Tag: sexual harassment

  • Omair Rana rejects allegations of harassment, will take matter to FIA

    Omair Rana rejects allegations of harassment, will take matter to FIA

    Omair Rana, who was accused of sexual harassment by some students of Lahore Grammar School (LGS) 1A1 Ghalib Market Branch, has rejected all such allegations and has said that he will be filing a complaint with the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) against those who have wrongfully accused him. Female students of LGS 1A1 had alleged that Rana would pass inappropriate jokes and comments and make them feel uncomfortable. They also said that he flirted with young girls and exchanged inappropriate texts.

    The actor, in a Twitter update added that “sexual harassment is a heinous crime and should be treated with the seriousness that it deserves”.

    On June 28, dozens of girls came forward with accounts of harassment and inappropriate behaviour by teachers at LGS 1A1 Ghalib Market Branch. The management of the school, including female teachers, also came under fire for brushing the matter under the carpet for years. Among those teachers accused of covering up was Omair’s wife Maira Omair Rana, who was later suspended for abetting in the acts. It is pertinent to mention here that most of the girls studying at the school were minors at the time.

    Such incidents had reportedly been going on for the past four or five years and the victims had been reporting the matter to the admin and their teachers. However, they took no action and resorted to victim-blaming. Strict action was only taken after the girls shared their ordeal on social media and the matter became public.

    According to details, students have come forward and shared their experiences of being harassed by three teachers namely Aitezaz Rehman Sheikh, Umer Shareef and Zahid Iqbal Warraich. All three teachers were fired soon after the allegations surfaced.

    Following the uproar on social media, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari had said that she has taken serious notice of the allegations. The Punjab government had also said that they will hand exemplary punishments to the perpetrators and make an example of them.

    Meanwhile, Chairman Senate Committee on Human Rights and PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said that the HR Committee has taken notice of the matter and will be discussing it on July 22. Sharing details, he said that concerned parents will be allowed to join the meeting.

  • Harassment at school

    Harassment at school

    Accounts of sexual harassment that were shared on social media last month by students of Lahore Grammar School’s (LGS) 1A1 branch were harrowing to say the least.

    Four male staffers were subsequently terminated while the principal, administrator and coordinator were suspended as they have been accused of covering up the scandal.

    We must say that it was very brave of the victims to recount their trauma and raise this issue on social media when all other avenues failed. More power to these girls who did not back down for demanding justice for themselves and their fellow students.

    To think that this had been going on for four years under the administration’s nose makes one wonder why senior members of the administration did not pay any heed to multiple complaints by students. Sexual harassers are of course the main culprits here and they must be punished according to the law but those who abetted them by covering up their crimes cannot shirk responsibility either. Once a student had approached the administration to report sexual harassment, it should have been investigated right away and proper measures should have been taken instead of blaming and shaming underage girls for ‘leading on’ these predators.

    Victim-blaming is not just mentally damaging and demeaning, in this case it was downright criminal. The commitment of Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas as well as Federal Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari to the LGS case is commendable. However, Raas’s suggestion that only female teachers should teach at all-girls’ schools is a stop-gap arrangement of sorts. This policy cannot be dictated and it should not be implemented either. By this token, do we think that any man who teaches girls in schools cannot control himself? What about all-boys schools where male teachers have abused? This sort of messaging is not appropriate. Male teachers must be taught to treat their students as ‘students’ and not any sexual beings. Parents send their children to school for education, believing they are sending them to a safe environment where they will be looked after by the school management just like families look after their own.

    A school is quite literally a child’s second home where he or she learns, makes friends and prepares for their future. It should never have been a place where underage girls were sexually harassed by faculty members with unwanted and inappropriate pictures, messages, etc.

    Educational institutions – from schools and colleges to universities – should have a proper and clear policy on sexual harassment. This policy should be public and awareness sessions should also take place regarding this issue. Psychologists should also be hired by educational institutions to provide free counselling to children and not just for sexual harassment but also for other issues they might be facing. Just like some schools have career counselling, there should be counsellors – like ombudspersons – to hear complaints about sexual harassment at schools. These are just the basic things that all educational institutions must comply with.

  • Meesha Shafi extends support to victims of harassment at Lahore school

    Meesha Shafi extends support to victims of harassment at Lahore school

    Meesha Shafi, who is one of the pioneers of the #MeToo movement in Pakistan, has extended her support to women and girls who have broken their silence over being sexually harassed by their male teachers at a private school in Lahore.

