The law enacted to protect the dignity of women at workplace should not just be on paper
Shikha Chhibbar | Clarion India
THE women’s right to work with dignity is supreme. When working women who face sexual harassment at workplace raise their voice it should be taken very seriously. Such offenses should not be dismissed simply on technical grounds.
Last month in a high profile case, former central minister MJ Akbar’s criminal defamation complaint filed against journalist Priya Ramani was dismissed by Delhi’s metropolitan court. Under #MeToo movement after many years Priya Ramani had raised voice against sexual harassment by then Editor MJ Akbar. Following this he had to resign from the position of central minister in 2018.
He had filed a case against Priya Ramani on 15 October 2018 that without any basis making sexual harassment allegation in public has resulted in destruction of his public image, which is why she shall be punished. On 17 February 2021, court dismissed Akbar’s defamation petition saying this is shameful and women’s voice about such serious offences can’t be suppressed. They can raise their voices even after several years.
On 16 February 2021, in another case where a senior judge of Madhya Pradesh had sent flirting messages to a junior female judge, Supreme Court accepted this act as a serious offence. Even when the junior judge had withdrew her complaint; still Supreme Court brought this under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace [Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal] Act 2013 (SHWW Act) and regarded it as an unacceptable act which is basis for initiating disciplinary proceedings. When such tough judicial decisions are passed by courts, women get strength to speak against sexual harassment at workplace which may lead to women empowerment in the long run.
SHWW Act of 2013 for protection of working women will not be useful if they get victimised when they make a complaint against sexual harassment at workplace. Women may get afraid to file such complaints due to social reasons. They may not get support to raise their voice because of technical grounds or perpetrators may file false cases against the complainant in the name of defending themselves. Nevertheless when a former Union minister and a judge are not spared by the courts then this is a good message for society that a woman’s right to dignity is supreme.
But the law enacted to protect the dignity of women at the workplace should not just be on paper. It is unfortunate that there is no information about implementation of the SHWW Act in the public domain. Basic information like whether all public or private sector organisations have an Internal Complaints Committee in place or do provisions of the SHWW Act are complied with in all organisations are not available on the official website of any of the central government ministries.
I had made a Right to Information (RTI) request to ascertain the total number of cases filed and disposed of in respect of data on all cases of sexual harassment at workplace maintained by the central government of India under section 23 of the SHWW Act; a copy of any survey or report to access whether all workplaces in India have set up an Internal Complaints Committee under the SHWW Act; and the total number of cases where penalty was imposed on the employer for non-compliance with the provisions of the SHWW Act.
This RTI application was submitted to the Ministry of Women & Child Development on 12th February 2021 and the ministry has responded with a reply dated 26 February 2021 that the information may be treated as ‘NIL’. However, the reply also mentioned that some information may be available with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs and therefore the RTI application was transferred to it. But NCRB has not provided any information yet, so the implication is that the information sought is not available with it as well.
Under section 23 of the SHWW Act, ‘Appropriate Government’ is mandated to monitor its implementation and maintain data like the total number of cases filed and disposed of in respect of all cases of sexual harassment at workplace. This indicates that the Ministry of Women & Child Development shall maintain the data which has to be compiled by the Central government and proactively disclose it on their official website. All records relating to the issue of compliance with the SHWW Act fall squarely within the jurisdiction of the public authority of the Ministry of Women & Child Development.
Such a state of affairs that this Ministry has no information relating to my RTI application is inconceivable that a Central ministry which has to play a pivotal role in relation to the subject matter of women empowerment will have no information whatsoever with them. It seems that no effort has been made by this Ministry to compile and provide information in relation to implementation of the provisions of the SHWW Act.
Further, when a woman faces sexual harassment at workplace, she has undergone unfathomable suffering and there shall be an Internal Complaints Committee in the organisation where she can file a complaint. The employer shall be held blameworthy for not constituting this Committee in their organisation. Where the employer fails to comply with the provisions of the SHWW Act, they must suffer penalty and punishment according to section 26 of this Act. The above mechanism formulated should infuse seriousness in the performance of employer duties, and shall ensure that implementation of the Act is purposeful and decisive. Moreover, all records of compliance with the provisions of the SHWW Act shall be maintained by the appropriate government.
The intentions of the SHWW Act make it abundantly clear that the right to dignity at the workplace is a basic human right and the apparatus that is required as per the provisions of this Act is to ensure accountability for every violation of this right to justice. An effective mechanism should be established to prevent possible violations of right to dignity of a woman at workplace and provide justice to the victim in relation to sexual harassment. The information sought in my RTI application was related to matters of equality at work and possible violations of human rights of women.
This imperative of seeking accountability through transparency is the expressed intention of the RTI Act as explained in its preamble. The response provided to my RTI application is clearly indicating a shameful situation where there is no monitoring of the implementation of the SHWW Act by the Ministry of Women & Child Development. It is now essential for the government to demonstrate that the SHWW Act is implemented effectively to ensure a safe working environment for the women in our country.
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