Allowing leave to woman complaining of sexual harassment stirs hornet’s nest

NDA government’s take on three-month leave by women employees who have complained of sexual harassment during the pendency of inquiry has a stirred hornet’s nest. 

Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed Lok Sabha on Wednesday that woman employees who have complained of sexual harassment can get three months leave during the pendency of inquiry.

“Such leave may be granted by the employer if a written request from the aggrieved employee duly recommended by the local committee or the internal committee, as the case may be, is received,” the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions said.

Women MPs to activists are up in arms against this move saying that this would make the aggrieved woman suffer more.

“This isn’t a solution. It is the duty of the company to make the woman employee feel safe. Why should she sit at home, while her case is pending?” questioned Congress MP from Silchar Sushmita Dev.

Woman activist Ranjana Kumari added, “This is in a way penalising the aggrieved person. Instead of sending her on leave, accused should be asked by the company to go on leave till the enquiry is pending.”  

However, it was ally Shiv Sena who lent support to the government’s take on leave being granted to women employees till their sexual harassment complaints were pending.

 Sena MP Bhavana Gawali Patil said, “There is no harm if the woman employee goes on three-month leave, just to get relief from the situation that she is facing. The only thing that needs to be stressed upon is that she should have willingly availed the three-month leave and not forced to do so by the employers.”

This wasn’t all. Replying to a question on the number of sexual harassment complaints registered so far, Singh stated that the government does not maintain any centralised data on the number of sexual harassment complaints. 

This statement by the union minister also drew sharp criticism. “This shows how insensitive we are to  sexual harassment being faced by women at the workplace. The government should have maintained some data,” said Shobha Oza, President, Mahila Congress.