Sexual harassment doesn’t see status, power, money or fame. It can happen to any person at any time. No woman is ever ‘asking’ for it even if she is not adhering to your definition of morality. Understand consent. Respect her. It just is not okay, ever.

Any activity that is unwelcoming or unwanted especially because it might be of a sexual nature, or have a mere sexual connotation that makes a person feel discomfort of any sort comes under sexual harassment. This activity can make a person feel uncomfortable to an extent where it affects the person’s ability to perform at work or otherwise cause stress. In addition it can cause depression, mental turmoil and even emotional chaos.

Sexual harassment is a common occurrence all across the globe. The fact that it is so widespread does not make it an action that should be spared. While there are laws to protect women against such harassment the public, mostly, is not aware of them. There is a need to create awareness on the legalities surrounding this sensitive yet pressing matter. Women normally are hesitant to report cases of sexual harassment. It is commonly seen that women choose to quietly bear the torment as opposed to gathering the courage to speak up against it. They try to be discreet because they fear the shame that will follow if they draw too much attention to the issue. Hence they choose to, somehow, avoid circumstances leading to sexual harassment. This is seen as standard coping mechanism.

It does take time to deal with the trauma and to seek counsel because instant reaction is guilt and body shame. Victims tend to feel responsible for being violated. When consent is not involved it is never okay. The victim needs to be reassured that it was not something they did that triggered sexual harassment; it was not how she was dressed, or how she may have smiled or how she was walking. The only person responsible for sexual harassment is the violator; the problem lies purely with them. It is the dysfunctional perception of the perpetrator that allows them to sexually objectify another person with complete disregard for appropriacy and morality.

A research conducted in 2008 showed that more than 50% working women face sexual harassment in Pakistan. A total of 24,119 cases were reported pertaining to violence against women in the short period of two years between 2008 and 2010. Among these only 520 filed cases were about sexual harassment faced at workplace by women. A noted case which got some media attention was that of Haleema Rafique, a talented fast bowler, who was driven to suicide due to sexual harassment. Another was that of a flag carrier air hostess who filed a case against the PIA Chairperson for sexually harassing her. This heinous crime has victimised 68% of the girls who shy away from speaking up because of the fear of being condemned by the society even when they are the victims.

Sexual harassment is a plague that has spared no one, Muslim or non-Muslim, one wearing a hijab or clad in western clothes, from developed nations or the under-developed. #MeToo, originally founded by Tarana Burke, was a movement created over a decade ago, but it has taken a long time to become a trending hashtag. It was meant to help sexual assault survivors to gather courage to speak up. Allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein started surfacing last October, and it is only since then that the #MeToo and #Timesup campaigns have gone global. There has been a surge in accusations against other powerful men since then. However, the movement has just recently caught on in Pakistan, a strongly patriarchal society where we are still fighting for women equality. With Meesha Shafi breaking silence and alleging Ali Zafar of sexual misconduct, other women followed suit. In light of all the backlash and ridicule, whether the accusations are true or not is for the court to decide, but one thing is clear: it takes a lot of courage to step up and admit to being a victim.

Sexual harassment is a crime punishable with imprisonment for three years. Nevertheless, we are a long way from providing a safe haven for women where they can even consider seeking counsel.


The writer is CEO White Ribbon Pakistan and is a development and communications professional with extensive experience in Health Awareness, Behaviour Transformation Communications and Strategic Public Relations. He tweets at @MrOmerAftab.