed women to participate in theChamber’sactivities, he added.
RCCI has established an incubation centre for businesswomen, an equippedplace for displaying their products to promote their businesses, he added.
