KP starts implementing anti-harassment law after 1.5 years

After
a delay of more than a year, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is finally implementing its
anti-harassment law.

Anti-harassment committees will be set up for the
private and public sectors. They will comprise three members: a chairman, male
member and female member. The committee will have the rights of a magistrate.

When a complaint comes in, it will investigate the
accused.

“Legal action will be taken if the perpetrator is
found guilty,” said Syed Masood, the chairperson of the information department’s
anti-harassment committee. “This could mean dismissal, termination and fines,”
he said.

KP’s women are appreciating the implementation of
the law. They called the move equivalent to women getting a voice. “Previously
women did not have a say,” said Radio KP jockey Kulsoom Zainab.

“But when you know there’s someone backing you, you
get a voice,” she said.

A female member on the committee is very important,
said Ayesha Taskin, an officer at the information department. “So if any woman
has a complaint, she will be able to confidently lodge it,” she added.

In case a person is against the decision taken by
the committee, an appeal can be made to the provincial ombudsman.

KP
has recorded 900 harassment complaints in the last 10 months

The number of complaints against harassment from KP
increased tremendously this year. At least 900 women filed complaints against
blackmailing and harassment on social media, according to the Federal
Investigation Agency’s cybercrime unit.

Of these, 40% were from Peshawar.

Apart from social media, 56 women reported cases of
harassment at the workplace to the provincial ombudsman. Out of these, only five
were solved.

Eleven female teachers and students at universities,
five lady health workers and students, and seven female lawyers also filed complaints.
Six women who were harassed by someone from their families also went to the
ombudsman.

“The highest number of complaints comes from the education
sector and then the health sector,” said Anti-harassment Ombudsman Rakhshanda
Naz. “This is because more women are employed in these sectors.”

Many women were reluctant in coming forward because
of societal pressures. “Women were reluctant initially because they were scared
of their personal information getting leaked,” she said.

The FIA has broadened its spectrum. Complaints made from WhatsApp and other social media platforms are now instantly sent to the cybercrime cell.

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Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/news/2019/12/kp-starts-implementing-anti-harassment-law-after-1-5-years/