Protesters demand exemplary punishment for Nimrita Kumari’s killers

Participants of a protest on Saturday demanded that the culprits who raped and killed medical student Nimrita Kumari in a medical university of Larkana should be given exemplary punishment, and all types of sexual harassment at workplaces and educational institutions should be stopped.

The Home-based Women Workers Federation and Young Workers Committee jointly organised a protest outside the Karachi Press Club against sexual harassment of women at workplaces and educational institutions.

Addressing the protest, HWWF’s Zehra Khan said that in Sindh and other provinces, ugly incidents of harassment of female students in educational institutions and women workers at workplaces were rising with every passing day. She regretted that the administration instead of stopping such incidents often tried to hush these matters up or give them some other colour so that the actual culprits go scot-free. She said the situation was getting worse, and this was alarming.

National Trade Union Federation General Secretary Nasir Mansoor said that sexual harassment cases in educational institutions were rising and it was becoming difficult for female students to get an education.

He said that if sexual harassment continued in educational institutions, more and more parents would find it very difficult to send their daughters to colleges and universities.

YWC leader Shah Faisal said that in Pakistan, particularly in the Sindh province, law enforcement personnel were present in universities in the name of security, but still cases of sexual harassment of female students occurred there, which was a tragedy. He said in the name of security, our educational institutions were turned into virtual jails.

The protesters also demanded that urgent notice should be taken of harassment and torture of female students, and culprits should be punished after free and fair investigations.

Steps should be taken to stop sexual harassment cases in the future. In case of sexual harassment of female students, the heads of related departments and hostel in-charges should be sacked and investigations initiated against them. Students, especially female students, should be given full protection and security.