Women urged to speak up against harassment

PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar here on Tuesday said the harassment cases have gone up and asked the women to turn to the relevant forums to get their grievances addressed.

They were speaking at an awareness seminar against harassment at the workplace.

Kashmala Khan, head of the Federal Ombudsmen Secretariat for Protection against Harassment (FOSPAH) was the chief guest on the occasion.

The seminar was aimed at creating awareness among the youth about harassment, especially women which is increasing with every passing year.

The event was attended by a large number of students and staff.

Kashmala Khan said FOSPAH was established in 2010 and have worked a lot in the field through online complaint registration.

She informed the audience on how to approach FOSPAH for protection in case women face harassment at workplaces.

Kashmala Khan said FOSPAH wanted to protect women so that they could work without any fear, adding, “that all of us have to stand up, speak up against harassment”.

She urged the students to get rid of fear and know their rights while working with men.

The ombudsman said the FOSPAH will ensure that women get justice provided that they are aware of which institutions are to be approached for reporting.

She urged the need to have a harassment committee at universities so that matters for the timely solution of cases, adding the FOSPAH would extend free legal counselling support and register appeals.

The Regional Commissioner, Peshawar, Rubab Mehdi, in her address said: “The harassment cases have tripled, however, property rights and financial empowerment for women are the focal areas for FOSPAH”.

University of Engineering and Technology Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Iftikhar Hussain said UET Peshawar has established a proper grievance redressal system for such cases.

He said the Harassment and Discipline Committees have women representation which makes it easier for woman students to share their issues and deal with the matters on time.