What it takes to implement a law on sexual harassment at workplace in India BY ANAGHA SARPOTDAR

The Vishakha guidelines (1997) affirmed that sexual harassment of women was common and resulted in violation of their fundamental rights to life and liberty guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. The Apex court specified that the guidelines would be binding and enforceable on all employers until the Indian Parliament enacted suitable legislation to replace them.  Looking at the dismal and faulty implementation of the Vishakha guidelines, fourteen years later a Joint Parliamentary Committee (2011) recommended a special law safeguarding rights of women at workplace. The Committee concluded that given the patriarchal nature of Indian society, the number of women needing redress from sexual harassment at workplaces was high.

LSR College English faculty backs their student

NB: Congratulations on your brave protest, Gurmehar, we are all with you. My late father too was an Army officer, who taught me to stand up for truth and justice. I am sure the spirit of your dear father is proud of you. Well done. Dilip

Rituparna Chatterjee: What The Trolling Of Gurmehar Kaur Says About How Indian Men View Women With Opinion

We, the faculty members of the English Department, Lady Shri Ram College unequivocally and strongly support our student Gurmehar Kaur and her right to express her opinion on issues that embroil our university. It is immensely gratifying to us as her teachers that she has responded sensitively, creatively and bravely to events in her immediate context rather than seek the safe refuge of silence. We feel that it is the bounden duty of educational institutions to nurture sensitive, responsive and critical thinking students without the fear of violent retaliation. We are proud that Gurmehar has fulfilled her duty as a young citizen of this country.

Gender justice, in fact by Flavia Agnes

While examining the discrimination within Hindu law, the continuation of the Hindu undivided family property is perceived as its main lacuna. (Illustration by C R Sasikumar)

The affidavit filed by the government of India before the Supreme Court and the questionnaire released by the law commission on the uniform civil code have rightly given rise to apprehensions among the Muslim community. These apprehensions could have been avoided since the concern towards gender justice is directed towards the Muslim community and projects Hindu law as egalitarian, uniform and gender-just. The media seems to echo this position and most talk shows are also framed within this faulty framework. But nothing can be farther from the truth. It is time to examine Hindu laws, customs and social ethos for their gender-unjust practices.

The Myth of Nagaland’s Empowered Woman by SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY

“My husband fed me with the meat of bigger animals when I gave birth to boys, but when I delivered a girl, I was treated to a smaller-sized animal for namesake.”

“My husband was the only son in his family. So when I gave birth to only a girl, he was so upset and that is when I felt the pressure (to give birth to a boy).”

Common narratives about the reproductive rights of Indian women may lead you to believe that these are the voices of married women from anywhere in the country except the Northeast. In Northeast India, popular myth says that gender discrimination is largely absent – both in the private and public spaces.

However, the experiences of these two women (who did not wish to be named) from Thsingar village of Nagaland’s Kiphire district exposes that prevalent myth. It reflects the gender dynamics that play out in their tribal societies, especially among the Nagas.