To introduce bills for the protection of women has been a standard device by
governments intent on proving how progressive they are. This is nothing new,
since even the colonial rulers did this. Yet,from the colonial imperialists
to the present, such bills are very often intentionally flawed ones. The
"protection" is all too often aimed only at better off sections, or is
couched in such language that protection means the women are seen as
inferiors. In the case at hand, the proposed bill for the protection of
women against sexual harassment at the workplace, the exclusion of domestic
workers, the empowerment of district officers in cases where small bodies
cannot set up their own committees, and the threat of punishment to be given
to the woman if the charge cannot be proved, all add up to silencing all but
the most determined and/or more or less privileged women. We therefore
endorse the AIDWA statement published below, and urge women's organisations,
trade unions, and democratic rights organisations to all take up the issue.
Radical Socialist
AIDWA Press Statement on Bill for Protection of Women against Sexual
Harassment at the Workplace.
AIDWA welcomes the introduction in the Lok Sabha of the Bill on the
Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at the Work place. This bill
has been introduced after a consistent struggle by women’s organizations
for several years.
However, AIDWA is deeply concerned about certain provisions in the draft. It
is unfortunate that “false and malicious complaints” of sexual harassment
have been made punishable in the proposed law. This is totally against the
Vishaka Judgment which had clearly stated that no action should be taken
against a woman for making a complaint. The entire civil law to deal with
cases of sexual harassment was meant to be enacted to provide a conducive
atmosphere in which women victims could make a complaint, because women
employees are usually extremely hesitant to lodge a complaint for fear of
reprisal. Our experience of dealing with cases and as members of complaint
committees has shown us how accusations of false complaints are routinely
made against the women victims. Though mere inability to substantiate the
complaint or provide adequate proof has not been made punishable, we feel
that this is not good enough. It would be highly improper for the
complaints Committee to pronounce judgment on this matter. The fact that she
can be proceeded against will hang like a Damocles’ sword over the victim’s
head. AIDWA demands that there should be no such clause in the Bill. Any
person who feels that a false complaint has been made against him can
always take recourse to the criminal or civil law in this regard relating to
defamation etc.
It is also unfortunate that the proposed Bill does not apply to domestic
workers. This is despite the fact that the NCW draft had specifically listed
domestic work in its scheduled list of unorganized work. Leaving this
vulnerable section of women workers out of the purview of this Bill is
unacceptable.
The proposed Government Bill lays down that complaint committees with at
least 50% women members will be set up in institutions and a local committee
will be constituted by a District officer for victims of sexual harassment
in very small institutions or in situations where no complaint committee is
available. However since the discretion to appoint the committee rests
solely with the District officer, it is liable to be exercised in an
arbitrary manner. A more transparent procedure should be prescribed under
the proposed law.
AIDWA has also always demanded that all recommendations of punishment of the
complaint committees to the employers/District officers must be accepted and
implemented and no additional inquiries should be initiated.
AIDWA demands that the changes suggested above should be incorporated in the
bill and thereafter that the bill be passed without any delay.
Sudha Sundararaman
Kirti Singh
General Secretary, AIDWA
Legal Convenor, AIDWA
--
You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up a
nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on the
foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole.
-AMBEDKAR
http://venukm.blogspot.com
http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur
http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com
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