The most common topic of discussion ever since the woman in India started working! There have been un-number of articles being written & published in this regard each having a different aspect but all mentioning the same old laws made by the legislature. I will not elaborate on the laws as almost everyone knows about it, in fact, according to me, by now, even a girl aged five-six years also know the law. There have been movies, series or videos made on the topic explaining the cons of a working woman. ‘Casting couch’ being the most searched and written word in the internet about sexual harassement of woman at workplace. It need no longer to be shown as an remoted issue. The image of Indian women is deeply rooted in the social situation, myths, legends, religion and culture[1].
According to the Supreme Court, sexual harassment includes any unwelcome physical contact or advances; demands or requests for sexual favours; sexually coloured remarks; displays of pornography; other unwelcome physical, verbal or non verbal conduct of a sexual nature[2]. What I have observed as far as my experience about working with both a woman & man, is that woman are more focused on their given work than men and produce more effective results than men. Some men may do not like the advancement of woman in their filed and they may try to harass the woman so that she cannot work and make progress. The sexual harassment at workplace violates Articles 14, 15, and 21 of the Indian Constitution.
I will not elaborate on the POSH Act as almost everyone knows it and I think every organisation in India is following the law. POSH Act was enacted to ensure a safe working environment for women. It provides for protection to women at their workplace be it public or private, organised sector or even the unorganised sector, regardless of their age and status of employment from any form of sexual harassment and for redressal of any complaints they may have launched. Under the Act, employers who employ 10 employers or more and local authorities will have to set up grievance committees to investigate all complaints. Employers who fail to comply will be punished with a fine that may extend to Rs. 50,000. Every employer with a business or enterprise having more than 10 workers will have to constitute a committee known as ‘Internal Complaints Committee’(ICC) to look into all complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace.
In Apparel Export Promotion Council vs A.K. Chopra on 20 January, 1999, SC 110, the SC referred to the convention of elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW)., and also the gender equality under the constitution of India. It observed that each incident of sexual harassment at the place of work, results in violation of the Fundamental Right to Gender Equality and the Right to Life and Liberty. In conclusion, I would like to state that without an international agreement on sexual harassment at workplace we cannot adequately address prevention nor provide appropriate support for survivors. The question isn’t whether we need a global treaty to protect women from the endemic issue of abuse and harassment at work, but rather, why we don’t yet have one.
[1] Harshita310897-SEXUAL HARASSEMENT OF WOMEN AT WORK PLACE : IN INDIA, SEXUAL HARASSEMENT OF WOMEN AT WORK PLACE : IN INDIA – Aishwarya Sandeep, visited on 24-07-2021 at 14:37hrs.
[2] IBID.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
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