PESHAWAR
To discuss and address the challenges faced by the working women in Pakistan, threat mitigating and counter strategies viable for eradicating workplace harassment of women besides spreading awareness on pro-women laws and complaint resolution mechanisms to encourage women to put their best in every aspect of life without any fear of insult or harassment at their workplaces, a virtual seminar on National Working Women Day 2021 was hosted by the Regional Commissioner KP Miss Rubab Mehdi here the other day.
The seminar hosted under the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) was aimed at creating safe working environments for women. In pursuit of this sacred aim, FOSPAH has helped hundreds of women in distress and continue to do so.
The Regional Commissioner of KP, Rubab Mehdi said we have been successful in making the ends of justice meet by awarding major and minor penalties to the wrongdoers, restoring property rights of women and restraining suspects from retaliating against the complainants. She vows to work tirelessly in the region and showed commitment to give unprecedented results in a region where cultural restraints prevent women from speaking up for their rights.
The two honourable guest speakers were Miss Marina Mahateer, eldest daughter of Ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia His Excellency Mahateer Mohammad and a well renowned Socio-Political Activist Riffat Sardar, Commissioner KP at the Commission on Status of Women, Pakistan, a pragmatic professional who works to maintain visibility of women related issues and promote women rights on behalf of the Provincial Government of KP.
Speaking on the occasion of National Working Women Day 2021, the host Rubab Mehdi emphasised on the importance of awareness campaigns and initiatives in eradicating harassment and demeaning behaviours at the workplace(s). She said that she has arranged and attended several seminars since she assumed the office as Regional Commissioner two months ago.
Moreover, she said that FOSPAH is committed to provide best remedies to the victims of harassment for which they have taken services of several media persons and newspapers to spread the word across the region.
Mareena Mahateer said she has been raising her voice for human rights in general and women rights in particular at different national and international forums. She recalled her memories from 1998, 1999 and 2006 when she campaigned against the discriminatory and unfavorable behavior against women, and spoke up for the rights of African women who have been, throughout the history, subjected to discriminatory behavior because of the color of their skin.
She took pride in saying that the ratio of working women in Malaysia has increased from 49% to 52% in a short period of time. Encouraging women to invest their skills and potential in productive practises, she said that most of the women in Malaysia pursue professional careers and invest in businesses to make a living and to support their families. She also encouraged women to report incidents of workplace harassment to the authorities in order to facilitate the State against such criminals and to achieve their common objective which is eradicating harassment at the workplace(s).
Riffat Sardar, who has the charge of the Commissioner of Commission on Status of Women, started her speech by saying that she has always been a dreamer and her dream regarding women in KP is to see that one day women in this region may be able to live and work freely without any fear of harassment and discrimination so that they achieve their goals and live their lives to the fullest.
She added by saying that she knows many women in KP who are keen to contribute to the Nation’s progress and all they need is an opportunity. She praised Pakistani men and women for their flexibility and ability to adapt to difficult and sometimes undesirable situations and reiterated that the women of this region can do wonders if opportunities are given to them.
Lastly, she concluded by saying that the Commission on Status of Women vows to work for the facilitation and compensation of women and will continue to extend their support to the remotest areas of this region.
