WOMEN AND HEALTH « 4 WOMEN WORKERS AND INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES
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WOMEN AND HEALTH
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4
WOMEN WORKERS
AND
INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES - extracted text
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I
WOMEN AND HEALTH
«
4
WOMEN WORKERS
AND
INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES
C.H.A.I - C.M.A.I. - V.H.A.I. Dialogue
March 13-14, 1993. Hyderabad.
Complied by: Public Policy Division
Voluntary Health
ssociation of India
COMMUNITY HEALTH CELL
Main, I
WOMEN WORKERS AND INjj’ntu'i’xUNAL POLICIES
v.
=r> ovtra ordinary load on their shoulders.
[Women bear an extr
urt-h their work. House worn
retur'ns. may^ not^comm-surate r-W^their^^
water,
collecting the feul an
fod
,
never ^3;.
^X^^^pScla^on 17;;;- alone eco’ndo gains.
The ‘Tu^ are.'S'
women
in rural
t"“ous^jd
areas a
as
fields, which may/may
“ =ny “orkar yet
there is a disparity in her wages.
thanks
In semi-urban areas and urban areas, women today, to use
work as a means
to education, are seeing the need tomore
to be
creatively,
one's potential and intelligence
and
develop
one's
career i-economically independant, to enhance a
that the level of
for one
a fact
personality. It is a3^f°f known that
would
Ideally
wane,
would
ideally
want, yew
yet
—35 there
is'dignity
of
iob whatever it maybe as 1--- - ~
Xbour indicates a positive tr'end
tiend amongst women today.
* * womenv are not
It is therefore very disturbing to note that
and urban women have
treated properly X their
the"past
which have
the past
?«:otedrtUt?ehlr'’p”ich:
coppeHed the. to le«ve and reslgn.Thu.
harassment comprises
'r^ts9 at 1tO^Ofw.tyheiheySPhan^enStheT iob; increaments and
nfomotions ignored, leave from office not sanctioned, unhealthy
and unfair working hours, and sexual overtures of male coljegues
of violence in the
and employers which is the worst fundamental
.
right. The usage
workplace
It is a violation of a rur.damenta
of sex to depict one's fictitious superiority is a profound act
*
of cowardice.
Hany women put up with a lot of
or this as an .’J.'^w’long
But the question here
I
Some women
most do not and grow
iLrS .“ntrfpootl.1‘or
worn.°. !atm
’contemptat. auiclda.
or worse
-
be psed with grit and determination by women.
shall be employed
We look forward to the time when women
for the job, not for
wifch regard to their skill and competency
their value as sex objects.
Public Policy Divison,
V.H.A.I.
Public Policy DMrtoa
Voluntary Health Association of India
medico
182 friend circle
183 bulletin
May/June1992
nurses seek change and authors
by Anuradha Athavale * &, Mira Sadgopal
sending homeless girls and women on contract basis to city
hospitals. The women were given food, clothes and shelter
without wages, and were expected to learn entirely through
experience in hospital.
•'Onc-day night-duty by rotation” is a current demand of
Government nurses in Maharashtra. It means that a nurse
must not be forced to do more than one routine night-duty in
a row. At present some nurses are required to perform three
to seven consecutive nights of hospital duty, putting stress on
their family life and causing undue exhaustion. The demand
is several years old. According to a union decision of 25th
November 1991, Government nurses of Pune have been
implementing this practice among themselves. These nurses
are members of the local Pune District Government Nurses
Association affiliated through their Maharashtra state-level
organization with the All India Government Nurses
Federation (AIGNF).
Florence Nightngalc’s "Notes On Nursing", published in 1858,
influenced the development of the nursing profession in
India through the colonial heirarchy. From 1860onwards a
school was opened at J. J. Hospital in Bombay, where a
medical College was also founded within a few years.
Kashibai Ganpat became the first woman in Western India to
receive the Certificate for Genera! Nursing and Midwifery.
During pre-Independence days, nurses were recruited from
the ranks of orphaned, cast-off or otherwise destitute women.
Prominent nationalist leaders like Ranade, Agarkar and
Dcodhar urged that such abandoned women (parilyaklas) to
join this profession. The dominant public altitude of pity
combined with condescension about their service to society
and distaste for their poverty-stricken origins served to keep
the nursing profession in virtual bondage.
Hiking up practical affairs and making the best of adverse
conditions arc traits that nurses have developed since their
profession began during the nineteenth century. While
nursing has advanced since pre-Independence days,
demeaning public attitudes and assumption about nurses and
nursing remain stubbornly unchanged. These prejudices
pervade all levels of society and prove to be the greatest
obstacles to improving the nurses’ lot. The AIGNF and its
state-level member organizations work for changes in three
main areas : nursing education, working conditions, and life
in society as women.
