THE HARASSMENT BILLS

OF PAKISTAN

ASSIGNMENT BY:
HAMNA CHOUDHRY
ASHIFA ZUBAIR
AYESHA TEHREEM
MUQADDAS SAIF

SUBMITTED TO:
LUBNA AMJAD

SUBJECT:
INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY
GEN 301
WHAT IS HARASSMENT?
Not anything and everything is considered to be called harassment. If you want to know
whether you’re being harassed or not, first you need to know what comes in the
category of harassment. While most of the sexual harassment cases are from the
workplace, other situations can also be a subject to an incident. Here are some signs
which confirm if certain actions or behaviors are a part of sexual harassment.
 If someone is asking you to do them any sort of sexual favor in return for keeping
your job.
 If someone is constantly making you feel demeaned, degraded, or threatened by
a pattern of repeated, relentless behavior at the workplace.
 If you are being given lewd remarks about your appearance especially about
certain parts of your anatomy.
 If someone touches you repeatedly on any part of your body.
 If someone is abusing you in front of public.
 If someone is posting your pictures especially with sexual intention on social
media sites or is sexting you directly.
All these signs confirm that you or someone you may know are getting harassed.
Fortunately, there are laws that have been made for the protection of victims and to
bring the harassers to justice. Although the laws may not cover all types of harassment
cases it is obligatory for all of the citizens of Pakistan to know the laws, for in case any
situation arises they should know how to stand up for themselves.
The work environment for women, in a male-dominated society like Pakistan, is often
hostile and antagonistic hindering their contribution to their country’s development as
well as their right to employment. Various studies have found that social constraints and
an aggressive work environment discourage women from seeking employment. To
encourage women to join the labor force the government has set a quota for women but
often even the minimum quota of 10% remains unfilled. Though women have been
working in senior positions and running businesses in the private sector, these have
been few in number. However, in recent years, there has been a gradual increase in the
number of women working in the government and the private sector despite the
obstacles they face. Various forms of discrimination and harassment experienced by
women are: At home: discriminating against and demeaning the girl child, deriding the
woman working at home, not allowing women to make decisions, and being violent. On
the streets: catcalling, touching, teasing and intimidating. On public transportation:
touching, pushing, and using vulgar language. In public places: staring, touching,
intimidating, behaving aggressively, chasing and being violent. At the work place:
leering, staring, making passes, discriminating, abusing authority for sexual favors,
flirting, and inflicting violence.
The Pakistani statute defines sexual harassment to include both quid pro quo and
hostile work claims. A recent Lahore High Court decision (Asif Saleem, 2019) outlines
sexual harassment law in a few countries and interprets the act to cover all kinds of
workplaces and work arrangements. This is positive and shows that our courts,
emboldened by media coverage and advocacy, are willing to direct the evolution of this
law in our own context.
The court discusses how the 2010 law is a manifestation of constitutional guarantees to
women — equality (Article 25), full participation in national life (Article 34) and dignity
(Article 14). It deliberates on how sexual harassment discourages women from
employment and hinders their contribution. It dismisses the claim that women file such
claims to ‘trap’ men.

According to the statistics presented by Madadgaar National Helpline 1098 and the
National Commission for Children, Pakistan is among countries where around 70% of
women and girls have experienced violence by their partners and around 93% of
women have experienced different forms of sexual misconduct in public places in their
lifetime. According to the same helpline, over 9,000 women and children have asked for
protection by either contacting the helpline via phone or visiting in person.

So what can Pakistanis do when they find themselves

to be victims of sexual harassment or know someone
who has faced this horrible situation?
Some laws under the Pakistan Penal Code (1860) provide for the accused to be held
liable and sentenced with either imprisonment, a heavy fine or even a death sentence.
Such laws are extremely significant for both women and men as they allow victims to
seek justice against the acts of their perpetrators.
Under Section 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code (1860), if a person insults a woman
regarding her modesty, whether through gestures or words, the perpetrator can be
charged with three years of imprisonment, or with a fine, or both.
Under section 496C of the Pakistan Penal Code (1860), anyone making false
accusations against another female are to be punished with five years in prison and with
a fine.
A person who does something that is considered indecent and vulgar, including singing
or reciting a song with vulgar lyrics, shall be liable under Section 354A of the Pakistan
Penal Code (1860) and shall be imprisoned for three months or may be given a fine or
be ordered to do both.
A person who assaults a woman, uses physical force against her, or strips her of her
clothes for the public to see, shall be liable under Section 354A of the Pakistan Penal
Code (1860). The accused may be given a death sentence or imprisoned for life.
A person who forces a young girl under the age of eighteen to have sexual intercourse
with another person, shall be liable under Section 366A of the Pakistan Penal Code
(1860) and charged with ten years of imprisonment or with a fine.
Some laws which can be useful for women in workplaces include the Protection
Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act (2010). The statute is considered
to be one of the latest developments in Pakistani law and defines harassment as:

“Any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors or other verbal
or written communication or physical conduct of a sexual nature or
sexually demeaning attitudes, causing interference with work
performance or creating intimidating, hostile or offensive work
environment, or the attempt to punish the complainant for refusal to
comply with such a request or is made a condition for employment.”

