With The Government having failed to check cases of Sexual Harassment in Public Offices, ensuring The Impact of a new law Addressing The Menace of Sexual Harassment will be a Tough Challenge.
While the government often tends to largely attribute the rise in cases of harassment of women at workplaces to the private sector, a closer look unveils a number of similar cases in ministries, departments and public sector undertakings. What is worrisome is that cases involve officials at the absolute helm of affairs which is often seen as the true portrayal of the misuse and abuse of power within the ambit of maximum government control.
Recent studies reveal that sexual harassment is still prevalent, hidden or disguised, and exists in all kinds of offices, – be it the government sector or private. A look at some of the major cases within the Government’s spectrum where the existing guidelines have been found to have been flouted with utter disregard reveals the government’s failure in controlling the menace. Rupen Deol Bajaj, a senior IAS official, was slapped on her posterior by K. P. S.Gill, former Chief of Police, Punjab, at a dinner party in July, 1988. Bajaj filed a suit against him, despite the public opinion that she was blowing it out of proportion, along with the attempts by all the senior officials of the state to suppress the matter. Almost 10 years later, her efforts were rewarded when the Supreme Court fined Gill Rs.250,000 in lieu of three months of rigorous imprisonment handed to him under Sections 294 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The most notable feature of the subsequent trial was the complete unwillingness of witnesses on either side to provide reliable or accurate testimony. Most of the guests at the party were senior bureaucrats and officials.
In 2004, in a first ever incident of its kind, the Government found C. Venkataramana, Chairman and Managing Director of the state-run National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO), guilty of sexual harassment and terminated his services. The case had hit headlines in February 2003, when a senior NALCO executive complained that Venkataramana had tried to sexually harass her. The incident took place in Mumbai when the woman met Venkataramana for her promotion, which had been pending for several years. The CMD is said to have invited the woman to a hotel, where he offered her drinks and later tried to molest her. The woman, however, somehow managed to escape. Following the furore over the incident, NALCO hurriedly conducted an internal probe – and predictably gave a clean chit to Venkataramana. However, the government took serious note of the development and constituted a committee, as prescribed by the Supreme Court in cases of sexual harassment, and the culprit was brought to book.
Another case is that of N Radhabai vs. D. Ramchandran. When Radhabai, Secretary to former minister D. Ramchandran, protested against the minister’s abuse of girls in welfare institutions, Ramachandran allegedly attempted to molest her and later dismissed her from service. Radhabai approached the SC, which in 1995, passed the judgment in her favour, and also ordered the department to pay her salary arrears and perks from the date of dismissal.
In August 2008, a RAW official tried to kill herself outside the Prime Minister’s Office after complaining of unnecessary delays in case of sexual harassment she had filed against her seniors. Nisha Priya Bhatia had accused her seniors of molesting her while she was on duty. The case is still pending. After having diligently served for 15 years as an official in the personnel department of a rural bank in Madhya Pradesh, Seema Sharma suddenly found herself flooded with memos and subsequent transfer orders after she resisted sexual advances from her new boss.
While incidents involving the high-ups in power does highlight the fact that it is prevalent but rarely out in the open, not much has changed for women at the workplace, says Delhi-based advocate Dheeraj Malhotra. “Women are forced to approach social organisations and courts as they fail to get justice in their own offices. This, despite the fact that the Apex court has underlined that sexual harassment at the workplace is not only personal injury to the victim, but also a violation of fundamental rights,” he adds.
It is true that the silence of the victims gives strength to the greatest human rights violators in India, and reporting such incidents are important to bring about the change required. But then, it is also pertinent to note that many cases go unreported as they also threaten to ruin the womens’ dignity. “The society itself would ensure that she cannot live a peaceful and dignified life. Here the fear of the society plays the greatest player who rips off the victim’s right,” says Pune-based human rights activist Alka Joshi, calling for drastic changes in societal beliefs. “When one such victim in Maharashtra decided to pursue her complaint, many of her senior colleagues told her that her experience was nothing extraordinary, and that pushing it would not harm the men but only give her a bad name. Unfortunately, even senior women officers advised her to give up, and she eventually did,” she observes, adding, “Even when complaints do come up, the attitude of authorities have been found to be crude, dismissive and insensitive in many cases”.
The most recent example is the case of Komal Singh, an air-hostess with Air India, who suffered a major setback in a sexual molestation case after the National Commission for Women chose to tread a safe path by coming out with a report that confirmed “assault”, but did not take a stand on whether the employee had been sexually molested by the pilots in the cockpit of a Sharjah-Lucknow-Delhi flight on October 3, 2009 or not. In an affidavit filed later by Komal, she went on to state that she was being pressurised by certain members of the NCW to withdraw her complaint, and that even her version of events was being ‘doctored’. The NCW finally stated that the air hostess had not been molested, but only pushed during a mid-air scuffle.
Sexual harassment has for long been recognised as the most intimidating form of violence in many developed countries where they have not only taken note of how degrading the experiences of sexual harassment can be for women as well as employers, they have also adapted legislative measures to combat sexual harassment. The point is that combating the issue of sexual harassment involves developing an understanding and requires a change of attitude in all employees, colleagues, friends, administrators, employers and the law makers. Even if it was recognised late in India, it cannot be an excuse to allow it to flourish to an extent that it becomes unnoticeable. As the world celebrates the liberalisation of women, in India, the real challenge for the Act will be to effectively address deeper issues which generally never come to fore.
