HARASSMENT OF WOMEN …. A NATIONAL CONCERN

By:
DR. SAIYID KHUSRO IQBAL

Harassment is defined as an act of systematic and or continued unwanted and annoying actions of one party or a group, including threats and demands. The purposes may vary, including racial prejudice, personal malice, attempting to force someone to quit a job or grant sexual favors, apply illegal pressure to collect a bill, or merely gain sadistic pleasure from making someone fearful or anxious.

It covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature like disturbing people distastefully, saying or doing unpleasant things etc. It is commonly understood as behavior intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behavior which is found threatening or disturbing. Harassment is a word that describes any kind of ongoing torment. At school, harassment is often known as bullying. In the workplace, employees need to be careful about sexual harassment.

Harassment, torture humiliation and exploitation of women are as old as is the history of family life. In South East Asia, women are way behind of women elsewhere including Africa, or Far and Middle East Asia or Eastern Europe in the matter of social legislation. Although the laws granting rights to women exist in South East Asia but their implementation is very slow, lopsided and haphazard due to which socially, economically and politically women lag far behind the men in Southeast Asia.

In South East Asia, including Pakistan, women are discriminated at work and are denied their due proportion in many fields. At home, they are often even worse off, reduced to being slavish drudges and maltreated in a hundred different ways. Constantly derided, frequently bullied, sometimes assaulted and occasionally burnt to death, they remain victims in every role.

Surprisingly, female victims of crime and violence have not been given much attention in books of social problems or in literature on criminal violence. The attitude of indifference and negligence is primarily the result of general acceptance of man's superiority over woman because of which many violent acts like domestic violence, sexual harassment, discrimination etc committed against women have not been viewed by society as violent or illegal acts.

It is also the result of denial of violence by women themselves due to their religious values and social attitudes. It is only recently that the issue of crime against women has been transformed from a private issue into a public problem.

In our society, violence is bursting. It is present almost everywhere and nowhere is this eruption more intense than right behind the doors of our homes. Behind closed doors of homes all across our country, women are being tortured, beaten and sometimes killed. It is happening in rural areas, towns, cities and in metropolitans as well. It is crossing all social classes, genders, racial lines and age groups. It is becoming a legacy being passed on from one generation to another.

The term used to describe this exploding problem of violence within our homes is Domestic Violence. This violence has a tendency to explode in various forms such as physical, sexual or emotional. Since times immemorial, domestic violence has been an intrinsic part of the society we are living in. The contributing factors could be the desire to gain control over another family member, the desire to exploit someone for personal benefits, the flare to be in a commanding position all the time showcasing one’s supremacy so on and so forth. On various occasions, psychological problems and social influence also add to the vehemence.

Types of Harassment

Following are various types of Harassment which the frail segment of society including women usually face:

Domestic Harassment

This form of domestic violence against women is most common of all. One of the reasons for it being so prevalent is the orthodox and idiotic mindset of the society that women are physically and emotionally weaker than the males. Though women today have proved themselves in almost every field of life affirming that they are no less than men, the reports of violence against them are much larger in number than against men. The possible reasons are many and are diversified over the length and breadth of the country. According to United Nation Population Fund Report, around two-third of married Pakistani women are victims of domestic violence and as many as 70 per cent of married women in Pakistan between the age of 15 and 49 are victims of beating, rape or forced sex. In Pakistan, more than 55 percent of the women suffer from domestic violence, especially in the provinces of Sindh & KPK.

The most common causes for women stalking and battering include dissatisfaction with the dowry and exploiting women for more of it, arguing with the partner, refusing to have sex with him, neglecting children, going out of home without telling the partner, not cooking properly or on time, indulging in extra marital affairs, not looking after in-laws etc. In some cases infertility in females also leads to their assault by the family members. The greed for dowry, desire for a male child and alcoholism of the spouse are major factors of domestic violence against women in rural areas. There have been gruesome reports of young bride being burnt alive or subjected to continuous harassment for not bringing home the amount of demanded dowry. Women in Pakistan also admit to hitting or beating because of their suspicion about the husband’s sexual involvement with other women. The Murder Case of Farzana Iqbal in front of Lahore High Court in May 2014 is one such dreadful incident of a woman killed with bricks by her father, two brothers and husband.

