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 two remarkable epics, viz., the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These epics revolve around wars fought to restore 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 home during her pregnancy. A washerman spread gossip that led to her exile. 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 for 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, in which millions lost their lives. In both epics, monumental wars were fought to restore women’s dignity 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 strangled, 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 granted a few days’ leave to urgently have her father’s pacemaker installed. She is her parents’ only daughter, looks after her 90-year-old father, and is a single mother. She had to approach higher authorities in Delhi to obtain her leave. Another friend, a judicial officer, lamented that she had worked in various districts in Assam and was 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 exceptional 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 at one medical college in the state, and her husband is posted at 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 routinely flouted.

Workplaces often lack basic amenities for ladies. A few years back, I was deputed to the Ambubachi Mela. I saw the lady constable standing awkwardly near me. It was obvious she was not feeling well. I asked her what the problem was. She said she was having her menstrual 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 makeshift toilets for lakhs of visitors, so they were usually in horrible condition. Was feeling miserable to
realise the conditions we had to work in.

She is an officer, and despite being the most senior in her category at her current posting, she has not been 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 to a major directorate.

Transfer Instead of Leave

I went to this restaurant on a Sunday and met a 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 the 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 got 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 workforce is very low, at 37% in 2023, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the Labour Bureau. Even women in respectable ranks and positions endure humiliation, mental harassment and discrimination. Is our country ready to accept women in the workplace? The blame game serves no purpose; every stakeholder must introspect and genuinely commit to 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. Dirty, poorly lit restrooms in offices are 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 against women is so rampant that they are not even safe inside their mother’s womb. According to NCRB data, female foeticide in India results in an estimated loss of 500,000 girls. Those who win this war must then face the rest of the trauma. High crime statistics make India the most dangerous country in the world for women. In 2022, authorities registered 445,256 cases of crime, which amounted to 51 FIRs per hour. India registered 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 posts to female officers by superseding male officers are very common and are never even considered mental harassment. To add to this misery, the country does not even have proper laws for mental harassment. Only sexual harassment is acknowledged, even though mental harassment can be equally traumatic and adversely affect a woman’s mental health, causing severe damage to the whole family. Way back in 1978, the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare issued guidelines to post husband and wife employees in the same place or, otherwise, in the nearest vicinity. Such guidelines are routinely ignored. Most services, except for some, fail to provide women officers and employees with safe accommodation.

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 to create an environment where they can 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 that all over the world, rape is a grossly underreported phenomenon due to a host of psychological, social, and legal issues. In India, every six minutes, a woman somewhere 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 dealt with 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 heads 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 per cent of the police force, which is far below the targeted 33 per cent.
• 8. Enact laws to prevent mental harassment.
• 9. Review the policy findings of other countries regarding the decriminalisation of 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 many more likely never report.

Please, for God’s sake, put out the candles. Instead, this time, let us fight a war to live with dignity and honour.

* Internet quotes from the NCRB’s published crime statistics.

Picture design: Anumita Roy

Hemashri Hazarika

Hemashri Hazarika is an Officer of the Assam Civil Service since 1997. Her research on Assam Civil Service brought reforms in 2015. A first-class Postgraduate in Economics from Gauhati University, she was awarded JRF/NET by UGC in 1997. Her experience as a bureaucrat has sensitised her to human sufferings. A solutionist by passion, she takes an active interest in issues related to Governance, Development, Women, Children, etc. Reading, Writing, Speaking and Painting are her hobbies.