Protection of Working Women Rights in the Light of the Teachings of Islam

Men and women are the backbone of human civilization and both play their due roles in the society. In the present era, women are found engaged in every walk of life. Their potential was appreciated in the fields of education, research and medical since long but now they have also got prominence in the fields like army, politics, games, culture, economy, engineering and even avionics. Woman of the modern era is now a good mixture of a conscious wife, affectionate and educated mother and an active worker by increasing her importance and status through achievements in all walks of life. The main purpose of the paper was to identify the rights of women at workplace and to highlight the protection given by Islam for the rights of working women. The study was descriptive in nature. Relevant Hadiths and the examples from the lives of Sahaba regarding the justification of women to work and how their rights to be protected, was discussed. The need of the hour is to create a protected environment for women to work with dignity, without the fear of harassment and abuse which will in turn bring higher productivity and better quality of life at work.

The Influences of Performance Appraisal on Teachers Professional Development: A Case Study of a Private School in Karachi, Pakistan

Development is implicit at every stage of appraisal irrespective of the approach; be it developmental (formative) or accountable (summative) (Bollington, Hopkins & West, 1993). If properly constructed and presented; the performance appraisal system can improve professional development of teachers, the management of the school, and students' learning outcomes. The focus of this study was to unpack the influences of performance appraisal on teachers' professional development. This study was conducted in one of the private schools in Karachi, Pakistan; and it involved ten participants, six appraisees, three appraisers and one reviewer. Data were collected using exploratory nature case study within the qualitative paradigm of research. Interviews and the document analysis were the major source of data collection. As a result of qualitative data analysis, the study has generated some findings related to the influence of performance appraisal on teachers' professional development. The study revealed that appraisees unanimously identified the purpose of appraisal as a summative assessment of teachers' performance for making administrative decisions such as; deciding annual increment and making teachers more accountable to school rule and regulations. The suggestions made by appraisees confirmed that the teachers did not perceive that there was a link between appraisal and the professional development of teachers. In contrast, the appraisers collectively considered performance appraisal as a tool to appreciate teachers' potentials and to identify areas for further enhancement. In addition, the findings of the study further suggest that the process of performance appraisal influences relations within teachers, and between teachers and supervisors negatively if handled in a less professional way. The findings of this study also suggest that a system of shared, informed and mutually agreed policy on performance appraisal should be developed by involving all key contributors and disseminated to all teachers to make the process clearer to all. This is also important to strengthen trust between teachers and the management of the school. The findings of this study may provide a useful insight to schools i.e. those who are in the process to introduce performance appraisal, or are reviewing their appraisal system and policies.