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Sexual Harassement In A Leading Cellular Operator

Mon Jan 03, 2011 |  By Abdullah Nasim 

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Disclaimer: Name of the girl has been changed to keep her identity safe. This incident happened after she gave an interview at a leading cellular company (name kept confidential and will be referred as ABC throughout the document). Sentences in quotations are directly quoted, and therefore the grammatical mistakes are maintained.

“wel its seems k u don’t want to talk neways wel asma I saw u in ABC’s office n seriously u r so beautiful n have gud personality…Me to crush on u yar aur 1st time I feel like crush wel I don’t know whts ur reaction aftr knowing abt dis and I noe dis is wrong way to talk to u but aur way bhi nahi tha:)”

This is what this girl received on her cellphone once she gave a job interview at a leading cellular company hoping for a good future with good people. As a result, she was subjected to this trauma when a guy from the same company started calling and texting her as soon as on the same day. Now, this puts a huge question mark on the personal information all the jobseekers drop (while trusting on the name of the company obviously) and this is what later on happens with it?

We all have talked and read about gender (particularly female) harassment at local companies but this is something which requires immediate attention and perhaps immediate action too; not only girls but male jobseekers are vulnerable to such acts of humiliation as well.

“Ab to rply krdo?how rude u r?lokin vise to nhi lagta k u rude person?”
“yar I don’t understand y u don’t wana talk?R u committed kia?Aik to rply dai do kanjus :-P”

Once a student graduates, he/she starts dropping CVs to each and every organization thinking that it will fall in the right hands, and this is what happens with them. I am sure this is not the first case; there would be numerous such stories that happen with our youth just because some personnel sitting in these glamorous companies are not doing their job, but rather abusing and misusing their powers.

At this point of time, just when the Human Resource Departments have started to make an impact in the Telecom Industry and in some organizations they are doing a pretty good job too, this incident is potential enough to raise an alarm. Where are the HR practices?

We simply cannot allow a handful of people to play with the image of our otherwise prestigious Telecom Industry.

 

Note: The interviewee later communicated those messages to ZUMBEEL.

Tags:
gender harassment in telecom gender harassment


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Comments(54)
Asim Khan on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 There are Telecom Engineers who were found surfing pornographic materials in ABC Telecom Operator.They have been doing this since last 2-3 years specially during night duties. There are simply no HR practices or laws or law enforcement or discrimination protection laws or EEO laws in Pakistan.

 
Absar on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @Asim. Many thanks for sharing. That is terribly surprising to know. Aren't there is a main server which keeps a check on what's going on the computers in a LAN? I remember people even playing LAN games during work hours!

 
Absar on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 Asim, can you answer this in the same domain: 1. What do you think is the reason behind this? 2. Externally, what can be done about it?

 
Victom on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 This is not the first time I have faced this issue many times even recently this guys keeps on calling after applying to a organization he knows my name also and keeps calling and texting. This is very usual everyday and still sick of it!

 
Faraz on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @ Mr. Asim first of all these practices are not of HR these only comes in IT polices violation,

 
Absar on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @Faraz. Don't you think HR practices need to be implemented so strictly that such acts are deeply prohibited?

 
Faraz on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @ Absar, I am totally with u, but the topic is relates to harassment, so we should stick with it. @ Victim, I am very sorry to here this, but you in every organization there are different nature of colleges some are very good

 
Absar on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @ Faraz. Why do you think the victims are scared to report such issues to HR? They find their own place at threat; that's why I am emphasizing on the need of well implemented HR practices.

 
Jawad Jafri on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 I believe that such people should be dragged in forums like Zumbeel and their names should be published so that next time any one will think thousands times before doing such shameful acts.

 
Absar on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @ Jawad. Thanks for sharing your view. If we get repetitive reports of such acts, we are going to release the company and personnel's name(s).

 
Kashif Zeeshan on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 I agree Jawad Bhai.

 
Kashif Zeeshan on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 I agree Jawad Bhai.

 
Saad Sheikh on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @Absar, Instead of releasing company's name, dont u think it will be more suitable if you contact the company directly, inform HR about the issue and then get this person due punishment. I think that by releasing the company's name you will damage its reputation and it will have bad image among employees. Its not justified if you dont give the company any change to solve this issue actively.

