“Sin by Silence . . .” : Nuzhat Shahzadi

I was on my way to R&R–the euphoria was spilling over. Everything looked cheerful, even the sourly look of the young Afghan policeman at the Kabul airport. My route was via Delhi. Those days, apart from UNHAS, the only other airline that we could fly with from Afghanistan was Air India.

Air India’s extreme, multi-tiered security checks and frisking was maddening. The final checking was just outside the entrance to the plane, on top of the stairs. Even UN staff were not spared.

“Open your bag, please,” the cabin crew taxed on our patience . . .

During the summer we waited for long for our turns under the scorching sun. During winter we braced the snow–if luck was against us. The handbags or the cabin baggage that had passed the earlier stringent security test usually got stuck at this pre-boarding scrutiny. Sometimes, the airline staff in charge of checking would send for her supervisor, somewhere inside the plane or at the foot of the stairs. And we had to defend our carry-on bags, etc. Altogether, it was a nightmare ordeal.

I met the Afghani-team on mission at the Kabul airport. They were selected from UNICEF-Kabul and field offices (except Herat) ––all national staff. They would attend a workshop followed by field visits to learn from on-going projects in the host country. It was MZ’s first international mission. She was excited. We chatted a bit before boarding.

Ten days of vacation passed in the speed of a bullet-train. I returned to Delhi on my way back to Afghanistan.

I spotted MZ at the other end of the boarding lounge. The team was going back to Kabul on the same flight. She came and sat beside me. One look at her and I knew something was very wrong. She was a different woman––disheveled, sad. I saw the tears now.

“What happened? You, okay?” was my first reaction.

“It’s so shameful . . . can’t tell you.” She shook her head.

I waited for MZ to regain her composure. Slowly she told me about the trip, her stay at the hotel. The night before, she heard a knock at her door and opened it.

“He exposed himself, Nuzhat jaan. My colleague! I was scared, horrified. I shut the door immediately!” MZ whispered. Slowly she told me more . . . in the office some male staff (national) ganged up and loudly shared sexually-charged jokes when women colleagues were within hearing distance . . . the women just pretended they didn’t hear the obscenities.

My advice to MZ was to report the incident to her supervisor and the HR. But it was her call. I told her she could phone me anytime.

Like any other organization, sexual harassment/abuse of power happens in the UN. Some try to ignore it or pretend it doesn’t happen. It does––doesn’t always get reported. In many instances, the victims do not feel empowered to report abuse fearing retaliation in the office. They keep silent to protect their personal lives––out of shame, dreading gossip, breach of confidentiality . . .

I did two tenures with UNICEF–regional offices for almost 10 years ––ESARO and ROSA. I was nominated by the ESARO staff association to become one of the counsellors to assist staff to deal with HIV/AIDS in the workplace, and a team of us were trained accordingly by the Kenya Association of Professional Counselors (KAPC).

Colleagues shared stories of abuse in the workplace ––especially, the country offices during my visits. I constantly travelled to 18 countries in Africa, and 7 countries in South Asia to provide technical support.

. . . Months later, I heard that MZ withdrew her complaint. Our HR’s position––she was fickle minded, flip-flopped. In many of our offices, the HR-staff do not have the professional skills to adequately address sexual harassment or abuse in the workplace. They may need further training, understanding––victims go through many shades of pain and trauma and humiliation to publicly admit about their shame.

And the culture of silence continues.

However, I know that in UNICEF there is a strong mechanism to address the wrongs . . . reporting systems function. Staff are mandated to go through training/skill development on prevention of harassment and abuse (sexual nature/abuse of authority). There is hope . . .

Years ago, I was involved in a UNICEF sponsored campaign engaging a group of youth champions, girls and boys aged between 13-17 who participated from various countries. My co-team member was an international official. Years later, he was found guilty of sexual misconduct in the UN-workplace and fired. I wasn’t aware of his nature at the time.

I am still in contact with one of the youth champions––as a mentor. She is in her 30s now, and currently doing PhD focused on child protection services. I had to ask her about my colleague . . .

“He made inappropriate jokes. Made us uncomfortable,” she said. “We didn’t know how to complain about it––we kept quiet,” was her further response when I asked why she didn’t tell me.

Sadly, this is also a truth.

Below are some links:

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jan/18/sexual-assault-and-harassment-rife-at-united-nations-staff-claim

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/16/one-in-three-un-workers-say-they-have-been-sexually-harassed-in-past-two-years

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/01/22/686698909/report-says-1-in-3-u-n-staffers-have-been-sexually-harassed

https://www.politico.eu/article/antonio-guterres-harassment-united-nations-fabrizio-hochschild-drummond/

https://www.devex.com/news/the-un-pledged-to-tackle-sexual-harassment-the-work-remains-incomplete-experts-say-98850

You can contact Nuzhat at nuzhatshahzadi@gmail.com

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