Women power: united they win!
Saira Mufti, 30, has been working in a private sector organization for five years while also being a punctual member of the Working Women Alliance (WWA), Peshawar. She has been part of WWA since 2017.
As a member of WWA, Mufti received several pieces of training. She discovered her rights as a worker and how she could bargain with her employers to achieve those rights.
After joining WWA and attending its orientation on rights, she observed the workplace had no separate washroom or prayer room for female staff.
Upon Mufti’s complaints during staff meetings, the management initially allocated the kitchen to female staff for saying prayers and a separate washroom. However, the designated toilet was attached to a room full of male colleagues. The women felt uncomfortable and hesitated using it.
“After joining the WWA, I became aware of my rights, and I was able to talk about it with the management. Later on, instead of requesting them, I started to demand my rights as an employee,” said Mufti.
Looking at her struggle, other female colleagues also began raising demands put forth by her. “I used to raise this issue during staff meetings and in front of officials visiting from head office, gradually other five female colleagues also started to support me because they were also facing the same issue.”
Finally, the head office got convinced and allocated a separate washroom and common room for the female staff. Mufti and her colleagues’ untiring and continual struggle helped achieve this success.