The occupation of nursing was morally lifted by Mahatma
Gandhi who wrote about it as a "noble profession". Indeed,
he and his co-workers themselves personally nursed the sick
and established nursing school for young women at the
various well-known Ashrams.
The key intervention for change is nursing education. It had
humble beginings early in the last century. Charitable bodies
like Seva Sadan in Pune and Bombay adopted a policy of
Despite improvements like this and others in the field of
women’s education, the general situation of nursing did not
change much with independence. A few privileged ’’colleges"
of nursing in [daces like Delhi, Bombay and Vellore were
cstub’IJ'.ed, fit to admit daughters of the better-off, but this
trend has never threatened to become the rule for the
• Picsidcnt, Maharashtra Govt. Nurses Federation .
Member, Medico Friend Circle, Pune.
I.
1 ’
Editor’s Note:
(1977) affirmed the union-demand of six-hour duty and
10 + 2 + 3 educational pallcrm (see below), etc. Hpwever, t-hfc
printed report has been merely collecting dust in cupboards.
•
The nursing profesion has lot of woes that arise from
secondary status in the medical profession, tedious
duty schedules, harrasment. This issue carries this
article’ by Anuradha Athavale and Mira Sadgopal
stating the nurses’ perspective.
Meeting No. 157 of the International Labour ‘Organization
(ILO) focussed on nursing in 1977. Its main importance was
that it affirmed nurses* right to unionize and bargain
collectively. Otherwise, the Meeting’s outcome was vague.
In the eighties under the Late Rajiv Gandhi’s Government,
populist policies affecting women include^ provision of more
nurses for rural areas, without actual follow-up, however.
I would like to add a thing - ‘the peoples’pcrspective.
Our villages have been without doctors and the
situation is likely lo continue for good, given all the
developments, trends till date. One must rethink about
the role of ANMS in this very special situation that
exists in all lhe developing nations. Is it necesssary to
slick lo the western model of nursing profession that
devides dignities and drudgeries of doctors and nurses ?
I feel lhat the existing secondary status of nurses in lhe
medical world partly emanale from denying them any
curative(that is diagnosis and treating) role. Today, lhe
ANMS arc just distributors of condoms and pills plus
the vaccinations. This, I think must change to a role of
truely ‘comprehensive health services’. Such a change
should bring a seachange in lhe dignity of nursing
profession and a good quality medicare to the
doorstep of our villagers. It will also help to increase
the degrees of freedom of this very tightly regimented
community.
In the 1988, various stale-level Goverament Nurses’
Federations came togelher in New Delhi to form the AIGNE
The AIGNF’s third convention will be held this year (1992).
Nurses organizations generally try to avoid strikes, preferring
to wage ongoing low-key struggles wilh occasional marches
and demonstrations. Only in dire desperation do they resort
to strikes. In recent years, the issue of nurses’ personal
security has claimed as much attention as general working
and wage conditions. Security was the main issue in the sjrikc
by Nagpur’s nurses in 1988, and in the August 1991 strike of
Solapur’s nurses. The six-week-long ’’Weekend Strike’ (on
Saturdays and Sundays) by Delhi nurses in 1989 was about
service conditions.
The last fifteen to twenty years have seen a new profile of the
nurse emerging, different from the old "parilyakta" image.
Due to rise in prices, more and more middle class girls have
gone into this unique profession for women. The majority of
nurses now are (or will-be) married and have families and a
social life besides their job. Being a nurse has acquired some
‘status’ on the marriage market, as many prospective
husbands would now choose a bride who can earn.
In absence of such a change, nursing profession will
continue to suffer the extended domestic status of
housekeeping, a bit well paid, no matter what reforms
unions demand and govts can possibly accede to.
\__
_ ________________ :---------- - --------------- J
nursing rank and file.
However, despite this change . and despite the crucial
importance of nursing lo the functioning of hospitals and the
whole health carb system, nursing education is still in the
doldrums. There is a severe shortage of nurses in proportion
to population size and lo the number of doctors. It is
officially acknowledged that lhe doctor-lo-nurse ralio should
be 1:3 (one doctor to three nurses). Presently 12,(XX) doctors
graduate annually from Indian Medical Colleges, while only
9,000 nurses get cerlificd, thus creating an cumulative
shortage of 27,000 nurses per year. The usual practice in
‘nursing homes’ is to operate without trained nursesL
In the sixties, for the first lime nurses in Pune and Bombay
hagau to unionize. In Pune, the Government Nurses’
Association was organized in 1966. Anuradha Athavale,
Ushalai Chaudhari, Suman Barbhai and Charlotte Umapalhy
were active in founding this union, which celebrated its
twenty - fifth year in 1991.
