Justice served, 6 years later: Jamshoro professor finally found guilty in harassment case due to one woman’s struggle
The girls reached out to the department's former director, Dr. Rabia Memon, to seek help.
Another harassment case in educational institutions has taken over the media channels. A professor of the University of Sindh Jamshoro – Institute of Plant Science – has been found guilty of harassing three female students.
Department’s Former Director Exposes The Professor
The girls reached out to the department’s former director, Dr. Rabia Memon, to seek help. She stood by the brave girls and didn’t give up. After listening to the girls’ account of harassment, Dr. Rabia filed a complaint against Professor Abdul Jabbar Pirzada in a written letter to the varsity’s vice-chancellor. In her letter, she wrote:
Professor Abdul Jabbar teases female students by urging them to make ‘friendship’ with him. Pirzada harassed three students during the exam for BS Part I. Professor Abdul Jabbar Pirzada was also accused of sexual harassment in 1991 and 1992. An investigation committee was constituted after several students complained; however, it has yet to take action against the professor.
When contacted, the vice-chancellor said:
The incident is from 2016, but it came to my knowledge today. I did not receive any complaints before.
As soon as the harassment case went viral, media channels reached out to the professor for a statement. Speaking to a media outlet, he said:
Dr. Rabia does not want me appointed to the post of director because she fears I will launch an investigation against her over the misplacement of a microscope worth Rs. 30 million. Therefore, she’s remembering these allegations so many years later. An inquiry was already conducted, and the allegations were proven wrong.
Justice Has Been Served Years Later
The provincial ombudsman for protection against harassment of women at the workplace on Thursday ordered the removal of Sindh University’s professor from service on harassment charges. The order came on an application filed by Dr. Rabia Asma Memon, Director Institute Of Plant Science Of Sindh University, on behalf of three students against Professor Abdul Jabbar Pirzada on sexual harassment charges.
The accused, Abdul Jabbar Pirzada, has been fired from his job and will pay a sum of Rs. 1 lakh to each student. The provincial ombudsman, Justice (retd) Shahnawaz Tariq, found the professor guilty of sexual harassment charges and imposed a penalty against the professor, and directed him to pay Rs. 3,00,000 as a fine.
He directed the professor to pay the fine within 30 days, and failure to pay off the amount will result in land confiscation. The fine will be recovered from confiscated land and paid to the victims.
What are your thoughts on this? Please share with us in the comment section below.
