MULTAN: An inquiry into harassment of a woman officer of the Multan Development Authority (MDA) could not be completed despite the passage of more than five months.

As per details, MDA Staff Officer Technical Nida Fatima had lodged a complaint with the director general of the authority, stating that when she reached her office on July 20 she was shocked to know that the door of her office was locked. On inquiry, she was told that Rana Hassan, who was holding the additional charge of assistant director general admin, along with other staff had broken into her office after office timings and shifted her furniture, record and other belongings somewhere else. She alleged that Hassan had earlier misbehaved with her for use of washroom due to unavailability of female washroom on the ground floor of the building.

“Where the government is pressing hard for women empowerment/emancipation this organisation (MDA), after by recruiting female officers/officials, is unable to give them basic employee rights and converting (the authority) into a harassment workplace,” she stated.

She said she had registered her complaint with administration about the incident and was accommodated in a room having an attached washroom along with another female officer to overcome any such issue in future.

“I am being targeted and it is being focused on shuffling of room. Moreover, washrooms on every floor of the main building are being used by male staff members and no action is ever taken practically against such unethical act,” she added.

While demanding action against Hassan, she had stated that she made complaints several times verbally as well as in writing but no substantial action had been taken in this regard which encouraged the persons like Hassan to dare misbehave, ruin the office decorum and acting beyond ambit of the post in his charge.

A committee in this regard was constituted by the MDA DG, headed by Executive Engineer Munam Saeed, to probe the matter.

Sources said that the room was got vacated forcibly in absence of the complainant to accommodate MDA Vice Chairman Mumtaz Qureshi that’s why the matter has been hushed up and inquiry committee did not submit its report even after the passage of over four months.

Inquiry officer Saeed said that the probe was almost complete and would be compiled and submitted within a few days.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2020