ISLAMABAD – A zealous and energetic audience of young students attended the launch of the paperback version of “Working with Sharks” by Dr Fouzia Saeed in the event named National Working Women Festival organised by Devcom and Lok Virsa.
Speakers of the event included Jami Chandio, a seasoned social activist and director of CPCS Hyderabad, Jamal Shah, Director of Hunarkada and Maliha Husain, Director Programme of Mehergarh.
Dr Fouzia Saeed, author of Taboo, Forgotten Faces and Working with Sharks, had an interactive session with the young girls in which she talked about the issue of sexual harassment and explained to them what sexual harassment is. She said that as women we have overloaded our hard disks with the constant worry and anxiety of being sexual harassment. She stated that we are out of Stone Age and it is time we unload our hard drives and give the burden of our worries to the actual perpetrators of sexual harassment. One by one she mystified all the myths women internalise and advised girls to be careful in their professional and personal lives. Jami Chandio commented that Dr Fouzia Saeed is one of the few women writers and researchers who has laid down the foundation for future researches and bold writing in Pakistani literature. He also stated that the book is not a narrative and is bold in nature, as one needs great courage to talk about issues that the society resists to acknowledge.
“The book breaks an important myth where we tend to believe that sexual harassment does not persist in international organisations, we forget that the issue is related to our attitudes and our acceptance of such behaviours and does not depend on the kind of organisation one works with.” He stressed that the book is not ‘anti-men’ but rather condemns a certain kind of behaviour, which victimises both men and women.
Maliha Husain said that usually girls are brought up by their mothers teaching them how to cook and be a good wife but a girl’s upbringing in Pakistan does not include any upbringing regarding her professional development and what she might face or have to deal with once she starts a professional life.
She educated the young audience about the anti-sexual harassment legislation passed by the government and the mechanisms instituted to curb it. Furthermore, she stressed that it is the duty the managements of organizations to ensure a dignified work place, also the focus should be shifted from the complainant to the perpetrator. She encouraged the young audience to read Dr. Fouzia’s book and learn from her experiences and contribute like she has to the society of Pakistan. Jamal Shah also spoke a few words about the book and stated that such behaviours arise out of a man’s insecurities who feels insufficient in front of a woman’s intelligence, beauty, love and strength.
He stated that Dr Fouzia is one of those people who have acquired great clarity in life and we are unfortunate that we do not have more people like her in our country.