    In a tweet, the singer said that she feels “like the pain and trauma I have suffered is worth so much.”

    “Your bravery is my reward. I am with you all,” said Shafi, who had accused Ali Zafar of sexual harassment in April 2018, propelling the #MeToo movement in Pakistan.

    When a follower suggested that victims should opt for the legal route, Meesha responded with sarcasm.

    On Sunday, dozens of girls came forward with accounts of harassment and inappropriate behaviour by teachers at Lahore Grammar School (LGS) 1A1 Ghalib Market Branch. The management of the school, including female teachers, also came under fire for brushing the matter under the carpet for years. It is pertinent to mention here that most of the girls studying at the school were minors at the time.

    Such incidents had reportedly been going on for the past four or five years and the victims had been reporting the matter to the admin and their teachers. However, they took no action and resorted to victim-blaming. Strict and immediate action was only taken after the girls shared their ordeal on social media and the matter became public.

    According to details, students have come forward and shared their experiences of being harassed by three teachers namely Aitezaz Rehman Sheikh, Umer Shareef and Zahid Iqbal Warraich. All three teachers were fired soon after the allegations surfaced.

    Following the uproar on social media, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said that she has taken serious notice of the allegations and has alerted regional offices of the ministry. Education Minister of Punjab Dr Murad Raas also said that he will personally deal with the case.

  • Private school in Lahore comes under fire for covering up harassment

    Private school in Lahore comes under fire for covering up harassment

    The management of Lahore Grammar School (LGS) 1A1 Ghalib Market Branch, including female teachers, has come under fire for covering up harassment and inappropriate behaviour by instructors for years. It is pertinent to mention here that most of the girls studying at the school were minors at the time.

    Such incidents had reportedly been going on for the past four or five years and the victims had been reporting the matter to the admin and their teachers. However, their teachers had been covering up for their colleagues and brushing the matter under the carpet. They resorted to victim-blaming and refused to take any action. Strict and immediate action was only taken after the girls shared their ordeal on social media.

    According to details, students have come forward and shared their experiences of being harassed by three teachers namely Aitezaz Rehman Sheikh, Umer Shareef and Zahid Iqbal Warraich. To make things easier to understand, here’s a breakdown of the details:

    Aitezaz Rehman Sheikh

    Aitezaz Rehman Sheikh, who used to teach politics and served as a MUN coach had been sending obscene pictures and messages to his students. The students accused him of being manipulative and said that he would coerce girls on international trips.

    Aitezaz Rehman Sheikh

    Zahid Iqbal Warraich

    Similarly, Sir Zahid Warraich, who taught Chemistry to A’ and O’ Levels used to inappropriately touch his students and make them uncomfortable during class.

    Umer Shareef

    Sir Umer was reportedly a member of the admin who would make girls uncomfortable with his stares and glances.

    For more stories, click here.

    Following the outrage on social media, the management of LGS 1A1 immediately fired the instructors and barred them from working at any branch of LGS.

    A few students have also accused Omair Rana’s wife Maira Omair Rana for not taking action and “slut-shaming” the girls who came forward to report. One of the students has also accused the actor of exhibiting inappropriate behaviour.

    https://twitter.com/kaalakawaa/status/1277180064841396225?s=20

    LGS is one of the mose prestigious school for girls in Lahore, with several branches across the city. The management of each branch is separate.

  • Anonymously report harassment, bias at work with this new app

    A tool called AllVoice is here to make it easier for employees to anonymously send feedback to the company’s leadership, and report harassment or bias.

    According to the details, the app has been launched by Eponymous, and the company has raised $3 million in seed funding for the facilitation of their startup.

    AllVoices is a platform that lets people send complaints to the human resources (HR) department. All complaints are displayed on the dashboard of the application that helps HR to launch investigations.

    Founder Claire Schmidt was inspired to create AllVoices after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler investigated sexual harassment and discrimination in the ride-hailing company.

    Once the report is sent to the department concerned, it sends text notifications for the complainant to track the response from the company.

    Employees in HR won’t see any information such as names, and AllVoices won’t know which employer is involved. All communication is encrypted, the company says.

    After 60 days have passed following a complaint, AllVoices asks the employee if he or she knows whether the company has taken any action and, if so, how satisfactory it is. AllVoices then gives that data to the company.

    AllVoices is hoping to create a free version of the app for employees who work at companies that do not use the app. They’d be able to report issues by sharing an email for someone in their human resources department.