I
4
Il was during lhe Third Five Year Plan (1962-67) that nursing
education first received some attention from the new
Government. In connection with the launching of the Family
Planning Programme, every district was lo get facilities lo
train nurses. Subsequently, however, nursing education
facilities did not develop in step with the needs of our people
in either quantity or quality. Stagnation prevails even today.
In ccrtajn better states like Delhi, Maharashtra, Pur jib &
Kerala the situation is belter than in others. One percent of
nurses are males, and for some reason most of them arc in
Rajasthan and Karnataka. 7 here they arc visible in the top
positions of the state-level Government Nurses’ Federations.
In 1976, responding to growing union pressure from several
stales o/er the previous decade, the Government appointed
lhe Mobile Committee lo look into the problems of nursing.
The recommendations in lhe Committee's detailed repent
Modern nursing education lias to be comprehensive. Nurses
2
. ,
must attend to the physical and psychological needs of
()a rents m hosp.taJs, adapt to the social qualities of fam lies
and commun,t,cs, and fulfil the medical requirements of !he
, ngp ^icians and technicians. Frequently they require
zs;sx2ex“rdiac nwsin* - -d- -^i
Only the few elite nursing colleges offer a comprehensive
yllabus wth modern audiovisual aids and library facilities
even f
,nUrs,ng scil°oIs around the cou^ry are not
them.
°f “,e medica' CO,,c8es t0^^g above
Doctors.should, cafe about and support education of nurses
b t actual fact they do not bother. Private medica! colleges’
flourish because doctors come from the affluent cfss
whereas nurses by and large still come from poor fam lies
who can t pay for their education. Society seems to accept
that the poor deserve only poor standard-education The
general public does not give the matter prio ky Ld
explo.tat.on of poorly educated nurses is the persisting^rm
Hence, the image of nursmg is tied up together with poor
education and exploitation. After declaration of S SC
beSa n'urs" b^^ta,antcdthat she will'
forC - w '
e°CS ln'° nUrsi"E’ k !s bccausc
gets
lore. ..j v; cunistances. Unless the nurses’image is elevated
......... .
* vkjun
*4
Abe SS
to thirteen grams percent is considered desirable
woman wh.le even this faits below western standards
Meanwhde, nurses are supposed to teach patients and pub2c
hea°ithv and1^
PUb‘iC
per month hardW°rk‘nE °n 3 h°S,c!
i0
ot Rs.13o/
Poignant problems of nursing studer
...
broken familicr. are unaddressel Such ynuthf •
or kind words. In their search for sympathy they fa<
easy
sexual
Nurses arc required by doctors and by circumstances -o
ExampUs Vare°US fUnCUOnS- Wilh°Ut 1Ce£' au[hor®^n.
samples are many routine tasks, like gi
mediations without a doctor’s written orders, stitching up
minor wounds, inserting intrauterine devices (coon- r.T or
t&yy • S
”;* d"e ~3-P-tT Lir
lack legal protection in event of mkhan nr
scapegoating by doctors or administrators. Nurses will no
longer tolerate this haphazard situation. Now, they are
demandmg aulhorit/in the full sense of the word This
mcludes a honest, comprehensive nursing education and
legal sanction for professional duties.
Sometimes a nurse is ideally placed to perform a legal
to standi
performTake
a legal
funcuon where she has no official locus
the
L^’-iof^m '’aS rCCO,nmCndcd c,'a”g« h> education,
ar aft°r /wwo
nursin8^hool of three
> a - a.t.r the JO + 2 stage, with few and previleged nurses
eyng..on wait the two years of the -Post-basic’ B.Sc course a
™^nmg. alternative is projected. The two years
S-S.c. ntermidiate ( + 2) would include pre-n trsing basics
XtOof PrC.'mCd!c31 C0UrSe- ^'lowing this would be three
jears of nursmg college leading to the B.Sc. degree in
Nursmg for all nurses. Specialization would be given post
graduate status. Implementing such a programmeJ.owever
- require a sea:change in public attitude and a strong
XlnoZrby ’“,o ~
For generations, nurses have been conditioned both as
women and as servants of the sick. Uenic, they have been
se to sersmg quietly, enabling the exploitative system to
contmufe without question or complaint, often because th-rc
t^'doc? “° sen?blc reason wl,y nurscs should n°'be
to doctors just as medical technicians, medical social
also bTcSaHo'L01?''515
h°Sp!ta' ’ldminislra>0« shou!d
■o be. equal to doctors. It ls a matter of re-elaborating all
'chl''”n°rl -r Ond dirrcrcnl runcli^. and of re-selling our
oc.al pnont.es. The public must demand and get
adequate-standard service from its health professionals
Among them nurses have certainly been the most caring and
arc the most deserving of public concern today.
INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION 149
LABOUR
CONFERENCE
LKLNCE
C°n\=ntion concerning employment and conditions of work
and fife of Nursmg Personel. (Some excerpts)
miser'^u Cfrna,’W
S',e'‘Cr °r ,!vcI!1‘^- Even tod'nv,
fmud ’Vll n
E°yera™nl h°s'cl facilities are merely 'a
fraud. All nurses hvmg m hostels are anaemic. Tire range of
The working conditions that prevail for the nurses in our
country falls far short of any standard, low slary, extensive
workmg hours, no social security are some of the features
nut character,se the work-life of a nurse, except of those
workmg m forma! sector. (Even there,not everything is
Circl •
,1,‘'is a.part-of Pyne Mcdjco Pri'-r-'
CL -.ct.vny has been published in the Maharashtra llertdd
3.
or
re-entry into nursing after a period of interruption
International Labour Conference has laid down standard,
governing the (unctions.hiring.and working condition of
Participation
nursing pcrsonel under its convention 149.
Convention 149, while stressing the use for minimum level of
training and continuing education makes a specific
recommendation regarding the level of training.
9 .(1) The duration of basic ^nursing education and
training should be related to the minimum'educational
requirements for entry to training and to the purposes of
19. (1) Measures should be taken to promote r
participation of nursing personnel in the plainni^ -d >
decisions concerning national health policy tn rand concering their profession in particular
. *
in a manner appropriate to national conditions
(2) In parlicular(a) qualified representatives of nursing personnel,
organisations representing them, should be associ;.; 1
with the elaboration and application of policies and
general principles regarding the nursing profession,
including those regarding education and training and
the practice of the profession;
(b) conditions of employment ’ and work should be
determined by negotiation between the employers’ and
workers’.organisations concerned;
(c) the settlement of disputes arising in connection with
the determination of terms and conditions of
employment should be sought through negotiation
between the parlies or through independent and
impartial machinary, such as mediation conciliation and
voluntary arbitration, with a view to linking it
unnecessary for the org: nisalions represen- ng nursing
personnel to have recourse to such Uh: s^eps as arc
normally open to organisations of other workers in
defence of their legitimate interests;
(d) in the employing establishment, nursing personnel or
their representatives, in the meaning of Article 3 “f the
Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971, should be
associated with decisions relating to ihc.r professional
life, in a manner appropriate to the questions al issue.
20. Rcprcsenlalivcs of nursing personnel should be assured
the protection provided for in the Workers.
Representatives Convention and Recommendation,
1971.
29. Work clothing, medical kits, transport facilities and
other supplies required by the employer or nccessa / fur
the performance of the work should be provided by the
employer to nursing personnel and maintained free ol
charge.
Working Time, Rest Periods
30. for the purpose of this Rccommcndation(a) the term "normal hours of wo^k" means the number
of hours fixed in each country by or in pursuance of laws
or regulations, collective agreements or arbitration
awards;
(b) the term "overtime” mean hours worked in excess of
normal hours of work;
(c) the term "on-call duty' means periods of lime during
wiiimi nursing personnel arc, al the workplace or
t-ls-.-Ahere, at the disposal of the employer in order Io
training.
(2) There should be two levels of approved basic
education and training:
(a) an advanced level, designed to train professional
nurses having sufficiently wide and thorough skills to
enable them to provide the most complex nursing care
and to organise and evaluate nursing care, in hospitals
and other health-related community services; as far as
possible, students accepted for education and training at
this level should’have the background 'of. general
education req. 'red for entry to university;
(b; a less advanced level, designed to tram auxiliary
nurses able to provide general nursing care which is less
complex bu; which requires technical skills and aptitude
for personal relations; students accepted for education
and lrainin.1 al this level should have attained as
advanced a levci r.s possible of secondary education.
The convention also stresses the need for participation
of nursing pursoncl in planing and implementation of
national health policy and in determining condition
governing their working life.
Some of the important recommendations for
determining the working condition are given below:
10. There shcnild be programmes of higher nursing
education lb prepare nursing personnel for the highest. .
responsibilities in direct and supportive nursing care, in
the administration of nursing services, in nursmg
education and in research and development in the field
of nursing.
11. Nursing aids should be given theoretical and practical
training appropriate ol their functions.
