Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Harassment in Pakistan — amusement for the powerful?
Unfortunately, we, in the eastern hemisphere, are ill-equipped and uncomfortable when conversing about any subject that involves sexuality.
In my capacity as an advisor (legal) at the Federal Ombudsperson for the Protection Against Harassment at the Workplace, I have had the unique experience of sitting on cases wherein various women and men came to the forum for the redressal of their complaints against individuals who have purportedly harassed them at work.
I have seen cases brought mostly by women against their superiors who have either created very hostile work environments or have sought to demand sexual favours from the women in their office outrightly.
One particular case that comes to mind is when a postmaster of some post office in a rural area had used his peon to deliver messages to a lady clerk working in the post office. As per the lady, the peon would insist that her life would be a lot simpler if she agreed to their boss’ demands otherwise she would suffer consequences. The lady internally made a complaint, but the inquiry officer appeared to be in collusion with her boss and threatened her to withdraw the complaint. The lady stayed brave and brought the complaint to us, and we listened to her case and took appropriate action against the man.
What complicates the waters is when the complaint is brought against more powerful offenders. Such people have better lawyers who can then create bigger problems to spike the administration of justice
It is an unfortunate reality to face that these instances occur, and we mostly have to rely on the bravery of such women to bring these matters to us. Yet these are still manageable in the sense that once they come to our attention, we can take action. What complicates the waters is when the complaint is brought against more powerful offenders. Such people have better lawyers who can then create bigger problems to spike the administration of justice. It is these spikes that we need to pay attention to and vanquish from our systems because harassment cannot be the amusement for the powerful at the expense of the weak.
It would probably come as no surprise to most people that most lawyers advise the use of a mechanism in law called stay orders. Stays have been an ubiquitous part of our legal system since time immemorial, predominantly to be used as a defence against the overarching and potentially abusive power of the executive. In recent times, it has been creatively used as a sword by enterprising lawyers who wish to ascertain an advantage for their clients by indefinitely delaying a case.
These stays are predominantly the spikes used in our courts to delay, frustrate and stall the process. A case was brought by a lady against her employer bank. This case had gone on for a year, in a court required to conclude a case in 60 days. They had acquired a stay order from the Lahore High Court. They did so by challenging the jurisdiction of my court to hear the complaint.
This should not be a concern as according to the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010, by which this court was established, our jurisdiction extends to the entirety of Pakistan. However, the lawyers used a judgment passed by the Honourable Lahore High Court, which has sought to limit our territorial jurisdiction, by deciding that we have no jurisdiction over provincial cases.
With this stay, the bank’s lawyers attained their desire to stall the proceedings and wear out the woman who had complained. This is the sole cause of immense frustration and bitterness towards a system already infamous over its inability to provide justice to the people it is meant to serve. The judgment of the Lahore High Court needs to be challenged in the Supreme Court, yet no lawyer is brave enough to do so.
Harassment is yearning for a legal definition, appropriate to its significance. Globally, and as part of our understanding, protection against harassment is an inalienable human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a fundamental guiding document on human rights, safeguards the life, liberty and security of all human beings
Harassment is yearning for a legal definition, appropriate to its significance. Globally, and as part of our understanding, protection against harassment is an inalienable human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a fundamental guiding document on human rights, safeguards the life, liberty and security of all human beings. Similarly, Article 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan safeguards the dignity of man. Further, Section 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code specifically states that insulting the modesty of women or causing sexual harassment is a crime, punishable with imprisonment from three years or fine up to Rs. 500,000, or both.
Yet, unfortunately, as much as our people vow and affirm that we defend our virtues greater and with more passion than any other, and that we respect our women more than the repugnant sexual deviants of the West when brought to face with the reality of this subject matter, they are deeply ‘uncomfortable’. Almost everyone proclaims that they come from an honourable, dignified family, as they attempt to subvert an accusation brought against them, assuming that this immediately exonerates them from such ‘uncomfortable’ accusations.
Similarly, the Honourable High Court of Lahore, in the judgment mentioned earlier, decided that harassment is a simple trivial matter of ‘social welfare’, instead of being rooted in fundamental human rights. Social welfare, a cursory Google Search will inform you, is the domain of setting up schools and hospitals, among other things, for the welfare of the citizens of Pakistan. Does that have any correlation with harassment? No. So why is harassment suddenly a matter of social welfare instead of your fundamental rights? Because, it is a complicated, uncomfortable subject: a subject everyone hopes would go away.
