PESHAWAR: A non-governmental organisation on Monday moved the Peshawar High Court seeking orders for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to immediately appoint the provincial ombudsman under an anti-harassment law.
A petition was filed by Da Hawwa Lur (Daughter of Eve) through its chief executive, Khursheed Bano, saying while ombudspersons were appointed by the federal, Sindh and Punjab governments in their respective regions, the KP government had turned a blind eye to such a crucial appointment for many years.
The petition is filed through lawyer Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel with the request to the court to declare the non-appointment of the ombudsman illegal and based on ulterior motives.
The petitioner sought orders for the government to appoint ombudsman and begin a programme through print and electronic media for the awareness of women about the proper forum for resolution of their complaints.
NGO moves Peshawar High Court
Among the respondents in the petition are the KP government through its chief secretary, KP Assembly speaker, KP Assembly secretary, women empowerment and social welfare ministry through its secretary, law, justice and human rights ministry through its secretary and federal government through the relevant secretary.
The petitioner said parliament had passed the Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010, in 2010 to check harassment of people in public and private sector institutions.
He said under Section 7 of the Act, the appointment of the federal and provincial ombudsman had to be appointed by the relevant government and that that person should have been a high court judge or qualified to be appointed as a high court judge.
The petitioner said parliament later passed the Federal Ombudsman Institutional Reforms Act 2013 in which the criteria of anti-harassment ombudsman was relaxed under Section 21 suggesting that a woman with an experience of at least 10 years in the matter relating to protection of women against harassment will be eligible to be appointed by the president as ombudsman under the Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010.
He said retired district and sessions judge Syed Pir Ali Shah was appointed provincial ombudsman in Sindh in 2012 and that he continued to work.
The petitioner added that the Punjab government had appointed Professor Meera Phailbus as the first provincial ombudsperson in 2014.
He however said the KP government hadn’t taken any step to implement the said law even through the representatives of the petitioner’s organisation held meetings with the KP Assembly speaker, women empowerment minister and chief secretary who promised to appoint the ombudsperson within one month in 2016.
The petitioner said the media had reported so many cases of sexual harassment at University of Peshawar, Khyber Medical College and other institutes but due to unavailability of the ombudsperson, such cases were dealt by a wrong forum and thus, leading to their settlement through the pressuring of victims.
He said under the law, the ombudsperson had the powers of civil court and that the Civil Procedure Code was applicable to it.
“The ombudsperson can impose major and minor penalty on the person found guilty in harassment cases. He or she can also summon witnesses, send commission to record evidence, and has the powers to act on the contempt of court,” he said.
Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2016
