THIS is with reference to the special report ‘Predators in the workplace’ (March 22) which was about cases of sexual harassment in an American non-governmental organisation (NGO). The special report deserves wholesome appreciation from all sections of society, especially the working women.

The report about DKT Pakistan ended up highlighting a culture that condones all kinds of excesses in the workplace, where any protest is hushed up in the name of the reputation of the organi-sation, and the culprits are able to charm the top brass into a state where all concerned become blind to the evil around them.

There was an uncanny resemblance between the events described in the special report and the ones narrated by the famous social activist, Dr Fouzia Saeed, in her book, Working with Sharks: Countering Sexual Harassment in Our Lives. She has described, in minute detail, events in the Islamabad office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which took place in the late 1990s. The shark is in charge of adminis-tration and human resources and uses his position to exploit the women staff in the office. Complaints about harassment end up at the desk of the culprit.

The senior management keeps on trivialising complaints until a group of victims decides to approach the headquarters in New York. Then the matter blows up leading to a happy ending to the story.

One hopes the present saga in DKT will also have a happy ending for the victims of harassment. The law should be made stronger. On every complaint of sexual harassment, it should be manda- tory for every organisation to act in

the quickest possible manner and maintain a register of complaints and the remedy, if any, provided to the victim. If a case goes to a court, it must be decided within a stipulated period prescribed by law. Jurisdiction of the ombudsman for harassment should be also extended to cover the NGO sector.

Faiz Ahmad
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2023