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Hemashri highlights the ongoing struggles of Indian women, calling for societal change and a commitment to gender justice, exclusively for Different Truths.
Our culture possesses these two great epics, viz., Ramayana and Mahabharata. These epics revolve around wars fought for the restoration of the dignity of two female protagonists, Sita and Draupadi. Sita had endured fourteen years of isolation, i.e., “Banabash,” with Lord Rama finally evicted from her own home during pregnancy. The reason was gossip by a washerman. She had to clear the test by jumping into the burning fire to prove her chastity, but even then, she could not get her rightful position. She finally asked Mother Earth to give her shelter. Even Draupadi, married to five husbands, was disrobed in the Parliament of Kauravas, where she was offered as a bet like a commodity in the game. It was followed by the Great War, where millions lost their lives. In both epics, great wars were fought to restore the dignity of women in the past.
The land of Draupadi and Sita today is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. As per official statistics, a woman is raped every six minutes. We hope that this time, everyone will act when a brutal incident pricks the nation’s conscience. Not just rape, but everywhere most women are ruthlessly strangulated, discriminated against, and made to feel helpless.
Leave Denied
The other day my doctor friend, a commandant in the Central Security Agency and a highly decorated officer, lamented that she was not allowed a few days leave for an urgent installation of a pacemaker for her father. She is the only daughter of her parents and looks after her 90-year-old father, and she is a single mother. She had to approach higher authorities in Delhi to get her leave. Another friend, a judicial officer, lamented that she worked in various districts in Assam and is now again in a district as a judge in a family court away from her only daughter. A male Officer junior to her has been appointed a District & Session Judge. She expressed frustration with the discriminatory system. She had lost her only brother, a brilliant doctor, to a heart attack at a tender age. As the only surviving child, she took great care of her parents while discharging duty in various Districts of the state. Daughters have become sons for parents yet
they face all sorts of discrimination. This is the story of a doctor couple and their eight-year-old son.
The lady is posted in one medical college in the state, and her husband is posted in another far-off medical college. So, they had to leave their eight-year-old son with their parents. All three are suffering from depression and are on medication. Can we expect this couple to give good service to people? Finally, after years of dislocation, they are now together. All over, many families are facing the trauma of dislocation for not following this guideline. Husband and wife posting is flouted routinely.
Workplaces often have no basic amenities needed for ladies. Was deputed to Ambubachi Mela duty, a few years back. I saw the lady constable near me standing awkwardly. It was obvious she was not okay. I asked her what the problem was. She said she was having her menstruation cycle, and since there was no toilet, she was having problems. I arranged a chair to sit on. I took her to a nearby house as I also had to go to the washroom. Had to haggle with the house lady to allow them to use their toilet. There were a few temporary makeshift toilets for lakhs of visitors, so most of the time those were in horrible condition. Was feeling miserable to
realise under what conditions we had to work.
She is an officer, and despite being the most senior in her category of officers in her current posting, she is not given a proper work assignment. It is very common. One of her colleagues, a male officer who was untraceable for two years after an allegation of gang
rape of minor girls has been assigned a major directorate.
Transfer Instead of Leave
I went to this restaurant on a Sunday and met this young female officer. She narrated that after two failed attempts, she took a last chance for one more IVF. Due to her ongoing IVF, she had sought earned leave. Instead of granting leave, she was transferred to a far-off location and was suspended for not joining. She asked me, “Do I have my right to be a biological mother just because I have joined this service? I have worked in several far-off places, and now I am 42 years old. I have not gotten a single penny for the last seven months. Why are people so sadistic?”
The list is countless. In our country, women’s participation in the workplace is very low, at 37% in 2023, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Labour Bureau. Even women occupying good ranks and positions are made to endure humiliation, mental harassment and discrimination. Is our country ready to accept women in the workplace? The blame game does not serve a purpose, and every stakeholder should introspect and be genuinely committed to the cause of gender justice.
The Supreme Court verdict is yet to come in respect of the Kolkata rape and murder case. However, a few things are clear: a tainted man was appointed the principal of the medical college. The chief accused, i.e., a worker, was a police-appointed man whose credentials were not screened.
Crime Against Women
The hospital with lady doctors had no restroom. Maybe most hospitals do not have one. None bothers. Not having clean, well-lit restrooms in offices is a routine. The question is: is our country developed enough to have women in the workplace? Who will now fight wars to rescue the daughters of Sita? Prejudice towards women is so rampant that they are not safe even inside their mother’s womb. As per NCRB data, an estimated 5,00,000 girls are lost due to female foeticide in India. Those who win this war face the rest of the trauma India is ranked the most dangerous country in the world for women due to high crime statistics. 4,45,256 cases of crime were registered in 2022, which meant 51 FIRs every hour. India lodged 86 rapes daily and 49 offences against women per hour in 2021, as per National Crime Report Bureau (NCRB) data. Instances of not giving due post to female officers by superseding male officers are very common and never even considered as mental harassment. To add to this misery, the country does not even have proper laws for mental harassment. Harassment is acknowledged only if it is sexual, whereas mental harassment is not less traumatic, and can adversely affect the mental health of a woman, causing severe damage to the whole family. Way back in 1978, the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare had issued guidelines to post husband and wife employees in the same place or otherwise in the nearest vicinity. Such guidelines are routinely flouted. Except for some services, women officers and employees are not provided with safe accommodation in most services.
So please take off the candles. Instead of burning candles to release more carbon dioxide into the air, let us resolve to reprogram our minds to respect women and create a set-up for them to work with dignity. Let’s ensure safety both within and outside the home Instead of silencing the voice of assertion, let’s encourage them to speak up. Research suggests all over the world rape is a grossly underreported phenomenon for a host of psychological, social, and legal issues. In India, every six minutes somewhere, a woman endures it.
Recommendations for Women’s Safety
- 1. Ensure safety, provide hygienic basic facilities at workplaces, and make heads of institutions accountable. i.e., toilets, restrooms, security staff, CC TV
- 2. Sensitise male employees at all levels to ensure the dignity and safety of female workers. Instances of harassment, and discrimination should be death firmly.
- 3. Introduce sex education to adolescents in schools and colleges.
- 4. Enact stringent Acts & Rules and speedy trials in fast courts for crimes related to women.
- 5. Screen the conduct and antecedents of officers/employees before engaging as head of institutions/offices.
- 6. Install toll-free numbers to register cases of crime/harassment and immediate rescue.
- 7. Increase women’s intake in police forces. In January 2022, women made up 11.75 percent of the police force, which is far below the targeted 33 percent.
- 8. Enact laws to prevent mental harassment.
- 9. Review policy findings of other countries concerning decriminalising prostitution and its impact on crime against women and prepare a policy framework.
Otherwise, we can carry on our candlelight procession the way we did in 2012 after the Nirbhaya episode and again now for yet another, and we shall do it again when another Nirbhaya occurs. It is encouraging to see a nation incensed by a brutal case of murder and death. By the time you finish reading this piece, a woman somewhere is being raped as per official statistics, and we do not exactly know how many more never report.
Please, for God’s sake, put off the candles. Instead, this time let’s fight a war to live with dignity and honour.
* Internet quotes from the NCRB’s published crime statistics.
Picture design Anumita Roy
