PESHAWAR: Federal anti-harassment ombudsperson Kashmala Tariq has found two officers of the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR) guilty of sexually harassing two women colleagues and ordered their removal from service.

She also fined them Rs500,000 each and ordered the payment of that amount to the two harassed women.

The ombudsperson directed the competent authority to implement the orders within a week and update her about it.

Ombudsperson also fines them Rs0.5m each, orders the payment of amount to complainants

She held a hearing on internet calling service Skype after receiving a joint harassment complaint of the two women against the CAR chief finance officer and a project director.

The complainants had alleged that the accused were sexually harassing them and that they were being ‘victimised’ on one pretext or the other on refusal to ‘bow down to the illicit demands’ of the two.

Initially, the complaint was heard by provincial anti-harassment ombudsperson Rukhshanda Naz, who recorded the evidence of both parties. The case was referred to the federal anti-harassment ombudsperson on Oct 4, 2021, as the CAR falls in the domain of the federal government.

Ms Kashmala ruled: “From the evidence led by the complainants thefactumof sexual harassment at the hands of the accused stands duly proved. The witnesses produced by the complainants have corroborated the charge of the complainants.”

She added that there was no such solid and concrete evidence on part of the accused to suggest that the complainants filed their cases against them due to any previous enmity, grudge or animosity.

“In absence of the said factors, it is not convincing to believe that the complainants could have filed false complaints against their male colleagues after putting their dignity and reputation at risk. It is a matter of common sense that no woman takes the risk of filing false complaints of sexual harassment against a male colleague in the organisation because such a complaint in the long run is detrimental to her own modesty, integrity and reputation,” she said in a four-page judgement.

The ombudsperson said putting all evidence of the parties available in the file in juxtaposition, she found it to be safer to hold that the harassment complaint of the complainants stands proved as against the accused who have been in dominant position to misuse their authority to exploit, comparatively, weaker and junior women complainants.

She added that the complainants had also filed applications against the accused to the Commissioner Afghan Refugees, but as he had close relations with ‘senior officers like accused’, he paid no attention to the complaints.

Ms Kashmala expressed displeasure over the role of the commissioner and said the commissioner had failed to perform his duty in accordance with the provisions of the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010.

“He [Commissioner Afghan Refugees] appears to have taken the matter casually rather non-seriously. For his above conduct, the officer deserves to be conveyed the displeasure of this forum with direction to constitute proper inquiry committee in the office to probe such like harassment cases,” she declared.

The ombudsperson directed the commissioner to install CCTV cameras on the premises and outside to monitor activities of the employees as well as display the code of conduct under the law on conspicuous places of the premises to ensure that every employee can go through it.

She observed that the commissioner was the head of the organisation and in that capacity, it was his duty to take all measures to maintain the office discipline and conducive environment for working women.

“He [commissioner] was also required to make temporary arrangements in the office so that the complainants and the accused did not remain in the same place during the course of inquiry in the matter,” she said.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2022