Unfortunately, we, in the eastern hemisphere, are ill-equipped and uncomfortable when conversing about any subject that involves sexuality. Or the abuse of it, or most importantly the advantage that the silence on such a matter can give to those wishing to enjoy their liberty to abuse those weaker than themselves. This is the problem we face.
Harassment is complicated. Yetit is better to admit that we don’t know enough about it and should try to cure our ignorance than to actively derail it in the hopes that it’ll stop. It won’t. So, let’s talk about it.
#Pakistan - #JusticeForKhadija - I am not scared, he should be scared': For Khadija Siddiqui, there is hope yet
ON Tuesday evening, an hour before sunset, 23-year-old Khadija Siddiqui is torn between giving post-Iftar interviews to the broadcast media and studying for her final year LLB exam, which falls this Friday.
Ms Siddiqui’s life has not been the same since May 3, 2016, when she was mercilessly stabbed — 23 blows — on Lahore’s busy Davis Road as she picked up her younger sister, then six years old, from school. Two years later, she is fighting to bring her attacker, Shah Hussain, to justice as the Lahore High Court on Monday acquitted him after a trial court conviction of attempted murder.
Ms Siddiqui recalls that fateful morning vividly. “It was a very hot day. I remember I filled up my black Nike water bottle with lots of ice and then got into the car to pick up Sophie.”
Their car was parked in front of Ambassador Hotel, with Sophie inside and Ms Siddiqui settling into the backseat, when the attacker struck.
“My one leg was in the car and I was suddenly pushed on the seat and stabbed in the back repeatedly. My little sister intervened — she screamed and got out of the car from the other side, towards the oncoming traffic, and tried to help me. She was also stabbed,” Ms Siddiqui says, her voice clear and steady.
“I don’t have the words to tell you what state I was in. I was covered in blood, and my eyes closed as I was struck with a knife, one blow after another.”
Victim of brutal attack says family support, response from public gives her courage to fight
The family driver leapt out of the driving seat and first pulled Sophie out of harm’s way and then pushed the attacker, removing his helmet in the process so his face was visible.
“Even in my state, at the time I knew it could be no one but him [Hussain].” Ms Siddiqui describes Hussain, whom she was once friends with, as “manipulative and oppressive”.
“When I stopped talking to him at the end of 2015, I had had enough. He was too overpowering. During my elder sister’s wedding he would call me and insist on meeting and would threaten me if I said I was busy. He would get so angry.”
Ms Siddiqui believes her social media and email accounts were hacked by Hussain, who used the platforms to message her friends and pressure her into contacting him.
Did she see the violence coming? “No,” says Ms Siddiqui. “He would give me criminal stares in class and I would get scared, but we hadn’t talked in 10 months.”
The attack changed everything. With grievous injuries, Ms Siddiqui was hospitalised and treated for nearly three weeks. Trauma, the anguish of missed exams and a wasted academic year coupled with the pain of what happened tormented her.
A case was registered, but there was pressure on her not to pursue it. Attempts were made to shame her family into silence. A CD with pictures of Ms Siddiqui and other male friends was sent to the home with a note saying “this is just the beginning”.
Her mother Raazia Ahmed explains her ordeal. “That night I was shattered. The only thing that I could think of was that we should drop this. I was fearful of what would come. He stabbed her and then indulged in mudslinging and character assassination to discredit my daughter. As a mother, it was too much to bear.”
But in a country where victims are often blamed by relatives for somehow being responsible for bringing cruelty upon themselves, Mr Siddiqui’s mother has been clear on her stance from the first day. “How could I blame my own daughter for this? She was stabbed 23 times. She was in so much pain. I couldn’t even think of asking her why or how.”
Ms Ahmed’s questions are all directed at the accused. “How dare he do this to my daughter? He has no right to even touch or say anything to my daughter.”
It is easy to see where Ms Siddiqui’s strength comes from. Her immediate and extended family, who live in the same Gulberg neighbourhood as the Siddiquis, have lent immense support. Aside from moral support, the Siddiquis have paid nearly Rs2 million to lawyers fighting the case and are ready to pay more.
“My mother is my role model. She does not let me back off or be scared. My parents said everybody makes mistakes and it [being involved with someone] is not the end of the world. No one has the right to hurt you.”
