Even the female colleagues, she had shared her ordeal with, told her: ‘This friendly environment is common in corporate world’, and suggested to ‘not report it’
By Tabish Khan
Srinagar: Harassment of women at work places in Kashmir is real and is happening right under our nose. While women fear ‘invective’ ‘cultural taboos’ to not report such cases, officials say: It’s time to raise voice.
Fehmeeda, 26, resident of Baghat Barzullah completed her MBA and got a quick in banking sector. The bank had its head office in Srinagar and she was posted as Human Resource Manager.
The beginning was fine, she says, with Assistant Manager, AM, under whose command she was working.
“AM began to pass comments like that you are beautiful, it is fascinating the way you rolls your eyes, and the way you dress is amazing,” Fehmeeda narrates, how her ordeal begun.
According to Fehmeeda, it was just a week later that the AM ‘cracked adult jokes on her’. Reacting sharply to the ‘indecency’ she told her boss to ‘behave properly and it offensive to talk like this’.
She was ‘isolated’, not called in for ‘meetings’, and as she put it ‘everything changed.’
“I was called by AM into his cabin for discussing a project. Communication began in formal manner, and suddenly he stood up from his chair and walked towards me and put his hand on my shoulder and started rubbing it. I pushed him back,” Fehmeeda confides.
Even the female colleagues, she had shared the issue with, told her: ‘This friendly environment is common in corporate world’, and suggested to ‘not report it’.
“My female colleagues told me that after reporting this incident you will be flashed on front page of news. You may get justice, but in the process you may never get another valued job in the corporate world. Some even said: you are a girl and it will affect your reputation .so I left the job without reporting it,” says Fehmeeda.
Fehmeeda, is not the only one who has faced such a situation, Nighat, from old city Srinagar and an English lecturer at a private Higher Secondary school, has the same ordeal to narrate.
For Nighat, 27, education sector was the ‘safest zone for girls according to society’.
“First two months went smooth but a married male colleague began to stare and follow me. After few days he started messaging in an inappropriate manner,” Nighat explained.
He would call Nighat from different phone numbers, scared she changed her number several times.
“Because of the fear that society will blame me for bad characted, I remained silent. Women never complain, if she is harassed by colleagues or seniors, fearing that she would lose job or the invectives people use for us,” Nighat complains.
She too left the job and ended the ordeal.
State Women’s Commission Chairperson Nayeema Mahjoor told INS that there have been ‘many cases of Harassment at work places which they solved’.
“Most cases are of psychological harassment at work places,” Mehjoor said.
“Because of the fear that society will blame me for bad characted, I remained silent. Women never complain, if she is harassed by colleagues or seniors, fearing that she would lose job or the invectives people use for us,” Nighat complains.
According to her, whenever such cases approach to Commission we make sure ‘speedy justice is delivered’.
She also claimed that ‘few sexual harassment cases are reported, as girls are afraid of society and culture taboos’.
“By the support of Dean whole girls hosted at Dental College Srinagar after girls complained to the commission. Action was taken against them on immediate bases and issue was resolved by Commission,” Mehjoor said while giving an example.
She however decried the fact that workplace harassment of women is happening in ‘every sector but girls themselves have to raise alarm.’
“If any girl feels mentally, emotionally or sexually harassed, report to police and then leave it to Commission,” she advised.
Saying ‘silence is not an option’, Mehjoor says that silence will only ‘prove dangerous for women’.
“Complain than only we can look into the matter,” she says while urging working class women to speak up.
Khalida Parveen, station house officer at women police station Rambagh said that while there is ‘not a single case of women harassment registered in her police station’, But ‘it is quit visible that these acts happen at workplaces’.
“Girls have to file complaint reports and then only we can act. The initiative has to come from them. If they won’t speak how can we know what is happening,” Parveen said.
(Names and addresses have been changed in the story)
