Building Safer Workplaces: Lessons from the Shirkat Gah Ombudspersons Roundtable
Sana Raza of Shirkat Gah – Women’s Resource Centre highlights key insights from a roundtable on strengthening laws to protect women from workplace harassment in Pakistan.
In Lahore’s crisp February weather, a diverse group of stakeholders united around a single table, with the same objective in mind: ensuring women can work with dignity in Pakistan. Hosted by Shirkat Gah – Women’s Resource Centre, under its SATH project funded by What Works II and in collaboration with the Office of the Ombudsperson Punjab, this Roundtable brought together Federal and Provincial Ombudspersons, Parliamentarians, Civil Society Leaders, Labor Rights Activists, and Lawyers. What was the goal behind this? The goal was to strengthen Pakistan’s Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Acts by sharing insights, identifying gaps, and finding collaborative solutions.
The stakes are higher than one would assume, Farida Shaheed, Shirkat Gah’s Executive Director, highlighted a stark reality: ‘Eighty percent of women in Pakistan do not enter the workforce either out of their own fear of harassment or family discouragement.’ This isn’t just a women’s rights issue it’s an economic one. The International Labour Organization estimates that closing just 20% of the gender gap in workforce participation could boost Pakistan’s GDP by USD 139 billion. In a nation grappling with economic challenges, safe workplaces should be a national priority.
Bringing such a diverse group to the table was no small feat. Through persistent dialogue and by framing the Roundtable as aligned with government priorities and global commitments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Shirkat Gah was able to build the trust needed to secure their participation. The Roundtable was a space for collective problem-solving, despite challenges including budget constraints and political interference in the Ombudsperson offices, the focus remained on shared ownership. As one participant said, “This was the first time we could openly share challenges and strategies, heard by institutions and the legal community.”
The progress was evident through this Roundtable, Sindh’s regional offices brought justice closer to rural women, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s awareness videos reached commuters on BRT stops, and Baluchistan’s outreach defied cultural stigmas. Punjab reported various numbers of resolved cases and new regional offices, yet, gaps still persist. Many organizations still lack functional inquiry committees, and factories employing millions of women often ignore the mandatory harassment code of conduct. Too often, compliance exists only on paper, with committees that are invisible or ineffective. The expanded definition of harassment following the Supreme Court’s Nadia Naz ruling, now including gender-based discrimination, was hailed as a milestone, but confusion about its scope means that women remain exposed to subtle yet systemic forms of bias.
The Roundtable’s strength lay in its collaboration with the Ombudspersons, legislators, and grassroots activists engaging as equals, softening barriers. Legal experts highlighted issues like appeal timeline gaps, while labor activists shared the daily struggles of garment factory workers. The lesson for women-led organizations was: persistence, evidence-based advocacy, and inclusive spaces yield results. A member of the Sindh Assembly Ms. Tanzila noted, “This gathering united organizations, parliamentarians, lawyers, and activists proving collective effort is key to a safer, equitable society.”
Commitments emerged as seeds for change, the Parliamentarians pledged to address budget and oversight issues in assemblies. Followed by the Ombudspersons and lawyers calling for harmonized laws, better transparency, and industrial sector outreach. Civil society members vowed to expand awareness campaigns, especially for women workers and students unaware of their rights. Storytelling also emerged as a tool, celebrating resolved cases can inspire change and chip away at the culture of silence.
Baluchistan’s Acting Ombudsperson, Saira Atta, emphasized empowering women in conservative regions: “Even in the far-flung areas where cultural taboos are strong, we are doing our best to provide women with the courage and environment to speak up”. Punjab’s Ombudsperson, Nabila Hakim Ali Khan, added, “Our objective is to strengthen the law and ensure its implementation so that women across all workplaces can work in a dignified and respectful environment”
This Roundtable was a spark, not a conclusion, it showed that when government, lawmakers, and civil society unite, change feels tangible, however the path forward demands vigilance, resources, and courage. The next step will be a lawyers meeting, to have the legal fraternity’s inputs as a way forward. Behind every policy is a woman deciding whether she can work without fear, her dignity is and should always remain non-negotiable.
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