LAHORE: Governor Balighur Rehman has written a letter to the vice chancellors/rectors of the universities in public and private sectors for evolving a mechanism to report and respond to the incidents of sexual harassment on campuses.

The governor, who is also the chancellor of public/private universities in the province, said: “The inquiry committees should be notified in terms of respective provisions of the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010, and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) policy on protection against sexual harassment at higher educational institutions. In case, these committees have already been notified, steps should be taken to make them proactive and efficient in disposal of such cases.”

The governor said all the complaints of sexual harassment should be sent to these committees with instructions to complete the inquiry within 45 days as per the guidelines of the Act. He directed them to put in place an effective mechanism to report and respond to incidents of sexual harassment.

“It has been made mandatory to appoint a senior female faculty member as a focal person in the universities. Strict measures should be taken to prevent incidents of sexual harassment as it will be the responsibility of the university administration to make students fully aware of the code of conduct,” the letter said.

Seeks code of conduct for students, teachers and employees

The governor asked the VCs and rectors to develop a code of conduct for students, teachers and employees clearly defining the types of unacceptable behaviour and indicate how different acts would be treated.

The governor said it would be the responsibility of the university concerned to immediately address the complaint of sexual harassment by facilitating the complainant and the complainant mechanism.

“All universities are bound to make the monitoring system effective. The policy and procedures of reporting such complaints must be public and readily available to the people with Urdu translation and, if possible, in other local languages,” the governor noted.

Meanwhile, Governor Rehman met a delegation comprising religious leaders of Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Sikh communities, led by Pir Nazim Hussain Shah, at the Governor House. Roman Catholic Archbishop Sebastian Shaw was also present in the meeting.

On this occasion, the governor said he thanked the Muslim community that delivered essential items to the Christian brothers and sisters after the Jaranwala incident and also the scholars who opened mosques for the Christian community.

The governor said that all religions, including Islam, taught peace, tolerance, and brotherhood. He said the scholars had a key role in inter-faith harmony.

He said the Christian community had rendered unforgettable services in various fields, including education, health, defence and law, in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2023