Recently, I met a working woman and while talking to her, I found out that she was endangered by harassment by a senior colleague. Weirdly, her boss was also a woman and on inquiring why she didn't take her case up to the female boss, she said that any woman, who does so, is told that they shouldn't expect to be treated any other way once they have opted to step out of the 'comfort' of their homes. She said all the females, including the female boss, have encountered similar abuse in the said organisation or in other organisations where they have worked, and they expect this from their male colleagues. And apparently these women were fine with this. However, the female I was talking to, said she had sent written complaints to the human resource department, and they had been forced to conduct an inquiry. Ironically the inquiry was conducted by a team in which most members were women. Unfortunately, this inquiry was just a formality and nothing came out of it, the offender was allowed to work in close proximity of the women he harassed, one would have thought he would be cautious now that he had been pin-pointed. On the contrary, he had become bolder mainly because, as he always boasted, he had been found not guilty and therefore absolved of all 'accusations'. He was officially wrongly accused; hence he did as he pleased.

Many working women may not even be aware but they maybe facing harassment in their work place. But the fact is that more often neither the victim nor the harasser is aware that they are stepping over the line of friendliness and stepping in the danger zone of harassment. The main thing is that we must determine what constitutes harassment. Well according to one definition, harassment is defined as "any physical or verbal abuse of a person because of her race, religion, age, gender, disability or any other legally protected status." Harassment in the workplace can further be clarified as "any conduct that creates significant anguish to another person, with the intent to bother, scare or emotionally abuse her." However, in certain societies like ours, where we are taught to respect our elders, older bosses usually take advantage of their age to touch, pat or even peck their younger female colleagues. These male bosses are quite safe in doing this since they are sure that their young female colleagues will not consider this as a sexual overture towards them; if they do, unless they are brave enough to speak up and protest this advance, they will keep silent thus providing their harasser to get bolder. The harasser slowly expands his circle, and the harassment increases, as do the number of victims. The victims of these men are vulnerable young women, since they are usually the ones who will be too scared to complain mainly because they don't want to lose their jobs or fall out of favour with their superiors. And the harasser is aware that these girls, wrongly, believe that they will be blamed for attracting such attention to themselves. Unfortunately, the harasser is right, if a woman complains that she has been harassed, her other male colleagues have a field day with her reputation, citing that she wants to be noticed by men which is why she is making such a big deal about it. This may lead to them trying their luck with the victim, thus increasing the level of harassment of the girl. As this was not enough, women working with this victim are no help, instead of standing by their colleague, they add vicious rumours. They never own up that they have also been victim to the same or any other harassment in the work place. On the other side, the innocent pats and touching begin to get bolder and bolder, and unless someone actually stands up to him, no woman is safe from becoming victim to harassment in the work place.

Then there is verbal harassment that may include abusive language or 'open' dialogue, which includes sexual innuendoes, some subtly and others clear. Women will not be expected to understand these and 'will' be expected to ignore them; however if they do react, they are scrutinised by their male colleagues, who unashamed of their own conduct will be more interested in how she understood those remarks in the first place. Rounding it off with the accusation that she has a 'loose' character and not for once thinking that she is a working woman and is exposed to more in life than an average woman. She is bound to be worldlier, and it is wrong to begrudge them.

The other aspect of suppressing women from voicing the abuse of harassment is our society and the misuse of religion. Women are made to believe that their male relatives' honour (a big deal in our part of the world) is the most precious thing in their life, they are wrongly made to believe that the religion also states this, and therefore they cannot by any act or speech defame their male relatives. This in turn leads to these women bearing all kinds of physical and mental torture. There are instances when females bear all kinds of abuse on the streets, educational institutions and work places but they never utter a protest mainly because they are afraid that they are defaming the 'honour' of their families, and more so because they know that if they protest, their family will not tackle the problem, but will make them sit at home. Which is why they choose to keep facing various forms of harassment without complain.

There are many kinds of harassments, like bullying, psychological harassment, racial harassment, sexual harassment and stalking. In this day and age, the last kind of harassment, i.e. stalking also includes unwanted or an extraordinary number of calls, SMS or emails to people other than friends and families. Unfortunately, we in Pakistan have not be taught any rules or manners pertaining to the boundaries of cyber space, which creates problems when we overstep certain limits. Even though we have cyber laws, but we are still struggling with normal laws, to understand the relevance of cyber laws and their impact.

It seems Pakistani authorities have become aware of the menace of harassment in the work place, and all the political parties unanimously passed the bill in the National Assembly with amendments in section 509 in Pakistan Penal Code which gives protection to women against harassment. And before divulging into details, it must be mentioned that women like MP and former information minister Sherry Rehman, have been the driving force behind this bill. This Bill declares sexual harassment as an inappropriate behaviour and a crime. This time the bill includes harassment of women working in the fields, women labourers working on the brick kilns or those working as domestic workers. It is also for women protection against such behaviour in private or public places.

It's a fact that women are shopaholics and why wouldn't they be when they have to wear something new at every auspicious occasion. To top that up, we women also want to have matching shoes, handbags and matching jewellery with the outfit. If one wants to buy something new and flashy but is low on cash then Sunday bazaar is your best friend. Yes, the same Sunday bazaar with all the sand and pathans is the best thing that could have happened to the Karachiites. It is the shopping heaven for virtually everyone, mainly because the prices are very reasonable and the merchandise is amazing and sometimes branded too. No one cares where it originates from and what actually matters is that the things you get there is very affordable, hip and can be bought in abundance without seriously damaging your wallet or your budget. Regular buyers will be seen digging out exactly what they are looking for and buy them at the cheapest price possible.

