By Faiza Tehseen ISLAMABAD, March 14 (INP-WealthPK): Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplaces Kashmala Tariq has appointed president of Islamabad Chamber of commerce and industry (ICCI) Mohammad Shakeel Munir as the honorary business adviser to help the government and private sector entities implement relevant laws to provide a secure environment for women at the workplace. He will coordinate with chambers of commerce and industries across the country to help protect women against workplace harassment in the private sector organisations, reports WealthPK. Ms Kashmala made the decision during a visit to the ICCI recently, where she also addressed the businessmen, stressing that women’s role in Pakistan’s economic progress is critical. “However, unfortunately, women are not provided with the respect they deserve,” she said, adding women suffered harassment in multiple ways at the workplace, which hampered their advance towards professional excellence. Kashmala Khan emphasised that both the public and private sectors should strictly follow the workplace code of conduct. “It is mandatory for every office to constitute a three-member committee to ensure adherence to ethical and moral values. Any office/organisation violating this rule can be summoned by any court of law.” The federal ombudsperson said the chambers of commerce and industries all over Pakistan were a good platform for creating awareness about how to provide women workers with a harassment-free environment. “That’s why the president of Islamabad Chamber has been assigned the task to involve other chambers to get the job done.” Speaking on this occasion, ICCI president Mohammad Shakeel Munir said a good number of women were the chamber’s members. “ICCI will positively play its role in creating awareness to curb incidents of women harassment, especially in the private sector, to enable working women to perform their professional responsibilities confidently. Empowering women socially and economically is important for Pakistan’s economic prosperity.” Meanwhile, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and industry (RCCI) is also striving to protect and support working women’s rights at every forum. Speaking to WealthPK, RCCI public relations officer Zulfiqar Ahmad said that to achievie sustainable economic growth, it is necessary that women have a  favourable workplace environment. “Women must work in a secure environment without feeling harassed to better utilise their potential for the country’s progress.” “It is the duty of every employer to implement the rules related to workplace security, especially for women. Women workers must be paid on a par with their male co-workers. Women workers’ job schedule should not be strict, and they should be entitled to paid maternity leave and medical,” said the RCCI public relations officer. Noreen Zohaib, a human resource department manager at a private sector organisation, told WealthPK that workplace harassment is a hurdle for women to build their professional careers. “Most women have to face harassment in one way or the other when they step out of their homes for work.” She continued, “It is the responsibility of human resource department in every office, whether private or public, to implement the code of ethics strictly.” Aqsa Javed, another energetic professional working in a human resource office of a private entity, told WealthPK that organisations/offices should strictly implement the ethics framework. “Holding regular awareness sessions should be part of every office’s work schedule to bring about attitudinal change in behaviours towards women.”