Recent studies reveal that sexual harassment is still prevalent, hidden or disguised, and exists in all kinds of offices, – be it the government sector or private. A look at some of the major cases within the Government’s spectrum where the existing guidelines have been found to have been flouted with utter disregard reveals the government’s failure in controlling the menace. Rupen Deol Bajaj, a senior IAS official, was slapped on her posterior by K. P. S.Gill, former Chief of Police, Punjab, at a dinner party in July, 1988. Bajaj filed a suit against him, despite the public opinion that she was blowing it out of proportion, along with the attempts by all the senior officials of the state to suppress the matter. Almost 10 years later, her efforts were rewarded when the Supreme Court fined Gill Rs.250,000 in lieu of three months of rigorous imprisonment handed to him under Sections 294 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The most notable feature of the subsequent trial was the complete unwillingness of witnesses on either side to provide reliable or accurate testimony. Most of the guests at the party were senior bureaucrats and officials.
In 2004, in a first ever incident of its kind, the Government found C. Venkataramana, Chairman and Managing Director of the state-run National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO), guilty of sexual harassment and terminated his services. The case had hit headlines in February 2003, when a senior NALCO executive complained that Venkataramana had tried to sexually harass her. The incident took place in Mumbai when the woman met Venkataramana for her promotion, which had been pending for several years. The CMD is said to have invited the woman to a hotel, where he offered her drinks and later tried to molest her. The woman, however, somehow managed to escape. Following the furore over the incident, NALCO hurriedly conducted an internal probe – and predictably gave a clean chit to Venkataramana. However, the government took serious note of the development and constituted a committee, as prescribed by the Supreme Court in cases of sexual harassment, and the culprit was brought to book.
Another case is that of N Radhabai vs. D. Ramchandran. When Radhabai, Secretary to former minister D. Ramchandran, protested against the minister’s abuse of girls in welfare institutions, Ramachandran allegedly attempted to molest her and later dismissed her from service. Radhabai approached the SC, which in 1995, passed the judgment in her favour, and also ordered the department to pay her salary arrears and perks from the date of dismissal.
In August 2008, a RAW official tried to kill herself outside the Prime Minister’s Office after complaining of unnecessary delays in case of sexual harassment she had filed against her seniors. Nisha Priya Bhatia had accused her seniors of molesting her while she was on duty. The case is still pending. After having diligently served for 15 years as an official in the personnel department of a rural bank in Madhya Pradesh, Seema Sharma suddenly found herself flooded with memos and subsequent transfer orders after she resisted sexual advances from her new boss.
While incidents involving the high-ups in power does highlight the fact that it is prevalent but rarely out in the open, not much has changed for women at the workplace, says Delhi-based advocate Dheeraj Malhotra. “Women are forced to approach social organisations and courts as they fail to get justice in their own offices. This, despite the fact that the Apex court has underlined that sexual harassment at the workplace is not only personal injury to the victim, but also a violation of fundamental rights,” he adds.
It is true that the silence of the victims gives strength to the greatest human rights violators in India, and reporting such incidents are important to bring about the change required. But then, it is also pertinent to note that many cases go unreported as they also threaten to ruin the womens’ dignity. “The society itself would ensure that she cannot live a peaceful and dignified life. Here the fear of the society plays the greatest player who rips off the victim’s right,” says Pune-based human rights activist Alka Joshi, calling for drastic changes in societal beliefs. “When one such victim in Maharashtra decided to pursue her complaint, many of her senior colleagues told her that her experience was nothing extraordinary, and that pushing it would not harm the men but only give her a bad name. Unfortunately, even senior women officers advised her to give up, and she eventually did,” she observes, adding, “Even when complaints do come up, the attitude of authorities have been found to be crude, dismissive and insensitive in many cases”.
The most recent example is the case of Komal Singh, an air-hostess with Air India, who suffered a major setback in a sexual molestation case after the National Commission for Women chose to tread a safe path by coming out with a report that confirmed “assault”, but did not take a stand on whether the employee had been sexually molested by the pilots in the cockpit of a Sharjah-Lucknow-Delhi flight on October 3, 2009 or not. In an affidavit filed later by Komal, she went on to state that she was being pressurised by certain members of the NCW to withdraw her complaint, and that even her version of events was being ‘doctored’. The NCW finally stated that the air hostess had not been molested, but only pushed during a mid-air scuffle.
Sexual harassment has for long been recognised as the most intimidating form of violence in many developed countries where they have not only taken note of how degrading the experiences of sexual harassment can be for women as well as employers, they have also adapted legislative measures to combat sexual harassment. The point is that combating the issue of sexual harassment involves developing an understanding and requires a change of attitude in all employees, colleagues, friends, administrators, employers and the law makers. Even if it was recognised late in India, it cannot be an excuse to allow it to flourish to an extent that it becomes unnoticeable. As the world celebrates the liberalisation of women, in India, the real challenge for the Act will be to effectively address deeper issues which generally never come to fore.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