 
Saad Sheikh on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @Absar, Instead of releasing company's name, dont u think it will be more suitable if you contact the company directly, inform HR about the issue and then get this person due punishment. I think that by releasing the company's name you will damage its reputation and it will have bad image among employees. Its not justified if you dont give the company any change to solve this issue actively.

 
Absar on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @ Saad. Great idea. It is actually under consideration if what be the optimal way to do it=) How do you think it should be done?

 
Saad Sheikh on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 @absar, I think Zumbeel has a good reputation among teleco companies. If you contact HR/Admin and present credible evidence to the responsible person then I dont think they have any reason to avoid conducting an investigation. It will be much more helpful if you verify the person's name with the information at this service provider and also double check it with NADRA database. I know its a little hectic process but it will leave no way to hide for the culprit. This will create an example for the other persons out there. Also if you insist to present this issue in front of a group of representatives from the company, 2 may be 3 people, then this will ensure that the due process is done.

 
Saad Sheikh on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 I meant to say *his service provider* :$

 
Syed Meesam M. Jafri on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 I agree to what Saad Sheikh has just said. In every case of the sexual harassment, the victim should contact the HR team, and strict disciplinary actions should be taken by HR team against the culprit. There is no point in releasing the name of the company because that will make all the employees suffer, however name of the person should be published. I would further strongly recommend to put him in probation for at least 6 to 9 months and improvement is not noted, he (or for that matter, she) should be fired with details included in experience certificate and reference letters. This may sound a bit strict and career-finishing to some fellows, but personally I think this will be the best solution as the guilty was given one chance to prove himself / herself and if someone is constantly behaving unethically, he/she is only embarrassment to professional world

 
Safeer Abbas on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 i strongly agree with Saad Sheikh

 
PHP Developer on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 this kind of act is happening in most of the companies, i know one software house, where people do this kind of work, and force other people to sit late night or even to work whole night so that they could earn more money while the programmer is fade up of his work. The CEO of this software also have said that if you want to talk to fellow lady worker you can grab her by hand and pull her to your seat and talk to her.

 
Adil on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 In my opinion strict disciplinary actions should be taken by this organization against the culprit

 
Telecom Consultant on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 This is actually the result of being degraded moral values in our society, influenced by so called enlightened moderation in which our media is playing lead role to ruin ethics. This state of affairs compelled every one of us who care for family to be more cautious. Unfortunately these days youngsters are over confident and avoid seeking guidance from elders thinking they are obsolete. Saad

 
Yaseen Omar on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 This is the reaction of what we are doing with our culture and our values. Sorry to say the culprit is in our veins. I am not taking the side of ABC but trying to point out the root cause, which, in my view, would be realistic. Let's assume our whole nation start observing HIJAB, not only women but men also; as SCHOLAR says that for men HIJAB is to lower their eyes when they saw a woman then INSHAHALLAH chances for these and many kinds of cases would reduce. I am sure my view point will be taken positively.

 
PHP Developer on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 I totally agree with u miss Yaseen. boys also have to control on them self.

 
Faysal Raza on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 The one who is doing all these actions, must think about their sister

 
Asif Sajjad on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 Agreed with SAAD SHEIKH ..... its good to inform HR..

 
Asif Sajjad on:Mon Jan 03, 2011
 so... the company reputation remains safe .. n the guy gets punished also ..

 
Abdullah Nasim on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 Thank you all for your comments and wonderful feedback , if the so called white collar , literate and highly educated personnels are involved in such acts then i wonder what might be the case with local software houses and small enterprises(where HR does not exist at all) , so where should these victims report?

 
Saad Sheikh on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 I agree with yaseen, Hijab is indeed a very powerful repulsive force for any sort of culprit, but there are some ppl who dont even respect the hijab. Well for those software houses who dont have HR, there must be some sort of responsible position who deals with hiring and firing. If not then i suppose that software house dont deserve to be operational.

 
PHP Developer on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 they do have HRs they r also involved in this act. I know how they work over there in the software house.

