PAKISTAN has long failed to recognise that economic growth and gender equality are inseparable. And so, the recent ruling by the Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace is a rare piece of good news in a country where working women are often left to fend for themselves. By overturning the dismissal of Ms Zainab Zahrah Awan — who was terminated while on duly sanctioned maternity leave — and by imposing a Rs1m penalty on the employer, Embrace IT, the ombudsperson has affirmed that pregnancy is not misconduct, and motherhood is not grounds for dismissal. The order, which restores the........

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