To acknowledge the contribution made by working women in society and discuss the challenges faced by them, civil society on Tuesday invited the media to highlight issues like equal wages, glass ceiling effect, sexual harassment and other work-related concerns that needed to be addressed. According to a letter issued by the civil society to media houses, December 22nd has been announced as the National Working Women’s Day by the prime minister last year, which symbolises the working women’s struggle for a dignified work environment. The civil society had been celebrating this day for the last ten years but this year invited the media to join hands with the working women of the country and observe the day.
“We want you to acknowledge the contributions of our working women and challenges that they face every day. We want them to be portrayed as a constituency, from the women in the agricultural fields, to the police commandos, CEOs of companies and parliamentarians,” the letter said. Civil society requested the media to have special programs and articles to this end. Society and media were asked acknowledge the female individual heroes who worked in non-traditional careers and broadened horizons for other women. The Alliance against sexual harassment (AASHA) team assured their help and hoped that the media would own the Day and plan seriously for it. “We have to encourage our women to go into all professions if we want to see Pakistan as a self-sufficient and modern state in this world,” said a spokesperson.
Pakistan’s Alliance Against Sexual Harrassment (AASHA), cannot raise awareness about sexual harassment. AASHA, lists SmithKline Beecham, Pakistan, as a “progressive employer” in the context of its policies dealing with employees’ sexual harassment. The company fired me for filing and standing by my complaint of sexual harassment against my supervisor. When I saw the company’s name in the list, I informed AASHA about it but the organization did not respond with an explanation or with the removal of the company’s name from its list. Perhaps the NGO’s name should be Alliance “For” Sexual Harassment as it is on the side of Big Business, not the victims. –Asma Siddiqi
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