Inspired by UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism campaign to end Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and inequalities against women and girls, our Human Resource department arranged a training with a well-reputed lawyer, Rida Tahir, to raise awareness about gender-based violence and workplace harassment.

The training also emphasized how we, as a society, need to change attitudes, stereotypes, and social norms that hold us back from discussing these matters openly.

We had a very enlightening and interactive session on workplace harassment and all employees actively participated to learn about the different forms of harassment, such as verbal, psychological, and physical abuse, and the strict laws in the Pakistan Penal Code which allow women to both identify and take a stand against instances of abuse at their workplace.

Given the nature of our projects, the speaker also highlighted the prevalence of gender-based violence cases in the context of abortions and family planning and how we need to be reflexive and sensitive dealing with cases of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies.