October 23, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah
LAHORE
“During my pregnancy I had no complications,” says Zainab Zahra Awan, whose legal case recently made headlines across the country. “I went to office everyday — traveling 25 kilometers from Bani Gala to Gulberg — this continued until only four days before my delivery. Before taking my maternity leave, I made sure I had provided all my work on the office portal and even remained available over the phone.”
But a month after giving birth, Zainab’s happiness over the birth of her baby was dampened when she suddenly received a termination email from her organization, ending her employment ‘with immediate effect’. The company cited “constraints within the HR team” as the reason for not being able to retain both potential members.
Zainab was dismissed in April 2024 – while on approved maternity leave – which prompted her to file a case. The 30-year-old told Voicepk that she had joined the organization in 2022 as a Human Resource Manager and had worked there for two years. When she became pregnant, she immediately informed her employer.
Zainab’s legal case finally brought some positive results when in a landmark decision advancing women’s workplace rights, the Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (FOSPAH) ruled that terminating a woman during maternity leave amounts to gender-based discrimination. The Ombudsperson also imposed a fine of Rs1 million on the private firm Embrace IT for violating the complainant’s fundamental rights.
“It was overwhelming and devastating for me,” Zainab recalled. “I was entering a new stage of life by becoming a mother, and with family responsibilities on my shoulders. This decision deeply disturbed me.”
Instead of giving up, Zainab decided to seek justice.
“I’ve always wanted to build a strong career so I could support myself, my mother, and my younger sisters, while also setting a precedent for other women,” she said. “That motivation pushed me to take this step — to prove that organizations cannot just simply discard women as soon as they become mothers, simply assuming that they will not be able to perform well.”
FOSPAH ruled her termination unlawful, ordering her reinstatement, Rs800,000 in compensation, and Rs200,000 to be deposited into the national treasury. The decision stated that such actions violated not only the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010, but also constitutional guarantees of dignity, equality, and protection of motherhood under Articles 14, 25, and 37.
In her detailed order, Fauzia Viqar, the Ombudsperson underscored that maternity protections are “non-negotiable and inviolable rights,” reaffirming Pakistan’s obligations under international treaties such as CEDAW, ICESCR, and ILO conventions. “Safe motherhood is not a favour — it is a fundamental right,” the order read. “No woman should be forced to choose between her career and motherhood.”
But this may be a rare case as women usually do not report such cases especially in court.
Nida Aly, Executive Director of the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell (AGHS), a women-led organization providing free legal aid to women and children, said that while AGHS receives numerous cases of sexual harassment on a regular basis, it has rarely encountered cases related to maternity leave.
According to her, this is largely due to the fear and insecurity women face in the workplace. “Many women don’t report such violations because they fear losing their jobs or facing retaliatory actions from employers,” she said. “There are also many societal barriers women face especially in the cases of sexual harassment as they hesitate to report sexual harassment because if they speak out, families often restrict them from working or studying further. As a result, many women silently endure abuse out of fear of losing their independence.”
Speaking about the shortcomings of the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010, Nida said that it was a strong law, under which every province has an Ombudsperson office, with FOSPAH at the federal level led by a highly competent woman.
“But the main challenges are workload and accessibility,” she said. “There are only a few offices in major cities of Punjab, which makes it very difficult for women from remote areas to reach them. I’ve seen women travel from far-flung regions to Lahore, sometimes selling their belongings just to afford the journey.”
On the other hand she said that there were many local organizations fail to follow the required policies on maternity leave and sexual harassment.
“The law mandates that every organization must display its sexual harassment policy on notice boards — but how many actually do?” she questioned. “The first line of remedy should come from within the workplace through a three-member sexual harassment committee, but very few organizations have one. Since AGHS is women-led, we understand these issues, but in most workplaces where women are few, such committees barely exist. So the only option left for women is to approach the Ombudsperson — and that too, often only when things become unbearable.”
Speaking to Voicepk, Fauzia Viqar, said that the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees women’s right to equality, dignity, and fair participation in all spheres of life.
“Article 37 places a clear duty on the State to provide humane and just conditions of work,” she said. “FOSPAH serves as an extension of this duty, ensuring that women can work with security, respect, and without fear of discrimination. Denying maternity protection or terminating a woman during maternity leave not only violates these constitutional principles but also undermines the very foundation of workplace justice.”
“FOSPAH remains fully committed to upholding women’s rights in line with the Constitution and the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010. Our mission is to ensure that every woman in the workplace is treated with fairness, dignity, and equality,” she added.