It is Ms Siddiqui’s support system, and the confidence she has gained from the media and public’s response to her story, which give her hope. Tehmina Durrani has personally paid one lawyer’s fees, she says, and several activists and journalists are giving her the strength to fight this to the end.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar late on Tuesday took notice of the acquittal of Ms Siddiqui’s attacker and summoned the records of the case at the Supreme Court’s registry in Lahore for Sunday.
Ms Siddiqui has high hopes from the apex court.
“Standing by the truth gives you confidence,” she says. “He [Hussain] is not just a threat to me, he is a threat to society at large. I am not scared. He should be scared that society has stood up against him and that they will not let a criminal roam free.”
#GulBukhari #Pakistani activist abduction sparks fear of crackdown on dissent
Pakistani journalist Gul Bukhari, who has openly criticised the military, was briefly abducted by masked men in Lahore.
#GulBukhari - Bilawal Bhutto on Twitter: "The abduction of Gul Bukhari Unacceptable
The abduction of Gul Bukhari & assault of Assad Kharral are unacceptable attacks on freedom of expression. These attacks must be investigated and those responsible held accountable. Censored Democracy na manzoor.
Pakistani journalist critic of military freed after abduction
Mubasher Bukhari, Drazen Jorgic
A Pakistani journalist and rights activist who openly criticized the military and its alleged meddling in politics was freed early on Wednesday, several hours after being abducted.
The journalist, Gul Bukhari, who is a dual Pakistani-British national, has been a vocal critic of Pakistan’s powerful military on social media and in her articles in the run-up to a July 25 general election.
She has also defended ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who clashed with the military before the Supreme Court forced him from office last year over an undeclared source of income.
Bukhari was on her way to record a television program late on Tuesday for the Waqt news program in the city of Lahore when her vehicle was intercepted and she was taken away by unidentified men, her husband and media colleagues said.
After her release, she said in a statement posted on Twitter by a family member that she was well, and she asked for privacy.
“I would like to express my deep gratitude and love to my friends, family, colleagues & supporters in civil society, journalism and politics across the board, for coming together in solidarity in concern for my wellbeing last night,” she said.
Rights groups have denounced the kidnappings of several social media activists over the past year as attempts to intimidate and silence critics of Pakistan’s security establishment.
Last year, five bloggers went missing for several weeks before four of them were released. All four fled abroad and at least two afterwards told media that they were tortured by a state intelligence agency during their disappearance.
The military has staunchly denied playing a role in any enforced disappearances, as has the civilian government.
The military did not respond to a request for comment on Bukhari’s case.
The British High Commission in Islamabad said in a message on Twitter it was offering Bukhari consular assistance. “We are very concerned at reports of Gul Bukhari’s abduction last night,” it said. Earlier, Muhammad Gulsher, a producer for the Waqt news program where Bukhari appears as a guest, told Reuters that she had been abducted when a group of pick-up trucks stopped her vehicle and men in plain clothes dragged her away while other men in “army uniforms” stood guard.
“They put a black mask on her face and took her,” he said, adding that he was basing his information on an account from Bukhari’s driver.
The abduction drew widespread outrage on social media with many activists swiftly pointing the finger at the military, calling it part of efforts to stifle dissent.
“If true, this would be a most audacious attempt to silence a known critic. Is this Pakistan or Kim’s North Korea or Sisi’s Egypt?” tweeted Syed Talat Hussain, a prominent journalist.
Media organizations have complained of growing censorship by the military establishment in the run-up to the July election.
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
OP-ED - #Pakistan - The Wana tragedy
The only thing the Waziristan Peace Committee has ever done is subvert peace.
A horrifying incident took place in Wana, Waziristan yesterday. Members of the Waziristan Peace Committee killed four and injured 30 Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) workers. This took place when a peace committee member of the Waziristan area tried to seize PTM leader Ali Wazir’s petrol pump. Since he was a pro-people leader, the people came to Ali’s rescue and foiled the Taliban’s attempt to seize Ali’s property.
It is now necessary to question the legal standing of this peace committee. The only thing that it has done so far is to subvert peace in the area. This committee is abhorred by the locals for its numerous crimes. It robs people of their honour, properties and loved ones. It also gets a ‘commission’ from the local businessmen and shop keepers.
