Editorial

Dear Friends,

Just recently Daijidubai.com highlighted the sad and unfortunate plight of Prameela Vas who landed in a state of misery due to her innocence and ignorance, and were miraculously saved by Dayan D'Souza and Frankie D'souza .  To add a step further,  there has also been a very lively and interesting discussion going in the 'Face to Face" column of this very site - on the sexual harassment of women.

What is Sexual harassment ??
The guidelines of the Supreme Court of India define sexual harassment as any unwelcome :
- Physical contact and advances
- Demand or request for sexual favours
- Sexually coloured remarks
- Display of pornography
- Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct or a sexual nature.

The country (India) has approximately 50 crore women but ironically there are no  statutory laws on sexual harassment. Legal experts say that the guidelines prescribed by the law is not effective in handling the sexual harassment against women.

According to Milind Desai, a famous Lawyer working at the India Centre for Human Rights and Law, a Mumbai based NGO, there is a general apathy towards such cases.  Even now several people do not look upon sexual harassment as a crime, but as a non-cognisable offence. Thus even the police even hesitate to take any action in such matters. The Supreme Court's guidelines state that every workplace should have a complaint's committee headed by a woman, to per cent women members and the involvement of a NGO and this has been implemented only in a few public sector offices in India.

There is a great need for a comprehensive legislation which should provide for special tribunals preferably manned by women to try cases of sexual harassment and for the imposition of stringent penalties.

There have been cases where women have brought to light the harassment and have faced the consequences. Former Vice President of McCannErickson Clarinda D'Souza filed a Rs 1.6 crore sexual harassment suit against CEO Sohrad Mistry in 2000 in the Bombay High Court on the grounds that she was 'verbally" abused when her personal relations soured.
The order stayed her transfer, she was ridiculed and isolated from the office staff and even her salary was withheld for five months.

We hope that sooner or later, that wisdom dawns in the minds of men - to treat and respect women as human beings and be treated just the way they would like others to treat them. Maybe it is a long way to go - but a journey of a 1000 miles begins with the few steps and let us all unite together to join in this journey to gain justice.

"Behind every successful man there is a successful woman"
and  very true to this famous proverb - we have a dynamic and enterprising  personality the epitome of determination and success. 

She is Dr. Prof.  (Dr) Blanche Barnes- M.A., D.M.S.P., Ph.D. F.