Sexual Harassment: HC to deliver order on foreign ministry official’s termination

The High Court will deliver its order today on a petition filed by a former foreign ministry official challenging the legality of her termination from government service. She was sacked soon after the HC sought a probe report from the ministry’s sexual harassment prevention committee over the accusation she made against three ministry officials.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman set the date yesterday after holding a hearing on the petition.      

The foreign ministry on January 5 sacked the woman, who was working at the ministry’s research wing.  

The ministry in a statement said the female official has been sacked as allegation of her misbehaviour was proven in its probe.

Earlier in the day, the same bench  HC bench sought a probe report from the ministry’s sexual harassment prevention committee over the alleged sexual and mental harassment of the woman.

The director general of foreign ministry’s research wing, who is also the head of sexual harassment prevention committee, was asked to submit the report to the HC within 30 days.

The court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why their inaction against three foreign ministry officials for mentally and sexually harassing her at home and abroad should not be declared illegal.

The bench passed the order and issued the rule following a writ petition filed by the woman seeking necessary order.

The woman filed another petition on January 6 as a supplementary to the earlier one, seeking stay on the termination order.

Petitioner’s lawyer Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua told The Daily Star on January 5 that three foreign ministry officials had harassed his client sexually and mentally at their offices in Tokyo, Mumbai and Dhaka in 2013, 2014 and 2015.