• NA resolution calls for safeguards against intimidation, humiliation and gender discrimination • Reaffirms parliament’s commitment to protecting dignity, equality and rights of every individual
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Friday approved a resolution reaffirming that workplace harassment was not limited to conduct of a sexual nature but could also include intimidation, humiliation and gender-based discrimination.
The resolution was moved by MNA Dr Shahida Rehmani, who is also secretary of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (WPC).
It reaffirmed parliament’s commitment to protecting the dignity, equality and rights of every individual against all forms of workplace harassment and gender-based discrimination.
The resolution underscored that workplace harassment was not limited to conduct of a sexual nature but “may also manifest through gender-based discrimination, intimidation, humiliation, degrading treatment, hostile behaviour and misuse of authority, whether sexual or non-sexual in nature”.
It reaffirmed the legislative intent and protections enshrined in the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010, as amended in 2022, which “expressly recognises discrimination based on gender, both sexual and non-sexual, to fall within the statutory framework of harassment”.
It further emphasised that the absence of a sexual advance or demand did not diminish the seriousness of gender-based harassment or discrimination.
“The dignity of individuals cannot be subjected to narrow distinctions between different forms of harassment and all conduct falling within the scope of the law must be addressed with equal seriousness, fairness and accountability,” it stated.
Effective implementation
Through the resolution, the federal government and all concerned institutions were urged to ensure the effective implementation of existing legislation in its full scope, so that no individual was deprived of statutory protection merely because the reported harassment or gender-based discrimination was non-sexual in nature.
The initiative also reinforced the WPC’s broader commitment to ensuring that workplaces across Pakistan were free from harassment, intimidation, humiliation and discrimination.
The resolution concluded by reaffirming that a workplace free from harassment, humiliation and gender-based discrimination was “not a privilege, but a fundamental requirement of human dignity, equality and justice”.
Although the resolution did not refer to any specific incident, lawyers and journalists have recently raised concerns over a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which set aside an Islamabad High Court judgement in a workplace harassment case filed by an employee of the National Bank of Pakistan in 2012.
Authored by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, the FCC order reproduced the definition of harassment contained in the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010.
The law defines harassment as “any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours or other verbal or written communication or physical conduct of a sexual nature or sexually demeaning attitudes, causing interference with work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, or the attempt to punish the complainant for refusal to comply to such a request or is made a condition for employment”.
Interpreting the definition, the FCC ruling stated that an “act, conduct or attitude has to be sexual in nature, if it is to be covered under the definition of harassment for the purpose” of the 2010 Act.
Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2026