 
Fella on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 Hey all u guys,what if HR head is involved in all these nasty things? Like I experienced something really offensive within organization.The office management broadcast my personal cell number on our company portal without my permission even they didnt tell me.when I had found,I got shocked and i contacted HR head ASAP,but instead "she" admitted her/her team's fault.she started supporting the act and called me conservative and haven't removed my number.I have found it totally inappropraite.

 
Abdullah Nasim on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 @ Fella , thanks for sharing , we hereby urge each and every victim to please come forward we need to have a solution now , certainly a permanent one

 
Abdullah Nasim on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 @ Saad and PHP , if the HR itself is involved , then who should come forward to keep a strong check on them?they are the ones who collect applications , shortlist candidates , conduct interviews(no other department is involved throughout this process)

 
PHP Developer on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 the software house i am talking about nearly all the top management is involved in it, and i know one other person he is HR in a very big firm he select mostly girls for the job and flirt with them and then use them in nay matter he can. i know guy from my university life. i like to use another word for him but cannot use in public because there r girls in this topic.

 
Saad Sheikh on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 @fella, Abdullah and Php dev fellows, i know that HR head can also be involved, thats why i suggested to include 2 or more persons from the company in the process. It will ensure that the culprit is not given free hand in the investigation.

 
Yaseen Omar on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 What if whole management is culprit just like most of our Government personnels are... Going for temporary solutions doesn't make anyone secure. Embedding of Islamic Teachings and Implementation of it would lead to desired results. Hope anyone of us think this way and try to give it a thought. By the I am male.

 
Saad Sheikh on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 @yaseen, my dear, there is a long list of "what ifs" if you want to think. Why not we try to solve the problem slowly and gradually 1 by 1. Try to be optimistic sir, Islamic code of living will surely decrease these events but it will not disappear. Till then, help in any way you can.

 
Yaseen Omar on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 Definitely these events won't vanish completely but it would serve the purpose. If you're going for "any" way, can't you give one chance to Islamic way. It's a long discussion my dear, and I am still optimistic at least I am taking Islamic teachings valid.

 
Danish Jalbani on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 This is one of the most important issues that should be raised on national forums not only in some particular industry or for job seeking, but socially we have this common these days. We have to ask ourself that can we live with this fear for the females of our family or do we have to discuss it as issue that is worth every bit of it. This post is one step towards what I mean...

 
Umar on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 this is seriously ridiculous. i mean what the hell is this. how much some one can hide his/her details? what "abc" company's management is doing? is it any sort of professional attitude? i have personally noticed even a higher officials from telecom authorities are doing the same type of stupid rubbish habbits with specially newly hired engineers.

 
Syed Umar on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 I don't think its about Islamic teachings or Islamic dress. I've heard many instances of guys harrasing women wearing the hijab. Besides, private companies can't force women to wear hijab. And what if a woman is non-Muslim, or the victim is a male? This is really about implementing laws and company policies about sexual harrasment at workplace the way these have been implemented in most parts of the world. When no one is above the law, anyone violating the law can be taken to task, irrespective of whether the person is the head of HR or the CEO.

 
Samreen on:Tue Jan 04, 2011
 I would suggest the girl to take following action. She should keep at least 3 SMS in her phone memory or receive 3 calls from the caller. Then she should go to caller’s service provider business center (not franchise) and log her complaint against the caller as ‘obnoxious caller’ and take the receiving of logged complaint. After that she can take many steps, she can contact the HR of caller, she report against caller with Police or CPLC. She can publish this in newspapers through ‘letters to editor’ etc. But it is very important that first she files her complaint as ‘obnoxious caller’ and have a receiving copy of complaint logged. Every telecom service provider has policy against such pests who think it is fun and game to tease or harass. I am sure the HR of the company will have no choice than to take action against such individuals who have no respect themselves nor they care about their employer’s reputation. All my sympathies with the girl and I wish her more courage and conviction to discourage such behavior in our society.

