Women Ombudsperson: Punjab delays appointment despite LHC’s intervention

ISLAMABAD: Punjab government has delayed appointment of the Women Ombudsperson Punjab despite the intervention of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Earlier, on a constitutional petition, the LHC sought a written reply from the Government of Punjab regarding the prolonged and unjustified delay in filling this mandatory statutory office. The continued inaction of the provincial government in making this appointment is a matter of grave concern, as the post of Women Ombudsperson Punjab is a statutory requirement under law, and its prolonged vacancy deprives women of a vital redressal forum.

A female employee of office of Advocate General Punjab (AGP) through lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt approached the LHC in a constitutional petition wherein after hearing the rival parties, LHC High Court has sought a written reply from the Government of Punjab over what petitioner is calling a “grave institutional failure” the prolonged vacancy in the post of Women Ombudsperson Punjab, commonly known as Khatoon Muhatsib, a mandatory statutory appointment under the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010.

The case has come to light through the ordeal of Sumaira working at the Office of the AGP, who alleges she was subjected to sustained workplace harassment, intimidation, and discriminatory treatment by male colleagues, including a Staff Officer of the Advocate General and two Additional Advocate Generals who served on an internal inquiry committee constituted under the Act. The very office she works in is the one responsible for defending the provincial government in courts of law.

After exhausting internal channels, she sought relief from the Office of the Women Ombudsperson Punjab, the sole forum legally designated to adjudicate such complaints across the province. She was officially informed the post is vacant.

No appointment has been made for well over a year. Left with no statutory recourse, she filed a constitutional petition before the LHC, naming as respondents the Governor, Chief Minister, Chief Secretary of Punjab, the Secretary Ministry of Law and Women Development Department.

Her lawyer, Waheed Shahzad Butt, was unsparing in his assessment. “The Red Line declared by CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif has been crossed by government male employees, including within the Advocate General’s own office, yet the Chief Minister appears preoccupied elsewhere,” he said. “A chief minister who has publicly positioned herself as a champion of women’s rights presides over an administration that has allowed the one institution specifically designed to protect working women from harassment to remain non-functional for over a year.”

“Thousands of women across Punjab who suffer workplace abuse have nowhere to turn, Butt said. Punjab’s women are waiting and watching. The matter is pending before the LHC and fixed by the court for hearing on Monday (today) 06 April 2026.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026