Eye-witness account: No justice in a man’s world?

Published April 22, 2015
It is no bed of roses for a woman working in the male-dominated public sector. — AFP/file
It is no bed of roses for a woman working in the male-dominated public sector. — AFP/file

It is no bed of roses for a woman working in the male-dominated public sector. Most women have to work twice as hard as their male counterparts to be appreciated.

But for Mussarrat Nahid Imam, Director of Visual Arts at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA), who has devoted over three decades in service to her department, the trumped-up charges levelled against her were a smear on an otherwise unblemished record.

Things began to go wrong for Ms Imam when in 2013, Mashud Ahmed Mirza, the joint secretary at the Ministry of Information, was given acting charge as director general of PNCA.

According to a judgment issued by former Justice Yasmin Abbasey, the federal ombudsman for protection against harassment of women at the workplace, Mr Mirza was unfamiliar with the working of the department and “created obstacles... by abusing colleagues”.

Mr Mirza then took Ms Imam to task for not issuing an NOC at a time when she was not in the country and someone else was working in her place.

She was charge-sheeted and a departmental inquiry was instituted against her. Even though she challenged the inquiry before the Islamabad High Court, she could not get relief and was found guilty of misconduct and had her increments withheld for a two-year period.

Even a complaint moved by her against Mr Mirza was rejected by the department on the grounds that it did not fall within the definition of harassment under the act of 2010. However, the ombudsman noted that if Ms Imam was “guilty of disobedience... why they (PNCA) waited so long and consider it best to dig out all previous incidents after [she had moved her complaints]”.

Noting that Ms Imam had replied to all the allegations levelled against her, the ombudsman overturned the decision of the departmental inquiry and restored Ms Imam’s increments.

Dawn’s ‘Eye-Witness Account’ segment features accounts of individuals who have experienced adversity or have been affected by a miscarriage of justice.

All accounts are verified as far as possible by Dawn’s editorial team. Readers are encouraged to send in accounts of similar incidents that may have befallen them, so that attention can be called to such problems and they can be addressed with due debate in the public eye.

Readers can send their accounts to re.isb@dawn.com.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.