This is not only regressive but absolutely ridiculous as well. The Karnataka Government in an absurd move has decided to shift the burden of law and order in the state to the women. The government seems to think that crimes against women have gone up in the state as a result of more and more women working late nights in different sectors and industries. And the solution, the government believes, is in not allowing women to work late nights. Result: A government order banning women from working in night shifts. Essentially, women employees have to now either convince their employers to let them work during the morning hours or quit jobs and stay at home! And all because the government cannot ensure what should have been their fundamental duty - safety and security of all citizens in the state by maintaining law and order. Labour Minister Iqbal Ansari goes on record saying: "I am sure the legislation will come to the aid of lakhs of helpless working women and will be treated as a measure to protect them". That is right, Sir - you cannot provide safe working conditions for women in the state. So just lock them up in the four walls of the house!!!
When I first read this news I just couldn't believe it. I found it incredulous that in this day and age when women are making strides in every field and carving a niche for themselves, someone would even think up of something like this. The move is likely to put thousands and thousands of women, some of them sole breadwinners of the family, out of employment. Did the government even think about the same? The ban is not only discriminative but against the Indian Constitution as well. Firstly, Article 14 of the Constitution which states that all citizens are equal in the name of the law, while Article 15 of the Constitution prohibits "discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth". The Karnataka government's legislature is clearly invidious to women. Why don't we just ban everybody from working after 8 pm? It isn't as though men are never victims of any crime against them? So as per the government's logic banning everybody from working after 8 pm should immediately solve the entire law and order problem and make the state utopia on earth, isn't it?
Article 16 of the Constitution clearly states, "No citizen shall, on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of any employment". Somebody should clearly ask the Labour Minister and the government of Karnataka to re-read the Constitution. And if they have a problem comprehending it, I am sure there are many soon-to-be-unemployed women out there who can lend a helping hand. "No citizen shall, on grounds of ..... sex...., be .... discriminated against in respect of any employment..." - does the government even understand what this exactly means?
And finally, Article 19 of the Constitution which clearly spells out that "All citizens have the right to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business". Clearly, the Karnataka government does not consider the women in the state to be "citizens" of the country. Its reading of this clause in Article 19 is without doubt this - it is the men in the country who can chose to practice any profession or any occupation. What women will do or when they should work we will control.
What is even more absurd is the exclusion of certain segments from this ban. From what I can remember a majority of crimes - of rape and murder - committed in the last few months have been against those women employed in IT and ITES industries, which have been ironically excluded from the ban. The government seems to either view these sectors to be absolutely safe for women or considers that the women employees in these sectors do not deserve any protection.
In recent times we have seen this happen a lot - women are teased, molested and raped by men, and they are told the blame still squarely rests with them. "Look at the dress she was wearing. She was clearly asking for it", has been an oft-heard remark. Don't you see, men are perfect, incapable of any wrong. It is always the women who is to blame. Men don't slip; it is the women who push them over the edge by wearing "revealing" clothes and "inviting" everything that happens to them. So, what should one do? Stop women from donning clothes she desires to wear. Just like the Karnataka government believes that it is the women's fault that more and more crimes are being committed against them. Aren't they the ones out there, working in the nights? So, lets just restrict their mobility and freedom; this is sure to ensure that they are much safer.
If the problem is law and order would you take action against the wrongdoers or the victims? Would you let the culprits go scotfree while those victimized are locked up in a virtual prison? What makes one assume that in days of yore when women were not as widely employed there were absolutely no crimes against women? Isn't providing safety for all citizens, and not the men alone, the duty of any government? Isn't it the government's responsibility to ensure that all its citizens, including women, are given equal opportunities, rights and freedom without being discriminated against?
If protecting women against all crimes is the prime motivation of such a legislature, I have an even simpler answer to the problem: Assuming men are the perpetrators of these crimes against women, why don't we just ban men from working or even being seen outside the houses after 8 pm, and let women continue to be employed?
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13 comments:
I think some other article in the constitution will probably read something like "Nothing in Article 16 or Article 19 shall prevent the state from...."
Speaking beyond gender issues, all these kind of foolish ideas spring from the childish notion that everything can be solved by legislation!
[unmana] I like the idea - cover the men's eyes so women will never have to wear a burqa or whatever they wish! :)
[naren] I am not even sure if they are looking at solving the problem (which essentially is law and order) through this legislation. What they are looking at is shifting blame and shirking their own responsibility, which should be to ensure security and safety of all citizens of the state.