12. (1) Continuing education and training both at the
workplace and outside should be an integral part of the
programme referred to in Paragraph 8, sub-paragraph 1,
of this Rcccuntnendation and be available to all so as to
ensure the updating of knowledge and skills and to
enable nursing personnel to acquire and apply new ideas
and tcchmc’ucs in th? field of nursing and related
sciences.
_
■ '
2 Co ’•
nursing
',-ursing eduea'’and training s’m'uld
pregrai!:
incli d; oro.-'1 ' n for prograninies
wh.ich would prom<>IC
and facd'lal?
!-he advancement of nursing aids and
litai: the
auxiliar-' r.u: ■
(3) Such cd.:ua:ion and tnjieing should also include
prograinny:-- which would ficihiaic
pro/iJo!
4
remuneration which should not be less than lha
applicable to shift work in other employment in the
country.
(2) Nursing personnel assigned to shift work should
have a period of continuous rest of at least 12 hours
between shifts.
(3) A single shfit of duty divided by a period ol
unremunerated time (split shift) should be avoided.
39. (1) Nursing personnel should be entitled toy and
required to take, a paid annual holiday of at least the
same length as other workers in the country.
(2) Where the length of the paid annual holiday is less
than four weeks for one year of service, steps should be
taken to bring it progressibely, but as rapidly as possible,
to that level for nursing personnel.
40. Nursing personnel who work in particularly arduous or
unpleasant conditions should benefit from a reduction
of working hours and/or an increase in rest periods
without any decrease in total remuneration.
41. (1) Nursing personnel absent from work by reason of
illness or injury should be entitled, for a period and in a
manner determined by laws or rcgualtioos or by
collective agreements, to(a) maintainance of (he employment relationship and of
rights deriving therefrom;
(b) income security.
(2) The laws or regulations or collective agreements
establishing sick leave entitlement should distinguish
bclwccn(a) cases in which the illness or injury is
service-incurred;
(b) cases in which the person concerned is not
incapacitated for work but absence from work is
necessary to protect the health of others;
(c) cases of illness or injury unrelated to work.
42. (1) Nursing personnel, without distinction between
married and unmarried persons, should be assured the
benefits and protection provided for in the Maternity
Protection Convention (Revised), 1952. and the
Maternity Protection Recommendation, 1952.
(2) Maternity leave should not be considered to be sick
leave.
(3) The measures provided for in the Employment
(Women
with
family
Responsibilities)
Recommendation, 1965, should be applied in respect of
nursing personnel.
43. In
accordance
with
Paragraph
19
of this
Recommendation, decisions concerning the organisation
of work, working lime and rest periods should be taken
in agreement or in consultation with freely chosen
representatives of the nursing personnel or with
organisations representing them. They should bear, in
particular, on(□) the hours to I regarded inconvenient hours;
respond to possible calls;
zd) llic term "inconvenient hours" means hours worked
on other than the normal working days and at other than
the normal working time of the country.
31. The time during which nursing personnel are at the
disposals of the employer- such as the time needed to
organise their work and the time needed to receive and
to transmit instructions- should be counted as working
time for nursing personnel, subject to possible special
provisions concerning op-call .duty.
32. (1) The normal weekly hours of nursing personnel
should not be higher than those set in the country
concerned for workers in general.
(a) Where' the normal working week of workers in
general exceeds *40 Boiijrs, steps should be taken to bring
it down, progressively^ but as rapidly as possible, to that
level for nursing personnel, without any reduction in
salary, in accordance with Paragraph 9 of the Reduction
of Hburs of Work Recommendation, 1962.
33. (1) Normal daily hours of work should be continuous
and not exceed eight hours, except where arrangements
arc made by IdwS pr regulations, collective
arrangements, works rules or arbitration awards for
flexible hours or a compressed week; in any case, the
normal working w'eck should remain within the limits
referred to in Paragraph 32, subparagraph (1), of this
Recommendation.
(2) The working day, including overtime, should not
exceed 12 hours.
(3) Temporary exceptions to the provisions of this
Paragraph should be authorised only in case of special
emergency.
34. (1) There should be meal breaks of rcsonanblc duration.
(2) There should be rest breaks of reasonable duration
included in the normal hours of work.
35. Nursing personnel should have sufficient notice of
working schedules to enable them to organise their
personal and family life accordingly. Exceptions to these
schedules should be authorised only in case of special
emergency.
36. (1) Where nursing personnel are entitled to less than 48
hours of continuous weekly rest, steps should be taken
to bring their weekly rest to that level.
(2) The weekly rest of nursing personnel should in no
case be less than 36 uninterrupted hours.
37. (1) There should be as little.recourse to overtime work,
work al inconvenient hours and on-call duty as possible.