In urban areas there are many more factors which lead to differences in the beginning and later take the shape of domestic violence. These include – more income of a working woman than her partner, her absence in the house till late night, abusing and neglecting in-laws, being more forward socially etc. Working women are quite often subjected to assaults and coercion sex by employees of the organization. At times, it could be voluntary for a better pay and designation in the office.

Violence against young widows has also been on a rise in Pakistan. Most often they are cursed for their husband’s death and are deprived of proper food and clothing. They are not allowed or encouraged for remarriage in most of the homes, especially in rural areas. There have been cases of molestation and rape attempts of women by other family members in nuclear families or someone in the neighborhood. At times, women are even sexually coerced by their partner themselves against their will. They are brutally beaten and tortured for not conceiving a male child. Incidents like, ripping off a woman’s womb for killing the female foetus when she disagrees for abortion have also come to light especially in rural areas. Female feticide and female infanticide continue to be a rising concern.

Also as expressed by Rebecca J. Burns in the following lines, “When I am asked why a woman doesn’t leave abuser I say: Women stay because the fear of leaving is greater than the fear of staying and when the fear of staying will be greater than the fear of leaving then they will leave.” A common Pakistani house wife has a tendency to bear the harassment she is subjected to by her husband and the family. One reason could be to prevent the children from undergoing the hardships if she separates from the spouse. Also the traditional and orthodox mindset makes them bear the sufferings without any protest.

Other forms of physical abuse against women include slapping, punching, grabbing, burdening them with drudgery, public humiliation and the neglect of their health problems. Some of the other forms of psychological torment against them could be curtailment of their rights to self-expression and curbing the freedom to associate with the natal family and friends.

Mobile Harassment

Mobile harassment refers to the sending any type of text message, sext message, photo message, video message, or voicemail from a mobile phone that threatens, torments, humiliates the recipient of these messages. It is a form of cyber bullying. It also includes the use of a cell phone to “persuade, induce, entice, coerce, or facilitate the travel of, the minor to engage in prohibited physical conduct.

Online Harassment

This relates to a person's "use a computer or computer network to communicate obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious, or indecent language, or make any suggestion or proposal of an obscene nature, or threaten any illegal or immoral act,"

The extent to which these communications are unlawful varies greatly between countries, and even within nations. It is a sensitive area in which the Courts can become involved in arbitrating between groups with strong beliefs.

Whereas content may be offensive in a non-specific way, harassment directs obscenities and derogatory comments at specific individuals focusing for example on gender, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation. This often occurs in chat rooms, through newsgroups, and by sending hate e-mail to interested parties Any electronic comment that may be found derogatory or offensive is considered harassment.

Whereas in the response to harassment is considered a self-defense mechanism by the person being bullied or harassed by those of another race or perceived difference from the individual that is pervasive and associated to the reason being harassed.

Police Harassment

This includes unfair treatment conducted by law officials, including but not limited to excessive force, profiling, threats, coercion, and racial, ethnic, religious, gender, sexual, age, or other forms of discrimination.

Police misconduct refers to inappropriate or illegal actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Police misconduct can lead to a miscarriage of justice and sometimes involves discrimination or obstruction of justice. In an effort to control police misconduct, there is an accelerating trend for civilian agencies to go beyond review to engage directly in investigations and to have much greater input into disciplinary decisions. With the proliferation of mobile devices capable of recording alleged misconduct, existing eavesdropping laws in some jurisdictions are being leveraged to prosecute civilians, while in other circumstances police will illegally seize or delete evidence.

Types of misconduct include false confession, false arrest, false evidence, false imprisonment, intimidation, police brutality, police corruption, racial profiling, surveillance abuse, witness tampering and off-duty misconduct. Others include:

·               Noble cause corruption, where the officer believes the good outcomes justify bad behavior

·               Selective enforcement (knowledge and allowances of violations by friends, family and or acquaintances unreported)

·               Abuses of power (using badge or other ID to gain entry into concerts, to get discounts, etc.)

