Pakistan: Tanzeela Mazhar Acquitted in Defamation Case Filed by Harasser
The Coalition For Women In Journalism and Women Press Freedom welcomes the court’s decision, but believes the complaint by her harasser should never have been heard
Location: Pakistan, Islamabad
Date: January 30, 2024
The Coalition for Women in Journalism and Women Press Freedom welcomes a Pakistani trial court’s acquittal of Tanzeela Mazhar in a criminal defamation case which had been dragging for the last seven years. Since 2017, Mazhar has been fighting the lawsuit which was filed against her soon after she raised the matter of sexual harassment against the director of current affairs, Agha Masood Shorish, at PTV News, a state-run news channel where she worked. We laud Mazhar for her patience, courage, and persistence in fighting against her harasser, who attempted to weaponize the law to bring her down. She has stood steadfast and resilient in the face of this legal battle in which she was embroiled for merely standing up against the harassment she was subjected to at her workplace.
“The court has acquitted [me] in the defamation case filed by former director current affairs PTV Agha Masood Sorish,” writes Tanzeela Mazhar after the trial court acquitted the journalist of defamation of her former boss. “This case continued for the last seven years. I have been fighting this battle for 15 years. This fight is not about winning or losing, it is about a principle,” she adds.
In January 2017, Mazhar exposed former director of current affairs PTV Agha Masood Sorish on Twitter for making “unwelcome advances” at her in 2009. She shared that he took her off-screen after confronting him. Screenshots of her personal chat added to the post revealed the harassment against her and another journalist, Yashfeen Jamal. The man in question termed all allegations baseless and defamatory and said he would urge management to release the findings of the report to clear the confusion.
“This fight is not about winning or losing, it is about a principle”
Following the acusation, Mazhar faced immense vitriol online from supporters of Sorish — including her own male colleagues — who accused her of misusing Pakistan’s harassment laws, questioning the complaints brought forward by the journalists, who had already resigned from their jobs at the state-run news channel — they had filed cases against their harasser before revealing their ordeal.
Both anchors approached the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) in January 2017 to hear their case. A five-member inquiry committee – consisting of officials from the PTV and the information ministry — started probing on November 24, 2016, and submitted its report on January 26.
On February 5, Sorish filed a defamation charge against Mazhar and Jamal in retaliation.
During this time, Mazhar suffered immense physical and mental distress, including during her pregnancy in 2021 as the court threatened with arrest if she remained absent during hearings.
After seven long years of facing scorn from supporters of her harassers and trolls online, the journalist has finally been served justice, which comes as a commendable victory for her unwavering commitment to standing up to harassment in an industry heavily dominated by men.
“I had to remain unemployed for three years due to raising my voice on harassment”
“I got a lot of support from all of you. Thanks to my lawyers who fought my case free of charge. Because I had to remain unemployed for three years due to raising my voice on harassment, many people helped me to stand my ground during this period. Thanks to all,” Mazhar says in her tweet.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism and Women Press Freedom remain in awe of Mazhar’s courage and stand by her brave disclosure of experiencing sexual harassment by a powerful man who weaponized the law against her. Her journey remains an example for other marginalized individuals in the country’s media industry who will now gain strength in the pursuit of justice and fair treatment within the workplace.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help women career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.