If you’re a woman in Pakistan, you may have experienced catcalling, sexual harassment and general harassment at least once in your life. It’s as unfortunate as it is true and we hear about such instances every day. Yet what’s worse? The fact that the perpetrators are barely called out for their perversions.
Recently, Girls at Dhabbas shared an account of a girl who went out to buy some clothes with her mother at a clothing brand called Zeen at the Dolmen Mall, in Karachi.
This girl in Karachi ended up being harassed by one of the staff members at the clothing store.
“I was standing with my mother, busy checking out a dress when I felt a hand touch my butt/thigh very firmly, the kind of touch you can’t mistake for an accident. I immediately turned around and shouted at the man standing there– who turned out to be one of the staffers!
When my mother wondered out loud how many girls Najeeb might have harassed before, one of the female staff members answered back with a smile: “Nahi jee, yeh pehli dafa hua hai.” [No, this has happened for the first time]. This woman, along with the rest of the staff, continued protecting Najeeb and his personal information, despite our persistent demands,” added the girl.
The girl managed to get the employee’s name but the way the Zeen staff handled the entire situation was troublesome, to say the least.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time an incident of this sort has happened in Pakistan.
Many called out the brand on their incompetency
Fortunately, justice was served when Zeen issued an official statement.
It is not common for brands to act on these types of allegations in Pakistan but Zeen was quick to make an example out of the situation.
Which was immediately appreciated
Even though taking this kind of action was something that should have not come as a surprise to most, it did. The fact that people were so moved shows how prominent the issue of sexual harassment is in this country and how seriously it needs to be taken.