The state’s alliances with such entities has weakened its relationship with the tribal people, making them doubt their identity as Pakistanis. It also puts to question the shallow slogans of equality and unity under one flag. The more the tribal try to convince themselves that Pakistan keeps them safe, the more they realise that they are insecure.
The state’s alliances with such entities has weakened its relationship with the tribal people, making them doubt their identity as Pakistanis
The situation is made worse by the complicity of the mainstream media. Instead of referring to them directly, they were called ‘unknown individuals’. Times have changed now though, and even children know who these ‘unknown’ people are. Let alone how the committee was defended by the DG ISPR, which begs the question, is the state even serious about negotiating with the PTM?
In nutshell, the state should rein its armed non-state actors. Inflicting atrocities upon unarmed and peaceful protestors won’t do any good in terms of national integration and unity. Instead, it makes things more suspicious for the general public when it nurses such demons. The viable option for state is to disband these peace committees and start caring for the welfare of its people.
#Pakistan - #Baluchistan: 14,000 villages have no clean water, Seventy-five percent in food poverty
Alim Yarmohammadi, the representative of Zahedan, capital of Iranian occupied Balochistan, in the parliament, concluding with an implied statement given by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) journalist about the severe poverty and eating of cat’s meat in the villages of Zabul that 75 percent of the people in Sistan and Balochistan province are in food poverty.
According to the representative of the parliament, the people do not have bread to eat, healthy water to drink, and live in an unfavourable situation that you may think of from any points of view.
The debate over the livelihoods of the people in this province was followed after a few days ago in which, Hassan Shamshadi, a journalist of IRIB with a post on his Instagram page, published a photo mentioning: “What you see here is the food of a family. What do you think the food they are eating, contents? This family and many other families are eating cat’s meat”.
Based on the official statistics of state institutions, Sistan and Balochistan province is considered to be the most undeveloped region of Iran in terms of economic and social indicators. More than 60% of the urban population of Sistan and Balochistan is facing water stress, and close to 1,400 villages in this province are requesting to be supplied with water tankers.
http://balochwarna.com/2018/06/02/balochistan-14000-villages-have-no-clean-water-seventy-five-percent-in-food-poverty/
#Pakistan - Gulalai says Imran has ‘questionable’ character
Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Ayesha Gulalai has come out in support of Reham Khan over a controversy surrounding the former’s unpublished book that has sparked an altercation between various circles in mainstream and social media.
Gulalai, who parted ways from the PTI in August last year after levelling allegations of harassment and corruption against party chairman Imran Khan, called on Pakistani women to support Reham after the latter came under fire by the PTI and other prominent personalities over a leaked manuscript of her upcoming autobiography.
“Imran Khan is in moral decline, he has a [questionable] character,” said Gulalai, adding that the PTI chief was “scared” of getting unmasked by the upcoming book.
“[Imran Khan] is using a mafia against Reham, he does not fulfil the requirements of Articles 62 and 63,” the former PTI member claimed.
“He can’t run a government. He gets married, divorces, and then threatens [others] with help of a mafia.”
OP-ED - #Pakistanis deserve to know about #Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
That PTM has organised rallies all over Pakistan despite the enormous hurdles placed in its way, is a testament to the fact that their aims are not irredentist.
In the age of social media, it is nearly impossible to suppress information. Thus, both my Whatsapp messages and Twitter timeline were flooded with stories and videos about the attack on Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) supporters in Wana yesterday. Yet, if one turns to Pakistani television channels, there is only chatter about the upcoming elections, the judiciary’s recent rulings, even Reham Khan’s still-to-be-published book. The attack in Wana seems completely forgotten. Not only will this blackout reinforce the tribal people’s view that their lives are less valuable than other Pakistanis, it will also strengthen the PTM.
What is the PTM? People who live in other parts of Pakistan deserve and need to know what this movement stands for. These are fellow Pakistanis who have lived in a war zone for nearly the last two decades. And while people suffered because of Talibanisation and the War on Terror all over Pakistan, the tribal people of FATA suffered more because it was their area that was affected the most. Thus they endured the atrocities of the Taliban first-hand. When that was over, they suffered at the hands of the security agencies.
There are numerous tragic stories in this area. Stories of displacement, missing loved ones, death and destruction. As their leader, Manzoor Pashteen, said in one of his speeches (translated from Pashto), ‘Come and let us vent together.’ It should not be difficult to understand that the people of this area are deeply traumatised. They need to heal from all the violence and death they have seen, from the loss of dignity that displacement brings, to being wrongly profiled as terrorists because of their ethno-linguistic background, even as they were the ones who faced the brunt of Taliban barbarity.
