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Islamabad , December 8 (ANI): The violence against women in Pakistan, including the latest sexual harassment in the Pakistani Embassy in Mexico, is a result of the government’s failure to act and the problem is systemic, Massimo Introvigne writes in Bitter Winter.
Recently, the sexual harassment incident that took place in the Pakistani Embassy in Mexico turn out to be more gossipy. Instead of covering abuse, the story was about an older married man in a position of power who allegedly seduced a younger girl by promising he would divorce his wife and marry her, a promise he had no intention of keeping. If true, the story would not exactly be good PR for the Islamic Republic but would be as old as the relationships between married men and naive young women.
In August 2022, it was reported that a senior Pakistani diplomat who had held important positions and was then Consul General in Barcelona, Spain, had been accused of having sent harassing messages to a female staffer through social media and finally assaulted her in a hotel.
On May 14, 2022, the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection against Harassment announced that “After threadbare security and analysis of the case and after completing the due process of law, accused Nadeem Riaz, head of mission embassy of Pakistan Rome Italy was proceeded against and imposed upon major penalty of dismissal from service under section 4(4) of the Act 2010.” The former Ambassador to Italy was found guilty of having sexually harassed the female Pakistani Trade Officer of the Embassy for months. Italian media also took an interest in the case.
Pakistan, however, doesn’t take firm measures against these issues which are justified by the fact that the country should protect its status and image as an Islamic Republic. (ANI)
