Women’s safety at workplace ignored for too long
INDIA reports 86 cases of sexual assault on women every day, according to government data. The actual figure could be much higher. And no one would dispute that sexual assault is an everyday occurrence in the country. The Kolkata rape-murder has triggered nationwide protests. PM Narendra Modi has appealed to the head of Bangladesh’s interim government to ensure the safety of minorities there, but he is yet to make a direct comment on the Kolkata horror, despite doctors staying away from work and threatening to suspend emergency services and 71 Padma awardee doctors writing to him to seek his intervention. In his Independence Day speech, he had stressed the need to end atrocities against women in general.
Women make up around 30 per cent of the doctors and 80 per cent of the nursing staff in India. Though the Indian Medical Association has called for hospitals to be declared safe zones with security measures akin to those at airports and courts, such steps may not be enough. After all, women are abused everywhere, from sports coaching centres to public transport and even in their own homes and at police stations.
‘Reclaim the Night’ had a spontaneous and emotive appeal. Kolkata had not experienced a telling moment like this in a long time. But going by the NCRB data, 85 other cases may have happened that day, August 9. The last few days alone have witnessed a series of crimes against women across the country. A nurse was allegedly raped and killed while returning home from work in Uttarakhand; her body was recovered last week. A teenage girl was allegedly gangraped and murdered in Bihar. Her mutilated body was found near a pond at a village in Muzaffarpur district. A 16-year-old girl was reportedly gangraped inside a bus in Dehradun. And a female doctor was assaulted at Mumbai’s Sion Hospital by an inebriated patient and his relatives.
We as a nation express selective rage and then quickly move on. We light candles on certain anniversaries and forget the rest. It is true that we cannot rise in protest 86 times a day. But certain tragic incidents become the tipping point. And the people in power, who are undeniably responsible for such crimes, have perfected the art of deflection. Ironically, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who holds the Home and Health portfolios, has called for swift justice in the Kolkata case.
West Bengal has long perpetuated a culture of political mafia to terrorise the public. On the night of August 14, a mob stormed the hospital in Kolkata where the murder was committed, vandalising property and assaulting doctors and staff members. Many of the vandals arrested are said to be members and volunteers of the ruling party in the state.
Besides, we have seen men convicted of gangraping a pregnant woman, Bilkis Bano, and murdering her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots walk out of jail on remission granted by the Gujarat Government and be greeted with garlands. The Supreme Court had to step in and restore the life sentences for them.
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat recently received a rousing welcome upon her return from Paris not only because of her performance on the mat (though she could not secure an Olympic medal) but also because of the larger battle waged by her and other ace wrestlers against sexual harassment by former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and six-time BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In an expected development, despite international scrutiny, Brij Bhushan’s proxy had won the WFI elections last year. And he continues to call the shots.
Safety at the workplace or a public place is not something that India has ever taken seriously. Every safety mechanism here is broken. Some studies indicate that a mere 20 per cent of India’s 46.5 crore-strong workforce is covered under the health and safety network. A study conducted by the British Safety Council says that 80 per cent of India’s workforce is exposed to an unsafe work environment. According to a study by the International Labour Organisation, only 21 per cent of the factories in India have separate toilets for men and women. Facilities for menstrual hygiene are woefully inadequate. And the lack of arrangements for proper sanitation prevents women from fully participating in the workforce. While the employability of women stands at 51 per cent, their workforce participation is just 36 per cent.
India ranked 129th out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report 2024. The country has been placed at the 142nd position in terms of economic participation and opportunities for women.
Employers are usually indifferent to the living conditions of employees. And there are no policies in government or corporate sectors that measure employee satisfaction on their work and living conditions.
Rape has been an established weapon of patriarchal state violence in conflict zones in India and other countries. It has been 20 years since the gangrape and murder of Thangjam Manorama in Manipur by soldiers of the Assam Rifles. The incident had triggered mass protests. Twelve women had disrobed in front of the Assam Rifles headquarters in Imphal, forcing then PM Manmohan Singh to rush to the state and call for humane laws to replace the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which grants sweeping immunity to security forces. But not one person has been convicted so far. And the AFSPA remains in force. Three Kuki women were allegedly paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a Meitei mob last year. The matter is still being investigated. The survivors had sought police help, but they were left to face the mob.
In Mahasweta Devi’s Draupadi, the protagonist refuses to put on her clothes after she is taken into custody and then raped by soldiers. “What’s the use of clothes? You can strip me, but how can you clothe me again? Are you a man?” she says. From Hathras to Kolkata, the autonomy and independent agency of women are being stripped at every stage.