(2) Overtime and work on public holidays should be
compensated Jn time off and /or remuneration at a
higher rate than the normal salary rate.
(3) Work at inconvenient hours other than public
holidays should be compensated by an audition to
sahuy.
3>.
Shift work should be compensated by increase in
5
(b) lhc conditions in which on-call duly will be counted
personnel may be exposed in the exercise of di
as working time;
profession so that these risks may be prevented
(c) thc conditions in which the exceptions provided for in
appropriate compensated.
Paragraph 33,subparagraph (3),and in Paragraph 35 of
(2) For that purpose, eases of occupational ac<.
this Recommendation will be authorised;
and cases of diseases recognised as occupational
(d) the length of the breaks provided for in Paragraph
laws or regulations concerning employment
34 of this Recommendation and the manner in which
benefits or liable to be occupalionahn origin* .1' .
they are to be taken;
notified to the competent authontyjn a manr
(e) the form and amount of the compensation provided
prescribed by national laws or regitiA i
for in Paragraphs 37 and 38 of this Recommendaion;
accordance with Paragraphs 14 to 1 / of the Prot •
Z;
(f) working schedules;
Workers’ Health RecowiuicndaU0nJui953.
(g) the conditions to be considered as particularly
49. (1) All possible steps should be taken io ensure : .
arduous or unpleasant for the purpose of Paragraphs 27
nursing personnel are not exposed io special ri.^s.'
and 40 of this Recommendation.
Where exposure to special risks is unavoidable,
Occupational Health Protection
measures should be taken to minimise it.
44. Each Member should endeavour to adopt laws and
(2) Measures such as the provision and use of protective
rcgualtions on, occupational health and, safety to the
clothing, immunisation, shorter hours more frequent
special nature of nursing work and of.the environment in '
rest breaks, temporary removal from the risk or longer
which it is.carriedLout,, andI Jo increase the protection
annual holidays should be provided for in respect to
afforded by them.
nursing personnel regularly assigned to duties involving
45. - (1) Nursing personnel should ' have access' to ' ■
special risks so as to reduce their exposure to these
occupational health services operating In accordance
risks.
. .
with the provisions of the-Occupational Health Services
(3) In addition, nursing personnel who are exposed to
Recommendation', 1959.
special risks should receive financial compensation.
(2) Where occupational health, sendees have not yet’
50. Pregnant women and parents of young children whose
been set up for all undertakings, medical care
normal assignment could be prejudicial to their health
establishments employing nursing personnel should be
or that of their child should be transferred,without loss
among the undertakings for which, in accordance with
of entitlements, to work, appropriate to (.heir situation.
paragraph 4 of that recommendation, such services
51. The collaboration of nursing personnel and ;f
should be set up in first instance.
organisations representing them should be sought i
46. (1) Each Member and the employers’ organisations
ensuring the effective application of provisions
concerned should pay particular attention to the
concerning the protection of the health and safety of
provisions of the Protection of Workers’ Health
nursing personnel.
Recommcnldation, 1983, and endeavour to ensure it s
52. Appropriate measures should be taken . for the
application to nursing personnel.
•
supervision of the application of (he laws and
(2) All appropriate measures' should be taken in
regulations and other provisions concerning the
accordance with Paragraphs 1 to 7 of (hat
protection of the health and safety of nursing personnel.
Recommendation to prevent, reduce or eliminate risks ’ '
to the health or safely of nursing personnel.
Social Security
47. (1) Nursing personnel should undergo medical
examinations on taking up and terminating an
53. (1) Nursing personnel should .enjoy social security
appoitment, and at rcgualr intervals during their service.
protection at least equivalent, as the case may be, to that
(2) Nursing personnel regularly assigned to work In
of other persons employed in the public service or
circumstances such that a define risk to their health or
sector, employed in the private sector, or self-employed,
to that of others around them’exists or may be’suspected
in the country concerned; this protection should cover
should undergo regular medical examinations al
periods of probation and periods of training of persons
intervals appropriate to (lie risk involved.
regularly employed as nursing personnel.
(3) Objectivity and confidcnlialily should be assured in
(2) The social security protection of nursing personnel
examinations provided for in this Paragraph; the
should lake account of (he particular nature of their
examinations referred to should not be carried out by
activity.
doctors with whom the persons examined have a close
54. As far as possible, appropriate arrangements should be
working relationship.
made to ensure continuity in (he acquisition of rights
(1) Studies should be undertaken - and kept up to
and the pre-vision of benefits in case (of change of
daic-to determin- special risks to which nursing
employment and temporary cessation of employment.
