How to combat harassment in Pakistan

Awareness about harassment, or sexual harassment in particular, is integral to any society but sadly it is not something one is always comfortable openly speaking about. And that’s where the problem lies. Most people around us, including men, women, children as well as transgenders, have been harassed on multiple occasions, which may have scarred them for life, but never gathered the courage to speak up.

However, with the changing times and the growing impact of social media that has given freedom of expression to many, people have at least begun to talk about it.

A prime example is the ‘#MeToo’ movement in October last year that followed the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct controversy. It went viral on social media when numerous people from all over the world (including Pakistan) started using it as a hashtag, demonstrating the widespread prevalence of harassment, particularly at workplace.

Though the issue is universal and is as complex elsewhere as it is in Pakistan, it is more of a taboo here.

Nonetheless, there have been some recent debates and discussions surrounding the subject in Pakistan. The most recent effort in this direction, titled ‘Harassment – A Stain on Society’, was helmed by I Am Karachi Talks (IAK Talks), a platform that invites the nation’s most inspiring and successful thinkers from different walks of life for a series of inspirational talks.

The event took place on Friday (August 3) at IBA, City Campus, Karachi, featuring speakers Hina Bayat, Maria Wasti, Pakistan’s first woman SSP Shehla Qureshi and Shahbaz Islam, Head of Human Resource and Corporate Communications at SSGC.

The most insightful and useful piece of information was brought to fore by the first speaker of the evening, Shehla Qureshi who has trained many on the pro-women legislations. She spoke about ways to deal with harassment, according to the law, and what route one needs to follow when they encounter a similar issue.

“Anything that makes someone uncomfortable comes under harassment whether it happens at home or workplace,” she began. “However, it is unfortunate that in our society we train women not to speak up about it in front of anyone. Isn’t it unfair?”

“The law for women protection against workplace harassment in Pakistan was passed in 2010,” she continued. “It is important to document it whenever someone faces it. The police will carry an investigation to find out if the complaint is genuine and then will speak to both parties involved, followed by serious action against the one at fault.”

Speaking of harassment at educational institutes, Shehla Qureshi shared, “Over 260 complaints are received per annum if we speak of Punjab University or Government College Lahore but we have to see how many of them are genuine. If we review the literature on harassment in Pakistan, out of every three women, one is harassed. It is unfortunate that women, who commute via public transport, face harassment quite often.”

Qureshi also informed that there is a department called Women Gender Cell in the CM house that deals with issues related to harassment and anyone can lodge complaints to their help desk. On a district level, there is a cell at the SSP District called Women Help Desk that addresses issues of both men and women.

Towards the end of her speech, she emphasized the need to train children and the youth and inculcate the right values in them so that they don’t end up harassing anyone in any way. “We need to change as a society, on an individual as well as national level, so that we create a better environment for those growing up in it,” she asserted.

The second speaker for the evening, Shahbaz Islam, highlighted that instead of seeking help, one needs to have a proactive behavioral change in response. “It’s all about attitude” he emphasized, adding, “This is what makes the difference.”

Moving on, actor-social activist Hina Bayat, who was also present on the occasion as one of the four speakers, shared her experiences of harassment at the workplace while she was a teacher as well as after she entered the entertainment industry. She emphasized on the need to communicate and share what’s making someone uncomfortable, just like she did when she felt harassed. “One needs to decide when to ignore and when to take an action against any inappropriate act,” she maintained. “Social media shouldn’t be your first step, it should be your last resort when you have done everything else.”

Considering the sexual harassment controversy surrounding the industry she belongs to, what are her views on setting boundaries, I asked during the Q & A session after her speech.

She responded: “Speaking with reference to my experience, I felt harassed at some point when I was a teacher, there couldn’t be a nobler or safer profession than this, and then as a working professional in a media house where I was a journalist and I had my own show that I was producing as a senior producer. So, vulnerability isn’t where you work, no matter what field you belong to. Media people are always in the limelight which is why their issues are highlighted more than other professions. As far as setting your boundaries is concerned, you have to set them yourself depending on your situation. Modesty is a subjective term but it is a key element here.”

The last one to take the stage was actor Maria Wasti who stressed on finding out what makes one a harasser and that he or she should be stopped at the right time. “If they are encouraged to offend people and get away with it easily, they continue to do so and become more powerful with time.”

She went on to say that viewers often complain that TV plays glorify harassers and harassment, but this is what is happening around us and television reflects our society.

“What harassment is, will be defined through our culture, society and through the gender norms,” she added. “How a woman is supposed to dress up depends on the society she is a part of and therefore we have to decide what kind of a society we want to create for generations to come.”

It was indeed an enlightening discussion on the subject that needs more attention that it is getting today. However, one should be hopeful given what the police and law is doing to combat the issue and provide safety to people. If more people begin to take a stand against harassment, like some who have recently spoken up, we will soon see a situation where harassers would feel uncomfortable rather than the victim.