Despite living through this ordeal, there are many aspects of the PTM that are admirable. First, the insistence upon peaceful means. For anyone who believes in the National Action Plan or the idea that civilian initiatives must work in tandem with the military to rid ourselves of violence and radicalisation, this alone should be inspirational. Second, a belief in the Constitution and a call to asserting rights as citizens of Pakistan. This is a modern idea rooted in the rule of law, and one that would make Jinnah proud.
The tribal people endured the atrocities of the Taliban first-hand. When that was over, they suffered at the hands of the security agencies
Third, a respect for women and a display of active female participation in their rallies. Again, this is something that should make us proud and attests to the inclusive nature of this movement. Fourth, contrary to the propaganda against it, this is not a separatist movement. The PTM wishes to remain within the ambit of Pakistan’s laws and are demanding rights not just for Pashtuns but all Pakistanis. That PTM has organised rallies all over Pakistan despite the enormous hurdles placed in its way, is a testament to the fact that their aims are not irredentist.
What then is the problem? Well, it turns out, their version of how events transpired in the last decade and a half do not match the state’s official narrative. So what? We are a nation of 200 Million people, sixth largest in the world by population. Our strength lies in our diversity. We cannot and should not expect everyone to think the same, particularly when our experiences aren’t the same. How can we expect someone who lost 17 members of his family by living in a war zone or someone whose father is a missing person for the last five years to be as patriotic as us? Instead of painting them as anti-state, and asking them pointless questions like if they fly the national flag or sing the national anthem at their rallies, as patriotic Pakistanis, we should be giving them a patient hearing.
This does not mean we have to agree with everything they say. For it is true that many military families have suffered in this fight as well. Many military men have lost their lives, leaving behind young widows and children. Their sacrifices are enormous and one has great respect for them, but by the same token, the civilians who have perished in this ugly fight are no less precious.
#Pakistan - Female journalist #GulBukhari home after hours long ‘abduction' in #Lahore
Journalist and activist Gul Bukhari was abducted by unknown persons in Lahore on Tuesday night, police sources said. Early on Wednesday her family confirmed that she was home and “fine”.According to sources, Bukhari was on her way to the Waqt TV studio on Fatimah Jinnah Road (Queen's Road) for a show when she was intercepted and abducted on Sherpao Bridge in Lahore's Cantonment area. Her family had reported her missing to the police.
Punjab police said Bukhari had not been detained by police personnel.
CPJ is alarmed by reports that @gulbukhari has been abducted in Lahore. Police should do everything in their power to investigate and ensure her prompt and safe return. Pakistani journalists have seen enough tragedy. twitter.com/UmarCheema1/st…
According to a journalist employed at Waqt TV, Bukhari was on her way to the studio to appear in a show when unknown persons stopped her vehicle and asked her to come out.
A vocal critic of the military, Bukhari is a journalist and activist who has worked in broadcast and print for several media groups in Pakistan. Bukhari is presently a contributing Op-Ed writer at The Nation and was set to appear as an analyst on Waqt TV show '2vs2'.
Concerns about freedom of expression and press censorship grow in the country in the run-up to election. In recent months, the Jang Group’s Geo TV was pushed off the airwaves across most of the country.
Last week, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said days before Pakistan's caretaker government took over that his government did not believe in resorting to media censorship but urged the media to adopt a mechanism for self-regulation.
In April, a Reporters Without Borders report said the Pakistani media are regarded as among the most vibrant in Asia but due to pressure being exerted by extremist groups and intelligence agencies they are increasingly resorting to self-censorship, according to a report by a global watchdog.
As news of Bukhari's disappearance made the rounds, journalists took to Twitter to express concerns about her safety.
Waqt TV driver was bringing @gulbukhari to channel office for 11pm show when intercepted by 4-6 double cabins. They asked Gul to come out and bundled her in the double cabin blindfolded, according to @Gul_sher112 who produces show attended by Gul. #GulBukhari
Crushing news about @gulbukhari's disappearance. Gul is one of the bravest Pakistani columnists and human rights defenders. She continuously speaks truth to power without mincing her words. Cannot imagine what her family and kids must be going through. #gulbukhari twitter.com/UmarCheema1/st…
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