6
ask for her comments on a recent survey of nurses conducted
in England in 1983.
, , Where the social security scheme gives protected
nersons the free choice of doctor and medical
institution, nursing personnel should enjoy the same
freedom of choice.
(2) The medical records of nursing personnel should be
confidential.
>. National laws or regulations should make possible the
compensation, as an occupational disease, of any illness
of ----their
contracted by nursing personnel as a iresult
----- —
work.
PRESS REPORTS ABOUT NIGHT SHIFT
"PARALYSIS? AMONGST NURSES.
The survey in question, related to a phenomenon called
"night- shift paralysis" in the nursing profession, which had
revealed that 12 per cent of night-shift nurses out of 434
observed had claimed to have suffered from a totally
"incapacitating paralysis" that may be related to "sleep
paralysis and contribute to impaired levels of safety on the
night shift."
The survey had been located by Dr.P.B. Vidyasagar of th.
Physics Department, University of Poona in. the journal
‘Expericntia’ volume 40 of 1984, published from Switzerland.
The authors of the survey S. Folkard R Condon and M
Herbert of the University of Sussex and the University
Hospital and Medical School at Nottingham in the U.K. drew
their sample in 1983 from nine general hospitals located in
four different areas of England.
ILO Warning
Shift work wrecking family life
GENEVA; April 7 : i
Thelhternational Labour Organisation (ILO) has said
that irregular working hours disrupt social life and
should be restricted by industrialized nations, reports,
A.P.
The..effect on family life, It said yesterday, was the
most obvious and irksome dr^back of the multiple
shift system with irregular timetables upselling The
quality of relations among family members."
The Organization also warned that shift work often
resulted in "higher sickness rales, sleeping difficulties,
over - headaches and disruption of eating patterns."
Experiments have shown that for an equal output
night w’ork demands a greater expenditure of physical
and nervous energy. Multiple shift introduced for.
purely economic reasons should be restricted, said the
ILO report.
The report urged that workers employed during (he
night "must have the options of returning to normal
workings hours at will" and it called for renewed
efforts to improve their living and working conditions.
Night - work shortens life
PARIS, August 2:
Night work is harmful to health and cuts down a man’s
life by 10 years, according to an official report issued
yesterday.
The report drawn up by Prof. Alain studied the
conditions of two million French night workers.
After five years, man starts getting nervous troubles or
stomach ulcers as the normal pattern of sleep is
absent.
Night shift paralysis among nurses
The nurses whose experience of night duty ranged from less
than 15 months to about 12 years had reported that they were
generally performing a task, such as reading or writing, and
were sure they were awake immediately prior to the onset of
paralysis - which lasted in duration for periods greater than
two rpinulcs upto half an hour.
Ninety-two per cent of cases, largely confined to nurses
below the age of 30, reported that the paralysis was
"triggered" by some external event; such as a patient calling,
■requiring them to make a gross motor movement rather than
by their own desire to move.
Nurses at the Sassoon Hospital in Pune, however, did not
recall vividly any such occurcnce during their night shift. l\vo
senior nurses, however, reported extreme fatigue and said
that continued night shifts resulted in their bodies being
unable to move and perform muscular movement though
they knew they had to. They attributed this to the fact that
they may have been forcing themselves to keep awake when
actually they were in ulmosl-need of sleep.
Incidentally the survey also quoted reports that a little over
half of the sufferers admitted to feeling sleepier than normal
for the lime of day prior to their paralysis and 25 percent of
them spontaneously reported being frightened by it.
It may be safe to assume that in the absence of any attempt,
however amateur, to elicit feedback from Indian nurses
regarding the effects on their health of prolonged working
hours and night- shifts duties, many instances (^similar
night-shift paralysis may have gone up reported, undetected
or unnoticed and will have to be researched by systematic
surveying of nurses who have over 30 years of experience and
arc nearing retirement now.
Despite the fact that nurses form the backnone of health care
has
services.,in govt-run hospitals, no survey worth its name 1.
—,
been done of the effect of working conditions on their
health.This was revealed to Maharashtra Herald by Mrs.
Anuradha Al'hawale, President of the Maharashtra Slate
Nurses’ Federation in Pune on Saturday when we met her tn
7.
I
♦
:
,
■
I
«
________________ * ________ :________ <occur on (he 7th or subsequent night shifts, than on the first
or second, the scientists observe.
'
Sassoon Hospital nurses have reported that the practice of
seven days of continuous night-shift by ^rotation was
discontinued'only as late as 1975 and five days continuous
night-shift introduced which was further reduced to three
days in 1980. Since November 1984, on an’experimental basis
they said, one-day night shift by rotation has been introduced
only at the Sassoon-among all the governirtent hospitals in
the state.
