Meet Usman Awan: A Hope against Sexual Harassment in Pakistan

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There are a lot of young guys which are doing great for the betterment of Pakistan. Recently I read about a young social activist “Usman Awan” who aims to work for the cultural, moral and religious values of Pakistan. He also works for the positive women empowerment and helping them to fight against sexual harassment in Pakistan. It was very inspirational for me to read how he resolved 3 sexual harassment cases without any legal prosecution. So, I decided to take his interview. I contacted him and took his interview which you can see below.

o Tell Us Something about yourself?
My name is Mohammad Usman Awan, I have completed my bachelors and my master in Project Management is in the process from Szabist University.
I had a realization in my third semester of bachelors to serve my part of life in social career. I started charity work and came across several events focusing on the orphanage residing in Pakistan and many other charity events. We also raised funds for the flood victims and initiated this unique thing “Wall of Kindness” in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
After looking into such matters that were happening in our society, I came across many unseen issues, which were not being highlighted in our society. From that point, I decided to switch my career from social worker to social activist and started to fight against several of issues, which were not given attention to in our society.

o What happened to your friend who became the victim of harassment?
In my 5th semester, I encountered that one of my female friend was harassed by a person who belonged to the administration. She had a genuine issue related to her bachelor’s degree and in return, she was offered that if she pays it sexually, she will get her work done. The girl’s concern was huge and it had to be solved so she informed people around, We met the girl and after overlooking the situation and proposed her a plan of taking a legal action by using his chats and conversation against him by showcasing it to the higher administration since the person from administration did not speak to the girl directly but via texts, which worked for her positively and without any greed she got her concerned task completed. This was the time, when my life took turn and I realized that girls must be taken advantage in much mysterious ways so I decided to support the victims of harassment and empower women so they survive similar situations.

o Do you think harassment is taboo in Pakistan?
Harassment is an issue which is not only witnessed in Pakistan but in both developed and underdeveloped countries because it is not linked to a specific tradition but a human’s nature. There are countries which are striving towards the positivity because of education, empowerment and implementation of laws. But, there still remain some countries where the education system has not set up the mark or the laws are not well-defined. Another strong reason can be the awareness, people usually do not approve of addressing about it publicly.
If only girls react boldly towards the sexual harassers and not get threatened or afraid, a lot of problems can be eradicated this way only.

o Do you want to say that sexual harassers are afraid?
I believe 90% of sexual harassers are afraid because if someone is trying to harass a woman at his workplace, his designation and seat both are risked when a man/boy is trying to pull such an act. That person will be very scared both professionally and personally for, in-case, his bubbles won’t get burst. Or if somehow, it is exposed; their professional and personal life gets messed up.
Girls should boldly react and not act weak because half of the problems are solved there and then if girls take a step. The other options are to file legal documents and involve higher authorities.

o Can we eliminate sexual harassment?
We can’t completely eliminate sexual harassment but we can definitely minimize it. Sexual harassment is linked to human’s nature of behavior. As far as my opinion is concerned, I consider sexual harassment as a disorder. The harassers usually have gone through some incidents or circumstances; this is why they act so extreme. But, with the passage of time, the issue is being focused and it is slowly eradicating with the increase amount of education. For those, who are extreme for this issue, there comes the law and order implementation for them.

o Recently, you have covered 3 sexual harassment cases, how was your experience?
Those 3 experiences were very interesting and mind-opening for me since all three of them were similar and we did not have to involve legal actions in it. I tried to analyze, what were the circumstances that those girls were harassed and in what circumstances. I tried to empower them to fight for their rights and act boldly towards the harassers the results were incredibly positive. The victims were very threatened of taking actions but I catered their queries and helped them come to a conclusion.

o Have you noticed street and public transport harassment?
Yes, I have noticed the street and public transport harassment mainly because I have travelled a lot myself in one. The girls who usually travel alone are victimized by men travelling in public transport. But, women should never hold themselves back if they are being gazed at by the men, they should warm them or give them a strong angry look for they get a sign of their doings. Usually, men stops when they know that a woman is strong and might react boldly if they do something. This can be one way of stopping public transport harassment.

o What are your future plans of eradicating sexual harassment?
To find the finest of ways to empower women and build awareness in the society is our main goal. I am planning to train groups of the victim of sexual harassment and for that I am building up a strong portfolio, meaning; I have female lawyers on board and I am willing to have more of them because, if the case is big and needs a legal consultation, we will be needing a strong team of lawyers. Lawyers will also try to resolve such issues without legal prosecution but If there is a big case they will take legal steps to resolve it. So we would need a good scheme to solve cases and harassing issue without creating a hassle. Our motive is to support the victims in a way that they don’t feel alone while they fight for what they witnessed.
Other future plans also include the implementation of those anti sexual harassment laws in the organizations which are leaving this problem unnoticed. !