This statute also introduces the system of an inquiry committee which shall consist of
three members, of which one of them must be a female. This inquiry committee shall be
set up by any organization or company which receives a complaint from a worker
regarding harassment. The mandate can be found under Section 3 of the Protection
Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act (2010). According to section 8 of
the statute, women also have an option to complain directly to the Ombudsperson.
Section 4 of the same statute introduces various forms of penalties against the
perpetrator. Some of these penalties include censorship, compensation by the
perpetrator through payment or fine, suspension, removal or early retirement of the
perpetrator from the company or demotion to a lower post.
According to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (2016), anyone who uses any
information to harm another person or their reputation shall be held liable and punished
with three years in prison, or with fine, or both.
Under the same Act, a person who posts information to tarnish another person’s
reputation, especially a female’s reputation, to blackmail or create hatred for the victim,
shall be imprisoned for five years, or may be fined for five million rupees, or both.
As far as cyber-stalking is concerned, a person who harasses or stalks another person
online, knowing that the other person has not consented to the interaction or is not
comfortable, shall also be liable under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act
(2016). Similarly, a person who takes the victim’s pictures or videos and displays them
on the internet so that the victim gets harmed, may be given a punishment of three
years in prison, or a heavy fine, or both.
With the introduction of such laws, Pakistan seems to be moving forward in becoming a
more progressive nation. However, even with the existence of such laws, many women
and men are still unable to stand up for themselves, mainly due to the lack of
awareness of their rights or the fear of social stigma, which is why we are failing to
address the issue of harassment once and for all. It is hoped that with changing times
and with the help of awareness campaigns, the issue of harassment can be minimized.

Sexual Harassment and Pakistan

What are the laws relating to sexual

harassment in Pakistan?
Pakistan has enacted a new law namely “The Protection Against Harassment of Women
at Workplace Act, 2010” since last year. This is the first time that sexual harassment has
been defined in Pakistan through a legislative instrument. Before this enactment, there
was no clear definition of harassment, whether at public, private or workplaces. Section
509 of Pakistan Penal Code 1860, talked about “insulting the modesty” of a woman but
there was no clear definition of “modesty”. Moreover, there was no law to prohibit
harassment at workplace.

Last year (2010), Government of Pakistan not only enacted a special law for preventing
sexual harassment at workplace but also amended Section 509 of Pakistan Penal
Code. Now it clearly defines harassment and includes harassment at workplace as well.
It has also raised the maximum punishment for perpetrator from one to three years. Now
under section 509 of Pakistan Penal Code, insulting the modesty of women or sexually
harassing them, is a crime. The perpetrator of this crime may be punished with
imprisonment, which may extend to 3 years or fine up to PKR 500,000 (5 lakh) or with
both. However, this crime is still bailable and compoundable (parties can settle the case
between themselves even when matter is in the court, after permission of the court.
Further harassment laws are as following:

1. If a drunk person appears in any public place and there causes annoyance to any
person including female, he could be punished with imprisonment, or with fine or
with both under Section 510 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.
2. If any person makes a false accusation of fornication against any female, he shall
be punished with imprisonment for five years and with fine under Section 496C of
the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.
3. If a person does any indecent and vulgar act in any public place, sings, recites any
vulgar song or words is liable to be punished with imprisonment for three months
or with fine or with both under Section 294 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.
How does it occur at workplaces?
According to the 2010 law, sexual harassment manifests itself at a workplace in following
three forms

 “Abuse of authority” or Quid Pro Quo harassment …..demand of sexual

favors by a person in authority; a supervisor, a person in higher
management, employer, and making it a condition of obtaining certain job
benefits which may include
 Wage increase
 Promotion (to a higher grade)
 Training opportunity (within or outside the country)
 Transfer (to another place, department etc)
 Job itself

 “Creation of Hostile Working Environment”

 any unwelcome advances,
 request for sexual favor,
 other verbal or physical conduct,

Which interferes with individual’s work performance or creates a hostile and intimidating
work environment

1. Retaliation…. If the victim refuses to grant sexual favors, the perpetrator can
retaliate in following ways:
 Limiting an employee’s options for training, future promotions
 Distorting the evaluation (annual confidential reports)
 Generating gossip against the employee
 Limiting access to his/her rights (right to complain, right to work with
dignity, right to promotions, wage increases etc.)

Laws for workplace Harassment

1. According to Section 2(h) of the Protection against Harassment of women at
Workplace Act, 2010 harassment” means any unwelcome sexual advance,
request for sexual favors 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 with
such a request or is made a condition for employment.
2. According to the Section 3 of the Protection against Harassment of women at
Workplace Act, 2010, every organization has to constitute an Inquiry Committee
 to inquire into complaints made against workplace harassment. And committee
shall consist of three members of whom at least one member should be a woman.
3. According to Section 8 of the Protection against Harassment of women at
Workplace Act, 2010, the female has an option to file a complaint directly to the
Ombudsman or the Inquiry Committee.

If I become victim of sexual harassment, what should I

do according to the law?