·               Police perjury (blatant lying under oath and or to other authorities to cover wrongdoing)

·               Influence of drugs and or alcohol while on duty

·               Violations by officers of police procedural policies

There is a popular view that police officers share a 'code of silence' and do not turn each other in for misconduct. While some officers have called this code a myth.

Power Harassment

Power harassment is nuisance or unwelcome attention of a political nature, often occurring in the environment of a workplace including hospitals, schools and universities. It includes a range of behavior from mild irritation and annoyances to serious abuses which can even involve forced activity beyond the boundaries of the job description. Power harassment is considered a form of illegal discrimination and is a form of political and psychological abuse, and bullying.

Many workers are forced by their superiors to perform tasks outside of their job description and working hours. It is common for workers to be fired or suffer severe repercussions if they do not satisfy their superior's orders, despite there being no justifiable basis for such orders. Situations exist where employees are treated in a manner that far oversteps the bounds of what is proper between a boss and his or her workers. Someone in a position of power should never be allowed to exercise the power in a bullying or discriminatory fashion. This can create an unhappy and unsafe work environment not just for those being harassed but for the entire work force. Typical examples of power harassment include:

1.         being scolded in front of other colleagues, rebuked in a loud voice

2.         Being neglected for rewards and recognition

3.         Victim of false evaluation and or demotion.

Political Harassment

Political harassment is defined as the act or series of acts of pressure, threats, harassment or persecution, committed by a person or group of persons directly or through a third party against a political candidate who is either elected or incumbent and is in the exercise of a public or political function. Furthermore, exerting pressure on the candidate’s family to prevent the candidate - by act or omission - from discharging itsr rights and duties is also covered by such harassment.

The definition of political violence also encompasses actions, conduct or assault causing bodily harm, psychological or sexual abuse against a woman or her family aimed at preventing her from or restricting her in exercising her duties or causing her to take decisions against her will, principles or the law.

Political harassment can include:

·                     Offensive jokes

·                     Ridicule

·                     Display of offensive material

·                     Defamation

·                     Derogatory remarks

·                     Propaganda

·                     Gossip or eavesdrops 

·                     etc

Harassment on the Grounds of Disability

Harassment may be based on the fact that a person has a physical or mental impairment, learning difficulty or disfigurement. This can include:

·               offensive or patronizing language

·               offensive or patronizing action or behavior

·               jokes or inappropriate comments

·               questions which cause offence to the individual or group of individuals concerned

·               display of offensive material

Bullying

Bullying may be characterized as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behavior, an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.  Examples of bullying could be:

·               abuse of power or authority

·               verbal, written and or physical intimidation e.g. threats, derisory remarks

·               persistent unjustified criticism

·               public humiliation

·               the setting of impossible deadlines or intolerable workload burdens

·               having responsibilities or decision-making powers withdrawn without good reason or explanation

·               unwarranted exclusions

Vigorous speech and comment, academic debate and legitimate management of the performance of staff or students can be distinguished from bullying behaviour.  However care should be taken to ensure that neither staff nor students are made to feel intimidated. 

Harassment on the Grounds of Age

Ageism can affect anybody regardless of how old they are. Harassment on the grounds of age may include:

·                     assumptions regarding the individual's inability to learn

·                     offensive remarks

·                     exclusion on the basis of age

Harassment on the Grounds of Gender Re-assignment

It includes:

·               suggestive remarks or sounds

·               unwanted comments on dress and appearance

·               verbal threats

·               threatening physical contacts

·               exclusion on the basis of  gender reassignment

·               ogling causing irritation

Psychological harassment

This is humiliating, intimidating or abusive behavior which is often difficult to detect leaving no evidence other than victim reports or complaints. This characteristically lowers a person’s self-esteem or causes them torment. This can take the form of verbal comments, engineered episodes of intimidation, aggressive actions or repeated gestures. Falling into this category is workplace harassment by individuals or groups mobbing.

Community based harassment

This includes the stalking by a group against individual using repeated distractions that the individual is sensitized to.

