Federal Ombudsman for Anti-Harassment Fawzia Waqar has taken
a major decision: not granting 30 days of paternity leave, and making it
mandatory for the father to be given leave on the birth of a child.
According to the FOSPA order, the State Bank should pay Rs.
400,000 of the fine amounts to the complainant officer Syed Basit Ali, and the
State Bank should deposit Rs. 100,000 in the national treasury.
FOSPA ordered the complainant officer to be granted 30 days
of paternity leave with different pay, while directing the State Bank to
formulate a policy under the Maternity and Paternity Leave Act 2023. The
department ruled that denial of paternity leave is tantamount to harassment on
the basis of gender, granting maternity leave and denial of paternity leave is
gender discrimination.
According to FOSPAH, childcare is not the sole
responsibility of women, and denying paternity leave is tantamount to
undermining the shared responsibility of parents and the best interests of the
child.
An officer of the State Bank Banking Services Corporation
had approached FOSPAH after being denied paternity leave. The bank had rejected
Syed Basit Ali’s leave request, citing the absence of a relevant policy.
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