RIDICULOUS! Haha I almost laughed out loud when I read about this. It's like having a piece of glass in your foot, and amputating the whole leg instead of getting the piece of glass out. Ok maybe that simile doesn't make sense to anyone else :)
On a similar note...I was taking a popular culture class last year. And we were talking about how much of the world functions like this. For instance, our class sizes have been escalating like crazy. But instead of hiring new professors, they've started podcasting lectures so we can watch them online. I realize this is a SMALL issue, and DEFINITELY not discriminatory, but I'm just trying to show how similar things happen EVERYWHERE, in some degree or another.
PS: I love your blog. Count me in as a regular lurker :)
BTW, I DO have a comment on this --> "Men don't slip; it is the women who push them over the edge by wearing "revealing" clothes and "inviting" everything that happens to them. So, what should one do? Stop women from donning clothes she desires to wear?"
All too often, I have seen girlfriends of mine wearing clothes TO ATTRACT ATTENTION. I also have friends who like to dress that way, with NO regard to who's paying them attention...but I'm not talking about these girls. The first group of girls looks around to catch a guy's eye, smiles flirtatiously, and then complains about how he flirted with her. THAT is the point that irks me. In a perfect world, we would be able to wear a bikini top and walk in a ghetto at 3:00 AM (wait, in a perfect world, there would BE no ghetto). But this isn't a perfect world. So I think we women need to accept that there will always be men who will lust after us, and if that makes us uncomfortable, we should take appropriate measures (self-defense classes, wear an overcoat, whatever it takes). BUT, I'm definitely NOT justifying what those few seedy men do. That's still BLERGH.
[sangsta] Firstly, thank you very much. :) Yes, I laughed out loud too when I first read this news. Then I kept telling myself, "This can't be true..." - so incredulous I found it.
Yes, I agree with you - these kind of things seem to be happening everywhere. Peripheral solutions to problems is what we are looking at; and worse still, the focal point to solve problems seem to be all wrong.
I am totally with you on your second point. I do know that there are women out there who dress provocatively just so they could attract attention, women out there who use their (stereotyped) feminine nature to their advantage. And just like you when they come out and complain about men flirting with them or talk about staunch, radical feminism it gets to me as well. But my statement wasn't about such women. It is about women who dress the way they like (say, a skirt and a top that shows the cleavage) because they desire to do so; and about men who abuse them and say she was dressed invitingly! That totally gets to me.
But you are right - it isn't a perfect world out there, and women have to take measures to protect themselves. A few of my colleagues who are just out of college, experiencing total freedom (including financial freedom) for the first time do tend to go overboard - partying late, driving back (or sometimes even walking alone) really late in the night all by themselves. And I do tell them that there are times when one should be circumspect. Gandhi may have wanted to build a India where women can walk the streets alone at 12 in the night, but we are not there yet. And it helps to know the same.
Hi Emma.
Nice, informative post :-).
Well, it's exactly this kind of lazy mentality that drives the pro-reservation mentality: always go for the easier solution without dealing the real issue.
It is shocking that instead of controlling the criminals, the Karnataka government wants its women to stay indoors. This is a dangerous trend because in future if looting and mugging increases, it will even ask the men to stay inside. There will soon come a time when only the goons will roam around (or the politicians).
I wonder with what perverse mentality they can frame such laws and they don't even feel ashamed of themselves.
Amrit
Writing Cave
Hi Amrit,
Thank you very much.
You are right - this is indeed a dangerous trend. This is crazy - as you say go for an easier "solution". And since the people in question happen to be women it seems so much easy to just say make them sit at home. When it is men in question, I am sure the solution doesn't seem so easy anymore!
its weird how such legislations actually get passed...i mean are all those who sit in the swanky parliaments actually that stupid and archaic ..oh wait... i forgot they throw chairs and microphones at each other to solve debates.
i just hope this gets thrashed in the court.
a government in its senses will never pass such an order of a general nature. it will not stand the scrutiny of law. don't blame the politicians alone, it is the bureaucracy far removed from the people who advise them to pass such foolish orders.
[navneet, shaji k] Thankfully, the Karnataka governor has thrown it out despite Ansari's claims that "women working late is against Indian culture". I truly would like to read more about this "Indian culture" our politicians keep harping about. It seems as though they are the only ones who have the knowledge of it.
Some parts of this article are strikingly similar to this post!
[naren] Thanks Naren... Yes, a few sentences in that article seem strikingly similar, though I wouldn't be able to clearly state that those were plagiarised. Besides, what can one do?
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