The array of stuff available at Sunday bazaar has everything from fruits and vegetables to clothes, shoes, books and toys. You! takes a look...

Sole heaven

Shoes are the main attraction for young boys and girls at Sunday market, mainly because these shoes are branded (Atmosphere, Prada, Dorothy Perkins and Old Navy being commonly sold), affordable and are available in the latest make or design doing the rounds on the runway. If you are good at negotiating then you can get yourself some designer shoes at relatively cheap prices. However, if you are bad at negotiating then the khan sahib can pretty much rob you off your money because they too know what their merchandise is worth and which brand is in demand. One can almost find every design, from flip flops to ballerina pumps to platforms, to knee length boots and ankle boots to couture heels, kolapuris and Greek sandals, literally everything you want is available and ready to be sold if you have polished bargaining skills.

The only problem faced here is to find your perfect shoe size. Oh, and lets not forget the people bumping into each other while one bends to try the shoes on. The price varies from piece to piece but the average price ranges between 300 to 800 rupees. Talking to You! Javeria, an 18-year-old student, declared, "I love it! When I don't have loads of money to spend on shopping, Sunday bazaar is my saviour. No matter how broke I am, it always has something pretty and trendy to offer."

Roaming around the bazaar, I witnessed another young girl buying gorgeous Greek sandals. She looked at me and winked and said, "This is why Sunday bazaar is the best, I have been wanting these sandals since forever, but to purchase them for 4000 rupees seems very stupid so here I am buying these for a mere 600!"

Bag me!

The 'bag area' as it is known is another crowded place in Sunday bazaar. If you are lucky, you may come across brands like Nine West, Gucci, LV and Bvlgari. Women happily buy designers bags from Sunday bazaars as they are available there at much cheaper prices compared to the actual prices. In fact, khan sahibs have started keeping magazines in which their bags are modelled.

While talking to You!, Aasma said, "Buying bags from Sunday bazaar doesn't hurt my self esteem, because we pay them money here as well, it's not like these people are selling their goods for free, but the only reason I prefer to buy my bags from here is because I get a million choices to choose from, I can look at different cuts and styles and then take my pick."

The choices are in abundance as around 15 different stalls stock these bags in different colours, styles and shapes and at affordable prices.

And the rest...

These two areas are the most crowded in the whole of Sunday bazaar, but other areas such as the clothing area also attracts young girls and boys looking for trendy clothes. Shirts, scarves, tights, leggings, jackets, etc. You name it and you have it. Groups of girls and boys flock this area to buy everything they find attractive! Talk about a shop-a-holic attack.

Another attention catching section is the jewellery area. Real stones are sold here and one can see many foreigners buying beautiful necklaces, earrings, bracelets etc. The pieces of jewellery are absolutely breathtaking and magnificent, a little costly though but pretty nonetheless.

After the long awaited Fashion Pakistan Week that was held recently in Karachi, a set of designers came together to display their collections at the Upper Level, Labels. The event was organised, casting a team of different designers with each working on their own style and design philosophy to give versatility and variety to the potential clients.

The event showcased high-end pret/couture by Chamak, Elan, Jannat & Sadaf, Mina Hasan, Sanam Chaudhri, Sarah Gilani, Shamaeel, Zara Shahjahan, Zenaini and TEEJAYS by Feeha Jamshed. Some of our designers presented their work on the ramp at the Fashion Pakistan Week and made us really proud.

Denying the norm of solo shows this lot decided to put it all in one place so that fashion conscious women don't need to rush from place to place to find an outfit.

Chamak is a joint venture between Sania Maskatiya and Abida Dada. Their line of clothes was an amalgamation of vintage with the modern look that created a bold collection.

Khadija Shah of Elan presented formal evening wear with a touch of embellishments in light colours. She set up Elan after working with her mother from whom she inherited her passion for designing. Even though originally from Lahore, Khadija loves working in Karachi as according to her the people in Lahore go more for the embellishments while people in Karachi look for the cuts and designs.

Other designers such as Jannat & Sadaf displayed their luxury pret line in interesting hues like white, aqua, pink, silver and yellow along with heavy embellishments. The best part about their collection was that it was affordable.

Mina Hasan, daughter of Mallika-e-Tarranum Noor Jehan, also showcased her collection. She has been designing and retailing her ready to wear line at Labels for about six years and has now expanded her horizons further by making her couture line available at the Upper Level. Her classic black and white collection with intricate embroidery was particularly admired by the viewers. She paid much emphasis on quality fabric.

Sanam chaudhry, a student from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, had designed a collection aiming to capture the Spring/Summer 2010. Light colours blended with intricate embroideries gave her collection a fresh and feminine look.

While Sarah A Gilani, an upcoming designer exhibited her collection for the first time. Her intuitive knowledge of colours and couture designs was much appreciated.

Feeha Jamshed's commitment to give ready-to-wear clothes at affordable prices was evident in her latest collection which she presented at the Upper Level. She has been successful in taking along her father's legacy since early '70s - TEEJAYS.

Also displayed was Zara Shahjehan's line which was a fusion of different eras and cultures.

Shamaeel also designed an evening wear line especially created for the occasion. Her collection was luxurious and regal with jewel tone jackets, richly worked monochromatic long coats glam slam pants, elegantly cut shifts with constellations of threads, applique, sequins, prints and colour.