To setup their targets, Community Stalkers use a technique called Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP). It's a way of conditioning the mind to notice 'triggers' in the environment. These triggers can be shapes, objects, colors, behaviors or sounds. Most importantly, Community Stalkers condition the minds of their victims to develop anxiety upon seeing or hearing these triggers.  The end result of a successful such harassment campaign is psychological damage. Anything from a nervous breakdown to suicide. Some individuals become highly agitated and violent. Ultimately they may end up in jail. Either way the Community Stalkers are happy. They essentially 'kill' a person without pulling the trigger. And they get off scot-free. It's the perfect crime.

Racial harassment

This includes the targeting of an individual because of their race or ethnicity. The harassment may include words, deeds, and actions that are specifically designed to make the target feel degraded due to their race or ethnicity, color, nationality, citizenship, or ethnic or national origins, which is directed at an individual or group and which is found to be offensive or objectionable to recipients and which creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment. Such behavior may include:

·                     derogatory name calling

·                     insults and racist jokes

·                     display of racially offensive material and abusive language

·                     exclusion from normal workplace conversation or activities

·                     unfair allocation of work

·                     verbal threats

·                     physical attack

·                     incitement of others to commit any such acts

Religious harassment

Religious Harassment is any behavior deliberate or otherwise, pertaining to religion, religious belief or other similar philosophical belief and it is behaviour which can be defined as unwanted conduct violating a person's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.  Examples can include:

·                     offensive jokes

·                     ridicule

·                     display of offensive material

Here the verbal, psychological or physical harassment is used against targets because they choose to practice a specific religion. Religious harassment can also include forced and involuntary conversions.

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that occurs in the workplace. The legal definition of sexual harassment is “Unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment.”

Sexual harassment may be homosexual or heterosexual. It may be defined as any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment. It may include:

·               physical contact

·               invasion of personal space

·               suggestive remarks or sounds

·               unwanted comments on dress and appearance

·               jokes of a sexual nature

·               display of sexually offensive material

·               inappropriate downloading of pornographic or sexually exploitive and degrading material by computer

·               verbal threats

It is important to remember that sexual harassment can occur of women by men, men by women, and also between members of the same sex. It can also refer to unwanted conduct that is related to the sex of the other person.

This act of harassment is any behavior deliberate or otherwise, pertaining to sexual orientation. 

Homophobia is a term used to describe hatred and rejection of gays, lesbians and homosexuality. It may be directed against individuals or groups of people who are, or are thought to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered and is behavior which can be defined as unwanted conduct violating a person’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Examples may include:

·                     offensive jokes

·                     ridicule

·                     verbal threats

·                     derogatory comments

·                     intrusive questioning about a person's domestic circumstances

·                     intimation

·                     gossip

·                     physical attack

·                     unfair allocation of work

·                     exclusion from normal work place / class conversation or activities

·                     incitement of others to commit any such acts

This harassment can happen anywhere but is most common at the workplace, social clubs, private jobs and schools. It involves unwanted and unwelcome words, deeds, actions, gestures, symbols, or behaviors of a sexual nature that make the target feel uncomfortable. Gender and sexual orientation harassment fall into this family. Involving children, "gay" or "homo" is a common insult falling into this category. The main focus of groups working against sexual harassment is protection for women, but protection for men is coming to light in recent years.

Workplace harassment

Workplace harassment is:

·               the offensive, belittling or threatening behavior directed at an individual worker or a group of workers

·               the odious dealing through pitiless, malevolent, hurtful or embarrassing attempts to undermine an individual worker or groups of workers.

Recently, matters of workplace harassment have gained interest among practitioners and researchers as it is becoming one of the most sensitive areas of effective workplace management. In many countries, it attracted lots of attention from researchers and governments since the 1980s, because a significant source of work stress is associated with aggressive behaviors at workplace. Third world countries are far behind to combat this issue as they put limited efforts to investigate the questions on workplace harassment. It is almost unseen and the executive leaders (managers) are almost reluctant or unconscious about it in the third world countries including Pakistan. Under occupational health and safety laws around the world, workplace harassment and workplace bullying are identified as being core psychosocial hazards.

Protection against Harassment of Women at the workplace Act, 2010:

To protect women against such harassment at their workplace, Government of Pakistan has implemented “Protection against Harassment of Women at the workplace Act, 2010” in all organizations. Every organization is asked to make an internal committee to work in this regard and to undertake the effective measures for implementation of this act.