 
Saad Sheikh on:Wed Jan 05, 2011
 @Yaseen, Sir, I seriously respect Islamic teachings and believe that they are the true path to follow. But we should also keep in mind that adhering to Islamic principles is not the solution for this problem, we must also ensure that proper steps are taken to get the due punishment to the culprit. Steps such as Samreen stated. This will surely send a message across.

 
Abdullah Nasim on:Wed Jan 05, 2011
 All the points raised by you all are pretty valid , but now lets be more precise and focus towards the solution: Is there any guarantee that if the girl raises her voice then she would not be subjected to more problems?

 
Saad Sheikh on:Wed Jan 05, 2011
 I don't think that someone should be bowing down to menace like this in our society. This is off course the girl's own choice as there will be repercussions of any investigation, but if she decides to stand up to them, she will be initiating a good practice. All rests with the victim though.

 
Samreen on:Wed Jan 05, 2011
 For step 1 i.e of logging the complaint with service provider should not get her in any more trouble than she already is in. Usual practice is that the service provider issue a waring to the owner of SIM number. If she is fearing any back lash then, sorry to say the guy already has her personal number, address and other personal details as mention in her CV.

 
Omer Waqar on:Tue Jan 11, 2011
 Respected All, this state is an Islamic state and we are not practicing Islamic laws in it. We should all dress up according to the laws described in Islam then these type of accidents would definitely reduced. After that if such an accident occurs then the culprit must be given a strong and severe punishment and should make an example for others. It is the duty of HR and Senior Executives of the company to have a constant check over their employees and environment in the office.

 
http://twitter.com/#!/PakCricFanatic on:Tue Feb 08, 2011
 Has some action been taken against the guy?

 
Mohsin Raza on:Tue Feb 08, 2011
 she should either complain to CPLC or NR3C (National Response Center for Cyber Crime) and I know they do act on these type of complains

 
Absar on:Wed Feb 09, 2011
 Hi all. The sequel has been published and we have tried to answer your queries in that. Kindly visit: http://www.zumbeel.net/beta/news/details.php?rev_param=7438

 
Safeer Abbas on:Wed Feb 09, 2011
 i suugest better to disclose the company information so that every one could know HR practices of these multinational companies. 2ndly email the whole issue to higher managment of that company by warning them if no action is taken against the culprit then this shamefull act will be highlighted at print n electronic media with proof.

 
Faraz Khan on:Thu Feb 10, 2011
 From the english used in the text message we can easily see what is the background of the hiring manager. Such a person could only have been at that position on references rather than his own worth. Sad but true, multinational companies filled with pakistanis dont make them multinationals anymore. Strict actions should be taken against these cheapsters.

 
Female on:Tue Feb 15, 2011
 Its really a serious issue. i have faced it twice. one contacted me on phone and the other one added me on msn. first one was better person but second one was annoying. he knew my name, address and other details and told me that he knew all this stuff (thanks God i have changed home) time to time. I remember his name and where he used to work at that time. People should take action against these people.

 
Abdul Sattar Kaludi on:Thu Sep 15, 2011
 Well read all this - at my experience level i knew - Nothing happens here Only Azab will come . nothing less change us hopefully - Laws - Agar Law say kuch hota to Qanoon ki Izaat hoti -that worth 50 ka note Insaan ki Qadar kartay hum - Larki to shayad kis Izaat ka naam hay ? kia bolain ? Insan ki Haysiat nahi Jahan - These HR rules are or what so ever - does nothing - We have Mulk but there is no Quom living here ? I usually deal with PhD of our country and high literate dignitories - There character is so shamefull in many areas ? I have hours of speech to deliver the cases One by One - Lekin Hum kutay hain jo bhonktay hain ? Ham apni izzat nahi kartay dosra kon karay gaa ? So wait karain Azab ka ? Hum to Flood main bhi Band tor kar aglay ki Zamin tabah kartay hain ? We never knew Allah is watching and saying ? Beta 8 months after phir yahi moosam Aay gay - Jab teri bari hoo Gi ? and we all seen. Jab is ki biwi yah behan SMS recieve karay to phir maza to aata hay ? Aisay Funs may hone kiun torta hay - Jaa monh Toor - Sacha hota to torta . Yeh Musalman bhi hay aur pakistani bhi.

 
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