October 17, 2003	Friday	Sha'aban 20, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 16: The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) has recommended addition of another section to the Section 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860, to effectively deal with sexual harassment of women at workplace.

According to the recommendations made by the commission recently, the only way to address the issue was to further explain sexual harassment at workplace with strict provisions in the law to curb the menace.

The proposed section, 509—A, reads: “Whoever in a workplace intending to harass a women employee, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture or overture with sexual overtones calculated to insult or mortify such women and also whoever in a position of immediate authority in relation to such a person fails to take adequate preventive measure to avoid occurrence of such incidents, despite of complaints to him from such women, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.”

The commission was of the view that with the addition of the proposed section, not only the act of harassment would become a punishable offence, but the person, who was victim’s immediate superior, would also become liable for punishment.

Hence, this change will act as a great deterrent to acts of sexual harassment. The commission has underlined that the issue was a constant concern and anxiety for the working women in the country.

There is no doubt that the menace exists in various forms and intensity, but, unfortunately, it goes unreported due to a number of issues as women in the society are considered more vulnerable.