Rimsha comes home and tells her mother what her manager said to her in the elevator. Her mother asks: why did you not complain? Rimsha does not know where to complain, or whether anyone would believe her.
She is not alone. FOSPAH, the federal ombudsperson for workplace harassment, has received 6,914 complaints since 2011 and disposed of 6,719. In September 2022, Dawn reported nearly 5,008 complaints in the previous four years.
Pakistan has a law for this. The Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 covers every workplace: a bank, a school, a factory, a hospital, a government office. A 2022 amendment widened it further, and if you are a working mother, the maternity leave law in Pakistan gives you separate protections too.
What is the law?
The Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 (Act IV of 2010) applies to the whole of Pakistan. It received the President's assent on 9 March 2010 and was published in the Gazette on 11 March 2010.
The law does two things. It makes every organization set up an Inquiry Committee to hear complaints inside the workplace. And it creates an Ombudsman at federal and provincial level for complaints you cannot fix inside, or do not want to take to your employer.
In January 2022 the law was amended. The amendment changed the word "women" to "persons", so men are covered too. It also expanded the definition of employee to include students, interns, trainees, apprentices, domestic workers, home based workers, freelancers and gig workers. That matters for the millions of people in Pakistan who work without a formal contract. There is also a child labour law for the youngest workers.
What counts as harassment?
Section 2 of the Act defines harassment. It includes:
- any unwelcome sexual advance
- a request for sexual favours
- verbal or written communication of a sexual nature
- physical conduct of a sexual nature
- sexually demeaning attitudes
The behaviour must interfere with your work, or create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. It also counts if someone punishes you for refusing a request, or makes the request a condition of your job.
The 2022 amendment added stalking and cyber stalking, and a separate ground called sexist harassment. That means discrimination based on sex, like wage discrimination or blocking your promotion because of your gender. The amended Code of Conduct says even one incident can count if it makes you uncomfortable or creates fear.
A real example. In Naheed Saghir versus Saud ur Rehman, FOSPAH found an intern guilty of harassing a senior branch manager of a bank. He sent inappropriate messages and cyber stalked her after the internship ended. He was fined Rs 500,000, and Rs 450,000 went to her as compensation.
What happens when you complain inside the workplace?
Every organization must have an Inquiry Committee with three members, and at least one must be a woman. One member comes from senior management and one represents the employees.
The process works like this:
- You file a written complaint.
- Within three days the committee tells the accused person about the charges.
- The accused has seven days to answer in writing.
- The committee records its findings within thirty days.
- The head of the organization imposes the penalty within one week.
Penalties range from censure and a withheld promotion to demotion, compulsory retirement, removal, dismissal and a fine. Part of the fine can be paid to you as compensation. If you are in trauma, the organization must arrange counseling. The inquiry is confidential, and no adverse action is allowed against you or your witnesses.
Can you go straight to the ombudsman?
Yes. Section 8 gives you the choice: the Inquiry Committee or the Ombudsman, without going through your employer first.
At the federal level the Ombudsman is FOSPAH, with offices in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Multan. File online at fospah.gov.pk or email [email protected]. Punjab opened its own office in February 2013.
The Ombudsman sends a show cause notice within three days, and the accused answers within five. After 2022, the Ombudsman must decide within ninety days. It has civil court powers, including contempt.
Either side can appeal the decision to the President or the Governor within thirty days.
One caution. The law also protects the accused. A complaint proved false and made in bad faith can bring a fine of up to Rs 50,000 on the person who filed it, under section 10A added in 2022. In a case against a former consul general, FOSPAH dismissed the complaint because the evidence did not hold up.
What about the police?
The workplace law is not the only route. Section 12 says it runs in addition to other laws, not instead of them. The Pakistan Penal Code has its own criminal provisions.
Section 509 punishes insulting a woman's modesty and sexual harassment. It covers unwelcome sexual advances, demands for sexual favours, and conduct of a sexual nature that annoys, insults or threatens you, including at the workplace. Punishment: up to three years in prison, or a fine up to Rs 500,000, or both.
Section 354 punishes assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty. Punishment: up to two years in prison, or a fine, or both.
You can file an FIR with the police and pursue the workplace complaint separately. One does not block the other.
What must your employer do?
Section 11 makes it the employer's responsibility to form the Inquiry Committee, appoint a competent authority to act on its findings, and display the Code of Conduct in English and in the language most employees understand.
If an employer refuses, any employee can file a petition in the District Court. A guilty employer pays a fine of Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000.
What does this mean for you?
You have three routes: the internal committee, the Ombudsman, and the criminal law. You can start with any of them. FOSPAH says it resolved 96 percent of the 3,866 cases it handled between 2011 and 2024.
Write everything down. Keep messages, dates and names. Tell someone you trust even if you do not want to file a complaint yet. The Code of Conduct says reporting late does not weaken your case.
If you are paid less than the legal minimum, the guide to the minimum wage in Pakistan 2026 explains what each province must pay. Read more guides on the Lexiber blog or ask Lexiber directly.
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