NEW DELHI: India's parliament, which has been deadlocked for days due to opposition protests, on Monday used a brief break in the uproar to pass legislation protecting women from sexual harassment at work.
The lower house passed the bill before business was again abandoned for the day as lawmakers from the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shouted, stood in the well of the assembly and waved their papers.
Women's rights activists say sexual harassment is a rampant problem in India, where an increasing number of women are joining the workforce.
The legislation, which must still be passed by the upper house before becoming law, specifically includes protection for female domestic staff, one of the most vulnerable work groups in India.
"I am glad that they cleared this crucial bill. Women have a right to feel safe wherever they are," said Raghavi Behl, a professor of women's studies at Delhi University.
The anti-harassment bill, which improves women's rights to take legal action against abuse at work, also means that all workplaces must have a formal complaints system for sexual harassment allegations.
"Many women are scared to report sexual abuse as they want to keep their jobs," said RK Sethi, who runs Shakti, a women's rights forum in New Delhi.
Sethi said studies suggest one out of five Indian female workers aged under 35 have suffered physical assault by a colleague or manager at work.
COMMENTS (11)
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@Khan101: "Guidelines on Sexual Harassment of Women in Workplace" has been enforced in India way back in 1997 after the judgement in Vishakha vs State of Rajasthan by the Supreme Court of India. Legislature is doing merely a formality of converting those guidelines into an act with necessary amendments.
My views are different. What happens in case a lady voluntarily advances towards a man, the matter becomes public and thereafter registers protest against officers who are responsible to initiate action against her. This is out of experience in our office.
@Khan101: You are asking if Indian papers mentioned it when such laws are passed in Pak? Sorry, Indian papers only mention when something negative happens in Pakistan that it's public feel happy about and so buy the papers. Pak public actually look for flaws in their own system and so that what they are presented by the media. Did you hear or see all the colorful abuse pictures of Indian victims of abuse? probably not. But Indian paper showed all Pak victims stories on front page. See, Indians don't like to hear or see anything bad about them-self which is not true but totally opposite for us, we Only look for Flaws in our-self and nothing else. So don't blame the paper!
@Khan101: You are right a bill was passed in Pakistan, date I can't confirm. I meant by that Pakistani bill not Indian. India's name is not mentioned in my comment. Thanks for pointing it out.
@Khan101: lol....i dont wanna say anything ..just one world....LOL
@gp65: Nailed it! :)
@AnisAqeel: The same bill was passed in Jan. 21, 2010 , by Pakistani Senate (Babar Awan), India lags behind Pakistan in every factor, but still a inferiority complex
@Asad: "“Sethi said studies suggest one out of five Indian female workers aged under 35 have suffered physical assault by a colleague or manager at work Looking for Indian comments here who criticized on every news on ET"
Sure. Different countries respond to violence against women in different ways. In India it is felt that the women deserve to be protected by state's laws. Earlier women used to suffer violence due to dowry. Now the violence associated with dowry has virtually stopped after thousands of husnads and in-laws have been jailed sending a clear message that an assault on women in their marital homes will not be tolerated. This law will ensure that assault or abuse in workplaces will also not be tolerated.
The alternative approach is to penalize the victim by keeping them in purdah and inside the homes rather than penalizing the male aggressor. After all if there was no male aggression towards women, there would be no need for the purdah to keep them safe would it? So keep your hudood laws which require testimony of 4 Muslim men before a rape case can be registered and we will keep our sexual harassment bill.
It is not just sufficient that there is rule of law in a country. The nature of laws in the country is also relevant to judge what type of society is desired and envisioned by its citizens.
"Sethi said studies suggest one out of five Indian female workers aged under 35 have suffered physical assault by a colleague or manager at work Looking for Indian comments here who criticized on every news on ET
All ends up with tolerance and if Pakistan has these laws implemented, a huge numbers of female's services can be utilized. Fear of harassment and false pride from among the males have been causing a big loss of qualified female workers force.