IIUI, FOSPAH Organize Seminar On Women's Property Rights, Protection

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Feb, 2024) The Office of Students' Advisor of the International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI), in collaboration with the Federal Ombudsperson Secretariat for protection against harassment of women at workplace (FOSPAH), arranged an awareness seminar on women’s property rights and protection against harassment at workplace on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Federal Ombudsperson for protection against harassment of women at the workplace, Fauzia Viqar said that these are high times when contribution of working women must be increased to stabilize the country's economy.

She mentioned that a number of the females face problems at workplace that needs to be addressed on immediate basis. Calling upon the educated females, she said, it is their responsibility to explore about their property rights and raise voice on their prerogatives that are legitimate and defined.

She observed that to ensure the implementation of laws related to harassment, it is important that affected people should raise their voices against this nuisance. She advised that the people who are around the victim and have proper information related to harassment matters, should also raise their voices to prevent such incidents.

Federal Ombudsperson also discussed the gender based harassment as well as she defined and elaborated the procedures to counter such issues through relevant channels.

In the question answer session, she spoke about the privacy of the complainant and role of FOSPAH in establishing a public perception and requisite information about the women’s property rights.

She also lauded IIUI for appointing first female Rector in its history adding that this was a positive gesture and an omen of positive role of educational institutions in providing equal platform to women to excel in the society.

On the occasion, the IIUI Rector, Prof. Dr. Samina Malik thanked Ms. Fauzia Viqar for an insightful and awareness based discussion on the vital issue of women’s property rights. She called upon the educational institutions and educated females of the higher education to play role in protecting the rights of women and to help the institutions working for the harassment matters against women.

She also apprised the FOSPAH team and the participants that IIUI is the institution where female students have outnumbered the male students and the university has specifically dedicated a separate campus to females to acquire quality education.

The seminar was also joined by Vice President, Research & Enterprise, IIUI, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Shuja Syed, Director Female Campus Dr. Summiyya Chughtai, Students Advisors female Dr. Sadia Saleem, faculty members and a large number of female students. The seminar served as a platform for fruitful discussions, shedding light on the significance of establishing safe and respectful work environments for all individuals.

Participants engaged in dialogue, exchanging best practices, and exploring strategies to effectively address and prevent workplace harassment, emphasizing the dignity of women.

Earlier, the Federal Ombudsperson Fauzia Viqar also called on Dr. Hathal Homoud Alotaibi, President IIUI and discussed issues of mutual interest. Both the President and the Ombudsperson discussed role of educational institutions in promoting the rights of women and discouragement of the harassment.