Govt employee fined Rs500,000 for comparing female colleague to trans persons for having no child

The Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) has imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on a government employee for repeatedly using derogatory language against a female colleague, including comparing her to the transgender community because she had been unable to have children.

According to details, the officer targeted the complainant during a workplace rivalry by publishing insulting online messages and repeatedly referring to her in a demeaning manner based on her inability to bear a child.

In its order, the ombudsperson held that the respondent deliberately used gender-based abusive language as a weapon against his colleague. It said the documentary evidence established that the accused had engaged in a sustained campaign of humiliation against the complainant.

The order noted that repeatedly associating the complainant with the transgender community because of her childlessness amounted to workplace harassment and discrimination.

Tweet by Federal Ombudsperson-Protection Against Harassment

FOSPAH further observed that using terms associated with transgender identity as insults was not merely offensive language but also reinforced harmful stereotypes against an already marginalised community.

The ombudsperson imposed a Rs500,000 penalty on the government officer and reaffirmed that harassment in the workplace, including gender-based humiliation and online abuse, would not be tolerated under the law.