Islamabad
The Special Committee on Gender Mainstreaming of the National Assembly has reaffirmed Parliament’s commitment to ensuring that legal protections against workplace harassment are neither narrowed nor diluted, supporting the Federal Government’s review petition against the recent judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).
The meeting, chaired by Dr. Nafisa Shah, MNA, at Parliament House, reviewed workplace harassment protections following the FCC judgment in Usman Shahid v. Nadia Sarwar and Connected Appeal. The Committee also examined gender-disaggregated implementation of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) and the institutional performance of the Federal Ombudsperson Secretariat for Protection against Harassment (FOSPAH).
Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan briefed the Committee on the legal grounds of the Federal Government’s review petition. He pointed out that the judgment appeared to have overlooked important legislative developments and amendments to the relevant law.
FOSPAH Chairperson Fauzia Viqar highlighted that a 2022 amendment had expressly included gender-based discrimination within the definition of harassment, irrespective of whether it was sexual in nature. She said requiring harassment to demonstrate strictly sexual intent was contrary to both the spirit and letter of the amended law.
Dr. Nafisa Shah observed that the judgment appeared to depart significantly from Parliament’s legislative intent and the evolving jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The Committee noted that requiring independent third-party corroboration could effectively introduce criminal-law standards into a civil remedial framework. It expressed concern that such requirements could discourage complaints, particularly as harassment frequently occurs in private or digital settings, potentially undermining constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity under Articles 25 and 14.
The Committee was informed that since its establishment in 2010, FOSPAH had received 7,095 complaints and disposed of 6,944 cases, achieving a 98 per cent resolution rate. In 2025, it resolved 1,288 of the 1,290 complaints received. The Committee appreciated its performance while emphasizing the need for effective safeguards against retaliation against complainants and witnesses.
Reviewing the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme under its 4Es framework—Education, Employment, Engagement and Environment—the Committee appreciated progress in promoting women’s participation.
MNA Amna Batool, Youth Focal Person for the PMYP, said the programme was moving beyond basic gender quotas towards bridging the digital divide and empowering young women across all provinces.
She informed the Committee that Rs37 billion had been disbursed to 121,034 women under the PM Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme between January 2023 and September 2026. Women’s share of loans reached 21 per cent in FY 2025-26, with a non-performing loan rate of just 0.7 per cent.
Female participation in the NAVTTC Skills Development Programme reached 46 per cent in 2026, involving 35,201 trainees and exceeding the 33 per cent target. Additionally, 500 women received specialized technical training under the ‘She Fixes’ pilot project.
The Committee was further informed that female students secured 58.5 per cent of merit-based laptops under Phase-IV, while women accounted for 54 per cent of Digital Youth Hub users. Women also represented 48 per cent of PEEF scholarship recipients, while 67,054 female athletes participated in 10 sports.
The Committee recommended that the Federal Government and Law Division vigorously pursue the review petition in the harassment case to protect Parliament’s legislative intent, including safeguards against non-sexual harassment under Section 2(h)(ii) and the applicable civil standards of proof.
It also recommended that the State Bank of Pakistan and commercial banks establish a minimum 33 per cent benchmark for women’s participation in youth and agricultural loans.
The Committee further called for the involvement of Rural Support Organisations, including NRSP and provincial organizations, in distributing interest-free Tier-I microfinance loans of up to Rs500,000 to marginalized rural women.
It also recommended multilingual awareness campaigns and parliamentary orientation sessions for MNAs and MPAs to improve the programme’s outreach, particularly in remote districts.
The Committee approved the minutes of its previous meeting and constituted a four-member Sub-Committee under Senator Rubina Qaim Khani to examine women’s representation in Parliament and related institutions, assess challenges faced by women parliamentarians, and recommend measures to strengthen gender equality and institutional support.
MNAs Shaista Pervaiz and Shahida Rehmani, Senators Rubina Qaim Khani and Khalida Ateeb, along with officials of the relevant departments, attended the meeting.
