ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has directed all public and private educational institutions to establish effective mechanisms to prevent workplace harassment, stressing that educational institutions must provide a safe and dignified environment for women.
In a 12-page written judgment authored by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, the court described sexual harassment as a grave violation of the law, ethics and human dignity, warning that institutions which tolerate such conduct undermine their educational mission and encourage abuse of authority.
The judgment said heads of educational institutions have a primary responsibility to ensure a secure and healthy working environment, adding that professional conduct must remain the standard in all educational settings.
The court ordered educational institutions to implement clear anti-harassment policies, establish effective complaint mechanisms, and constitute in-house inquiry committees in accordance with the law. It also directed institutions to provide women teachers with prompt and direct avenues for addressing harassment complaints.
The ruling restored the penalty imposed on former headmistress Shazia Iqbal, dismissing her appeal against disciplinary action taken under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEDA) Act.
Shazia Iqbal, formerly posted at the Government Special Education Centre in Faisalabad, was accused of allowing speech therapist Kamran Khan to reside illegally on the institution’s premises. Authorities said the unauthorized accommodation resulted in financial losses to the government because house rent deductions were not made.
According to the inquiry report, Kamran Khan had allegedly blackmailed and sexually harassed female teachers, while repeated written complaints against him were ignored by the headmistress, contributing to a deteriorating working environment.
The Education Department had imposed a penalty by forfeiting five years of Shazia Iqbal’s service instead of dismissing her. Although the Punjab Service Tribunal later reduced the punishment to one year, the Supreme Court restored the original five-year penalty, emphasizing that undue leniency in serious harassment-related cases could encourage similar misconduct in the future.
