Reports of sexual harassment at Lahore school to be investigated

Published: 12:26 AM, 3 Jul, 2020
Reports of sexual harassment at Lahore school to be investigated
Caption: Sarah Ahmad, chairperson of the Child Protection & Welfare Bureau, Punjab.–File photo
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Sarah Ahmad, chairperson of the Child Protection & Welfare Bureau, Punjab, said on Thursday the bureau would look into reports of sexual harassment of girl students at an elite school in Lahore and ensure dispensation of justice to the victims of harassment.

Sarah, who is also spokesperson for the Punjab government on child rights, said in her video and twitter messages that the school management did not respond to her calls after “numerous cases of sexual harassment” were reported at the school.

Sarah said the incident of sexual harassment of girl students at the private school was unfortunate. She praised the students for being brave and speaking up against the incident. She said the victim girls showed courage and spoke up against sexual harassment at school. She said the Child Protection Bureau would take this case to its logical end and get those involved punished by the law.

She said the bureau was never influenced by the powerful people in the past and it would not be influenced in future. She said that law applied equally to the rich and the poor. She said the bureau was having the reports of sexual harassment investigated in collaboration with the police. She said the bureau would have a case registered under Section 377B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Sarah said it was duty of the educational institutions to give education to children in a safe environment instead of telling them to keep quiet about such incidents like the school management and teachers did in this case. She said that education enables people to speak up against injustices.

The writer is a seasoned journalist.