This Act builds on the principles of equal opportunity for men and women and their right to earn a livelihood without fear of discrimination as stipulated in the Constitution. This Act also complies with the Government’s commitment to high international labour standards and empowerment of women. It also adheres to the Human Rights Declaration, the United Nation’s Convention for Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and ILO’s convention 100 and 111 on workers’ rights. It adheres to the principles of Islam and all other religions in our country which assure women’s dignity.

Provisions made in the Protection against harassment of women at the workplace Act requires all public and private organizations to adopt an internal Code of Conduct; complain and appeals mechanism aimed at establishing a safe working environment for working women. It shall be the responsibility of the employer to ensure implementation of this Act, including but not limited to incorporate the Code of Conduct as a part of their management policy. The management shall display copies of Code of Conduct at the conspicuous place in the organization and the workplace. On failure of an employer to comply with this provision the employer shall be liable to fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees but shall not be less than twenty-five thousand rupees.

Consequences of Harassment:

There are varied consequences of harassment depending on the victim, the age group, the intensity of the violence and frequency of the torment they are subjected to. Living under a constant fear, threat and humiliation are some of the feelings developed in the minds of the victims as a consequence of an atrocious violence. The consequences of the harassments in detail can be broadly categorized under the effect on the victim himself / herself and the family; effect on the society; and the effect on nation’s growth and productivity. The ‘Effect on the victim’ has been further subcategorized for women, men, children and olds.

Battered persons have tendency to remain quiet, agonized and emotionally disturbed after the occurrence of the harassment. A psychological set back and trauma because of the harassment affects victim’s productivity in all forms of life. The suicide case of such victimized persons is also a deadly consequence and the number of such cases is increasing.

Due to workplace and or sexual harassments a working woman may drop out from work place because of the ill-treatment at home or office, she may lose her inefficiency in work. Her health may deteriorate if she is not well physically and mentally. Some women leave their home immediately after first few atrocious attacks and try to become self-dependent. Their survival becomes difficult and painful when they have to work hard for earning two meals a day. Many such women come under rescue of women welfare organizations like Women Welfare Association of Pakistan (WWAP), Woman Welfare Association (WWA) and Woman’s Emancipation and Development Trust (WEDT). Some of them who leave their homes are forcefully involved in women trafficking and pornography. This results in acquiring a higher risk of becoming a drug addict and suffering from HIV/AIDS. Some of course do it by their choice.

One of the severe effects of domestic violence against women is its effect on her children. It is nature’s phenomenon that a child generally has a greater attachment towards the mother for she is the one who gives birth. As long as the violence subjected to the mother is hidden from the child, he/she may behave normally at home. The day when mother’s grief and suffering is revealed, a child may become upset about the happening deeply. Children may not even comprehend the severity of the problem. They may turn silent, reserved and express solace to the mother. When the violence against women is openly done in front of them since their childhood, it may have a deeper and gruesome impact in their mindset. They get used to such happenings at home, and have a tendency to reciprocate the same in their lives. It’s common in especially in rural homes in Pakistan which are victimized by the evil of domestic violence.

In cases of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) against women leads them to maintain a distance from their partner. Their sexual life is affected adversely. Many of them file for divorce and seek separation which again affects the life of children. Some continue to be exploited in lack of proper awareness of human rights and laws of the constitution.

Effect of Harassment on the society

All the different forms of harassments discussed adversely affect the society. Violence against women may keep them locked in homes succumbing to the torture they face. If they come out in open and reveal the wrong done to them for help and rescue. When something of this kind happens in the society, few families may witness the evil of harassments knocking their door steps. Some families try to imitate what others indulge in irrespective of it being good or bad for the family.