It is recommended that you should follow these steps whenever you encounter sexual
harassment.

o First Step…..You need to make it clear to harasser that you don’t like
his/her advances (his advances are unwelcome/unwarranted),
o Second Step…..Even if you don’t want to make a formal complaint, do
inform some trustworthy colleague in your organization.
o Third Step….If you want to lodge a complaint in an informal way, you or
your designated person can informally report this incident to your
supervisor or inquiry committee,
o Fourth Step…..You can also launch a formal complaint to your supervisor
or inquiry committee through your supervisor, CBA (union) nominee or
worker representative (in case of absence of union),
o Fifth Step….For filing a formal complaint, you have three options:

a. Either report the incident to Inquiry Committee, constituted within your

organization (Section 4)
b. Report directly to Federal/Provincial Ombudsman, appointed under this act
(Section 8)
c. Report directly to Police (under Section 509 of PPC)

It is better to initiate complaint inside your organization.

o Sixth Step…. If you are not satisfied with decision of inquiry committee
and competent authority (of your organization), you can appeal to
Ombudsman or a District Court (in case, Ombudsmen are not appointed)
 o Seventh Step….If you are still aggrieved by decision of
Ombudsman/District Court, you can make a representation to President or
Governor for justice.

If must be reminded that appeal option is available to all parties i.e., both accused and
victim can appeal against decisions.

Is any unwelcome act occurring at workplace only to be considered as

sexual harassment?

Not necessarily. Section 2 of this act says that it can include “any situation that is linked
to official work or official activity outside office”. So, it can occur outside office when a
colleague is harassing other worker outside office or while commuting on employer-
provided transport, in a social event like employer organized dinners, lunches, training
event or dealing with clients outside one’s office. And the workplace for a marketing
employee is not a building; rather the whole marketing area is her workplace.

Can any employer discriminate against witnesses or complainant for

lodging complaint?

According to law, no adverse action can be taken against complainant or witnesses (of
any side) for lodging complaint of harassment. This is also required of inquiry committee
to make sure that complainant are not pressurized by employer or accused to withdraw
your complaint. Moreover, some part of the fine that convict is required to pay, will be
given to complainant as compensation.

What types of punishments are provided under this law?

If you lodged complaint within your organization i.e. to inquiry committee, following two
types of punishments can be given to the guilty person. The Competent Authority can
impose one or more of the following penalties on recommendations of inquiry committee.

Minor Penalties

a. Censure
b. Withholding increment or promotion, for a specific period of time
c. Stopping at an efficiency bar in timescale, for a specific period of time
d. Recovering compensation from pay or any other source of guilty person (this
compensation has to be paid to victim)

Major Penalties

a. Reduction to a lower post or lower time-scale

b. Compulsory retirement
c. Dismissal from service (it disqualifies for re-employment)
d. Removal from service
 e. Fine

While, if you have lodged your complaint directly to Police, the convict can be imprisoned
for a maximum term of 3 years, or fined with a maximum sum of PKR 5 Lakh or with both.

Electronic Harassment OR Cyber Crime

Harassment is not only in the form of touching, whistling, or being physically violent. In some
cases, sexual predators attack through social media sites and harass the subject via
pornographic videos or images or sharing the victim’s personal pictures on the internet.
Electronic harassment is defined as:
If someone uses any electronic device to aid them in invading your person or property for the
purpose of gathering information illegally, or for the purpose of causing harm, this is
Electronic Harassment.

Laws for women regarding Electronic Harassment

1. If any person intentionally and publicly displays of transmitting any information to harm
the reputation or privacy of any person including female, is liable to be punished with
imprisonment for three years or with fine or with both under the Prevention of
Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.
2. If any person intentionally and publicly exhibits or displays or transmit any information
with the intention to harm the female or her reputation, or to take revenge, or to create
hatred or to blackmail is liable to be punished with imprisonment for five years or with
fine which may extend to five million rupees or with both under the Prevention of
Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.
3. A person commits the offence of cyberstalking if he harasses any female through
internet by following her or contracts or attempts to contact to foster personal
interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such female under the
Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.
4. If a person takes a photograph or make a video of any female and display or distribute it
without her consent in a manner that harms a female is liable to be punished with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may
extend to one million rupees or with both under Section 24 of the Prevention of
Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.
Conclusion
Even though there are numerous amounts of laws for women in Pakistan, Pakistani women
continue to get harassed from social media to workplaces to the streets. Because the law and
order in Pakistan is so poor and unmaintained that even the laws which are already made are
not respected. Furthermore, women are not even aware of their rights so they usually do not
stand up for themselves and those who do try to, they are stopped due to receival of threats
from their harassers or the fear of public shaming. So unless and until there are no hard and
fast rules for the safety and security of the oppressed women, there is unlikely any chance of
properly controlling this issue.

REFERENCES
https://pcsw.punjab.gov.pk/protection_against_harrassment

https://paycheck.pk/labour-laws/fair-treatment/sexual-harassment-1/sexual-harassment-old

https://www.dawn.com/news/1486846

http://www.bugsweeps.com/info/electronic_harassment.html