Hailing from Karachi, Maimoona Qaiyum Shaikh come in Islamabad last year with the hope to social emancipation to make her identity on her own and started job at Utility Store Corporation (USC) but in patriarchal milieu of the corporation she has been kicked out within few months when she, according to her, refused to fulfill ‘unethical demand’ of USC chairman Zulqarnain Ali Khan.
Maimoona, however, filed a complaint with Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women Kashmala Tariq against Zulqarnain for her ‘sexual harassment’. She is optimistic that she would get justice from the court of Kashmala.
While talking to Daily Times, Maimoona said that Kashmala is reputed for women rights’ defender. “I am very sure that in my case she will grant justice,” she hoped.
In the submitted complaint with the Ombudsperson she alleged that she was sexually harassed by the chairman and was sacked for not ‘consenting to his inappropriate moves.’ Besides other evidence, she also submitted some audio call recordings to Ombudsperson.
Young Karachi native was finding her place of dignity and economic purpose. She says she wants to earn a name by sheer hard work and a mind that wants to be more than the social mores around her.
Holding Strategic Planning and Management diploma from South Quay College of London, United Kingdom with ACCA Foundation examination, and Masters in Economics from University of Karachi, the young aspirant has different multinational companies work experience within the country and abroad.
According to her she joined USC as consultant back in July 2019 for a period of three months against a salary of Rs 80,000.
“After my appointment, the Chairman offered me a flat for accommodation at residential complex Silver Oaks,” she said adding that initially I was totally reluctant to accept this offer but accepted when he (chairman) pretended it as USC’s designated property for its employees.
“God knows, I was never aware of whatever the heinous intentions of Zulqarnain had to me when he was giving me such an offer,” she shared in a painful woeful tone.
Zulqarnain started visiting my aforementioned residence. “During this he demanded me for an unethical relationship with him,” she alleged while recalling that when I totally denied his demands he ‘get me fired’ from the Corporation.
She mentioned in the application “once evening he visited me on the pretext he wanted to know if I needed something and if everything was going right.” She added, when I asked how entered the house, he said he had a spare key.
“Then he tried to flirt with me. It was quite shocking that a person of my father’s age could fall to that level and I firmly turned him out of the house and the next day, I also vacated the flat,” Maimoona explained.
Besides this, she recalled, he tried many times to harass me during duty time but, she added, I ever ignored.
“I was new in this city and even never knew that such harassment could be complained to Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against harassment,” she further told this scribe adding that after all I decided to approach Ombudsperson as to teach lesson to all such men who deemed working women as source of exploitation and their lust.
She said that she is receiving threats directly and indirectly for dire consequences. While citing the example of recent alleged suspicious death of PRSC employee Kainat Tariq, Maimoona said “God forbid any such untoward incident occurs, the chairman would be solely liable for this.”
Ombudsperson Kashmala Tariq summoned Chairman USC Zulqarnain Ali Khan, head of the Human Resource (HR) in this court hearing scheduled for today (Tuesday).
Maimoona says a majority of women do not lodge a formal report against harassment either out of fear of retaliation as they have little confidence in the recourse system or due to the social stigma attached to it.
“To break such silence the society also needed to support and strengthen its women so that they could raise their voice without any hesitation against this offensive male behavior,” she suggested when asked about social barriers against lodging complaints at a concern forum for women.
