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PAKISTAN: A senior female broadcaster is pressured to keep quiet about being sexually harassed at a major TV news station

September 3, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-112-2009



4 September 2009
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PAKISTAN: A senior female broadcaster is pressured to keep quiet about being sexually harassed at a major TV news station

ISSUES: Sexual harassment; women's rights; discrimination
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a senior anchorperson at Dunya TV News is being pressured to keep silent about being sexually harassed by the company’s managing director. After the news director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company were informed the journalist started to experience serious professional setbacks, and though internal investigation committees were set up (after her resignation), these appear to have been intentionally delayed. There are concerns that the power of the media house explains the lack of action by civil and political groups, including the National Press Club, in the case so far. The victim currently faces two defamation suits. The case is timely, since a proposal to increase the punishment for sexual harassment in the workplace is pending in Parliament.

CASE DETAILS:

Ms. Maheen Usmani was a senior anchorperson at Dunya TV News, a private television channel in Islamabad. On 11 May 2009 she received two late-night calls from the channel's managing director, Mr. Yusuf Baig Mirza. He allegedly asked Ms. Usmani to confirm her cell number and made inappropriate comments on her appearance, before offering her certain favours and reimbursements if she were to keep in touch with him on his personal number. According to the victim’s later letter to the Director of Human Resources of Dunya News after the event, Mirza’s speech was 'suggestive' and loaded with innuendoes.

Usmani reported the matter to the Director of News (DN), who assured her that it would not happen again and guaranteed an apology from Mirza. However the DN left his job soon afterward and this never happened. The CEO, Mr. Mian Amer Mahmood (former Nazim or Mayor of Lahore city) was also told about the incident, yet did nothing. Instead Usmani found herself increasingly marginalised in the studio; Mirza withheld a special report she prepared, removed her from her lead production role in a popular weekly program and intervened to prevent the program's broadcast on several occasions.

Usmani tendered her resignation on 15 June citing the 'continued harassment, coercion and highly unethical conduct of the top management of Dunya News'.

The management quickly formed a Harassment and Gender Equality Committee to investigate her complaint, yet it was made mostly of junior staff who reported to Mirza. The Director of Current Affairs (Ms. Nasim Zehra) and head of the committee tried unsuccessfully to get colleagues to sign a petition, barring Usmani from the office for 'hurt(ing) the sentiments of the Dunya team'. The committee has since made little progress.

An inquiry by the National Press Club (NPC) has been exposed as similarly lacking: the club claims that delays are due to the accused's unwillingness to appear before the committee. It is more likely that top-level stakeholders are involved in stalling the proceedings. Usmani has had two defamation suits filed against her by Mirza, who, according to past colleagues has a reputation for harassment in the industry. She has been approached with offers of money and jobs in return for dropping the matter. At least one of her former news colleagues, Zehra, has made public statements suggesting that her open pursuit of the issue is irresponsible.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Women are commonly victim to sexual harassment in work places across Pakistan. A few years ago 80% of women polled had experienced it.

According to the secretary general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, although newspapers and broadcast houses have gender policies on paper, few are enacted, and most cases of abuse are not reported due to social pressure. Victims are often from underprivileged backgrounds and put up with abuse for fear of losing their jobs, and ambitious women will endure impolite behavior from their male superiors to get ahead. On the rare occasion that a victim speaks out, she tends to be pressured into silence. This has only led to a sense of impunity among harassment prone men in senior positions.

In Section 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), it is stated that 'whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman in words, gesture or act … shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or fine, or with both'. On 5 August 2009 the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice proposed an amendment that would extend the punishment to three years. At present the proposal is awaiting approval from the Parliament. The punishment will apply to sexual advances, demands for sexual favours and any written, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which annoys, insults, intimidates or threatens a person at the workplace.

The AHRC is encouraged by this and urges members of parliament to seriously consider the proposal at its next meeting; sexual harassment must be strongly discouraged and the most effective first step will be to establish it as a crime in civil society by responding to it with serious legal punishment.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the following authorities calling for an immediate and impartial inquiry into Ms. Maheen Usmani’s report. Please also express concern for the prevalent problem of sexual harassment at work in Pakistan and demand that the government start to implement proper legislation to protect the rights of women.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, requesting intervention in this case.

To support this appeal please click here:

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SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

Re: PAKISTAN: A senior female broadcaster is pressured to keep quiet about being sexually harassed at a major news station

Name of victim:
Ms. Maheen Usmani; senior journalist of Dunya TV News.
Names of perpetrators:
1. Mr. Yusuf Baig Mirza; Managing Director of Dunya TV News.
2. Mr. Mian Amer Mahmood; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dunya TV News.
3. Ms. Nasim Zehra; Director Current Affairs of Dunya TV News.

Place of incident: Islamabad.
Date of incident: 11 May 2009 to the present.

I am writing to express my concern over the situation of Ms. Maheen Usmani, a senior broadcaster at Dunya TV News, whose complaints of sexual harassment against a superior are not being adequately addressed within or outside of her former firm. She has suffered continual pressure to drop the charge – including bribery and decisions from superiors that damaged her career resulting in her resignation – and is now facing defamation charges.

I call the competency of the internal investigation into question, since little has been concluded four months. I also question the will and integrity of the National Press Club (NPC). The club claims that delays in its investigation are due to the accused's unwillingness to appear before the committee. It is more likely that top-level stakeholders are involved in stalling the proceedings.

It should be noted that the perpetrator has an alleged history of harassment in previous workplaces, according to former colleagues.

I am aware that in Pakistan, women are common victims of sexual harassment at their work place and that they face strong social pressure to accept the abuse. Many victims choose to remain silent for fear of reprisals and are afforded little legal protection.

However I am encouraged by the recent proposal of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee’s to increase the punishment for perpetrators of sexual harassment at work, and urge members of parliament to seriously consider the proposal at its next meeting.

I remain deeply concerned about the inconclusive investigations over the harassment suffered by Ms. Usmani at Dunya News, and about the pressure that may be being exerted by the media house in this case. I therefore ask that the government of Pakistan launch an immediate inquiry into the victim’s allegations, and to ensure that Usmani does not come to any more harm for courageously reporting on a crime that does untold damage to the Pakistani work environment.

Sexual harassment must be strongly discouraged. The most effective first step will be to establish it as a crime in civil society by responding to perpetrators with strong legal action.


Yours sincerely,



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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9221596
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk

2. Mr. Syed Masood Kausar,
Federal Minister for Law and Justice,
S Block Pakistan Secretariat

Islamabad

PAKISTAN

Fax: +92 51 920 2628

E-mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk

3. Chairman,
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority
6th Floor, Green Trust Tower Jinnah Avenue,
Blue Area Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92-51-9202174/ +92-51-9220282
Fax: +92-51-9219634
Email: chairman@pemra.gov.pk

4. Mr.Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani
Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +9251-9204108
Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com

5. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk

6. Mrs. Sarod Lashari
Federal Secretary,
Ministry of Women Development
1st Floor, State Life Building 5
Ministry of Women Development
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel :+ 92 51 9206328
Fax No: + 92 51 9201083
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-112-2009
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.