Effect on the productivity

As mentioned earlier, all types of harassments affects the productivity level of the victim negatively. Men and women lose interest in life and daily activities. If they are employed they fail to work with full capabilities in workplace. Children are found to concentrate less on studies. They drop out of school and do not get the education which otherwise they might have got if they were not harassed and thus the country loses a productive asset. Therefore, the nation’s productivity altogether gets affected because of domestic violence in homes. When old people are tortured and physically abused, they separate themselves from family members and their daily activities are restricted to themselves. The guardianship they can provide out of their experience, the moral values which they can instill in the grandchildren are all not done as they are unwanted in their own homes. People need to spend their part of income for medication when they are met with worse forms of harassment which again leads to loss in productive use of a family’s income. The cumulative effect of the harassment at all levels and across all regions is the country’s hindered development and slow economic growth.

Possible Solutions

A very important question in wake of harassments remedies is that what exactly we are looking for in the process of minimizing their occurrences. Is it so that we want to gather more information about such cases for just expressing our concern over this issue with more accuracy, having facts and figures at hand? Or instead of just raising our voices, we want to clean up the mess with shear force and determination?

Fighting the ‘harassments Evil

A recent study has concluded that violence against women is the fastest-growing crime in Pakistan. According to a latest report prepared by a non-governmental social research group called Pakistan’s National Crime Records Bureau (PNCRB), a crime has been recorded against women in every six hours in Pakistan. Every 48 hours one woman is raped or sexually molested in this country. Every week a young married woman is found beaten to death, burnt or driven to suicide.

The response to the phenomenon of harassment is a typical combination of efforts between law enforcement agencies, social service agencies, the Courts and corrections agencies (i.e jails and Darul Aman etc). The role of all these has progressed over last few decades, and brought their activities in public view. Harassment in Pakistan now by and large are being viewed as a public problem of significant proportion and many public, private and governmental agencies are seen making huge efforts to control it in Pakistan. There are several organizations all over the world, government and non government which are actively working to fight the problems generated by harassment to the human community.

Need for Stringent Laws

Unfortunately, at present there is not enough legislation in the Pakistan which can strictly deal with all the different forms of harassment as discussed above. There is an urgent need to enact necessary legislation in the country. Although recently in 2010 the government has passed an act “The Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010” which is not sufficient alone to address all harassment issues.

Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

The role of non-governmental organizations in controlling the domestic violence and curbing its worse consequences is crucial ads the NGOs continue to spread awareness amongst people regarding the legal rights they have in hand for fighting against the atrocities they are subjected to. They are encouraging more and more people to report any case of domestic violence so that proper action may be taken against the culprits.

Police Support

Police plays a major role in tackling the harassment cases. They need to be sensitized to treat harassment cases as seriously as any other crime. Special training to handle domestic violence, street harassment; workplace sexual harassment and other types of harassment cases should be imparted to police force. They should be provided with support network of judiciary, government agencies and departments etc. The gender training should be made mandatory in the trainings of the police officers. There should be a separate wing of police dealing with women’s issues and other harassment abuses, attached to all police stations and should be excluded from any other duty.

Governmental authorities

Governmental authorities should take steps to recognize all types of harassment including domestic violence, street harassment; workplace sexual harassment etc as a public issues. A crisis support cell needs to be established in all major Government and Private Hospitals with a trained medical social worker for provide appropriate services. Training programs must be organized for health professionals in order to develop their skills to provide basic support for abused people. Documentation on the prevalence and the health consequences of domestic and other harassments should be undertaken by the concerned government authorities. A sizeable agency should also be set up for the annual consolidation of the documented work and publish the same for wider publicity among the masses for increasing awareness.

Conclusion

We need to sense the importance of discussion of such a crucial and sensitive topic. The varying causes which can spark the violence within the four walls of homes need to be analyzed carefully and a wise study of the factors causing the violence may prevent a family to suffer from the menace of harassment and domestic violence. The harassment may have a far wider and deeper impact in real life than what has been covered in the above lines. What is required is to see closely the association of the factors provoking a particular form of harassment. If these factors can be controlled then more than one form of violence can be prevented from harming an individual or our society and Pakistan would be a much better place to live in.

References:

1.         Adaptation of code of conduct prescribed by law.

2.         The committee will immediately address the complaints of sexual harassment as per law, as and when received.

3.         Ensuring the justice is done swiftly and retaliation against the complaints is curbed.

4.         Informing and educating the employees to make them more aware of the provisions of the act and to encourage a professional and dignified work environment for the women in public and private sectors.

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