>
Clearly it would be’ the study concludes, of interest to study
male populations such as process controllers (in industry)
pilots or air-traffic controller who ofteA perform an
essentially sedentary task in Che early hours pf the morning
and under relatively sleep deprived conditions.
The safty consequences of the survey are all too obvious.
However, conscientiously such individuals (under prolonged
night shift strain) may force themselves to (Stay awake any
emergency that arouse could trigger a paralysis that
prevented them from responding to it.In su<^h situations, it
can be safely said that constant night work is inviting
catastrophe at a time when maximum alertness is the need of
the moment.
Harmful effects of night shift,
. Mrs Alhavale who is a staff nurse* was very happy with the
new experiment, commenting that it had favourable impact
on the health of the nurses, as well as lheir social and family
life, besides producing the maximum alertness. and work
capacity during night shifts.
The U.K. survey which goes into an extensive analysis of
trends among night-shift nurses of various age groups based
on subjective rating of alertness and drowsiness, nptes,that
the paralysis seems* to. occur’when, the nurses manage to
maintain, a state of. wakefulness despite considerable
(pressures: to sleep. Ittwas about four limes more .likely to
. The role of nurses, in saving human lives need not be dwelt
upon. Forcing lhemto err consequently endangering a human
life can only be said fo‘ be a grave crime. However,
unknowingly it is being perpetrated by unscientifically
designed work schedules.
‘ ■ M EDI CAL E D U C ATI O N INI ND I A:
' ■' ‘ !i IS IT SUITABLE TO-INDIAN NEEDS.
(Dr. Anil Mokashi)
In India we have inherited the British system of medical
education. It was suitable for British occupants. 'We have
never thought of our needs. \Ye merely imitated them. Over
years inadequacies have become apparent. While clinging to
the concept of the so called ’high standards’, the system is
plagued with substandard and bogus educational elements.
.
facade of" promoting the great traditional Indian medicine
for the benefit of poor and downtrodden". Ministries after
Ministries have come and*gone, all proclaiming such hollow
statements. They are least bothered of what these graduates
- of Indian medicine are doing. "Playing with lives of masses".
An array of intriguing questions have cropped up since
indcpcndance. India will have to solve fhese problems one
...
day or other.
1. Can n medical college be run without recognition of
Medical Council of India?
Answer: Yes. They, are being, rurt so for decades. There
arc about 20 medical colleges in India being run without
MCI recognition. 1 hey arc affiliated to Universities and
recognised by State Medical Councils. The MCI has
now become irrevalcnt.
.2. Is a MBBS gradbate well trained?
Ans: No. After spending five and half years in medical
college, he has never treated a single patient on his own.
He is trained in reading, writing,and seeing. He has not
‘done’ anything. He is examined by ‘on table discussion*
(even in practical examination). The whole concept of
medical education is western. The knowledge is never
implemented in Indian situation.
..................
” '
Who Is the authority ?
Medical education in India is a headless monster. The right
hand is not bothered of what the left hand is doing. Right
hand lhinks.il has very high standard; While left hand knows
it can play with lives of people because there is nobody to
controlit.
1. Medical Council of India :(The right hand)
It has no control over non-allopathic doctors practicing
allopathy. ,H has no control oyer starling and running a
medical college.
2. National boards of Indian medicines • (The left hand)
Have no control over their graduates. 99% of them are
. , practicing allopathy. The boards are not concerned. They arc
exploiting the situation of anarchy.
3. Health Ministries:
They have no conlroLcwcxumylhing. They arc happy with a
K
1
Mattered and
UUUUl
It
--------------- O
u
•
health for the simple
"atI
you are l
............
process of sleep. ■■•- -.
pretty girls loosing weight and time Anita would have left for het
developing dark circles under the nightrshift.sothe first two months
eyes in less than three months for after marriage-, the young c-r|di
the simple reasons that "disoabout
rientation" sets i
-the business like attitude ot
can't compensate by sleeping dur" • is not.worth it.
,,•5
time.
------ — . z
fetch Ifer ihiy- j
many girls arerstill active in night
additional to what shc\
:'1fve7acwr"abou. nightshift getting.
......
attract.—- - •
is there is little or no v..... , IIC'IIOI ...............
!. they had a maid servant. When
Of five-star version pay a pttranee. ..-j--pro.
Hiipaivu
..... -i----- .T"1/;” Wh-it i moic the lulls arc lull to asKC-u aoout nci umi
,
"It is hard
work during the dayii)t .heinselvus at night m the fession Maya says.
£| of the van and she rides hardly
'I here work. Sometimes wc
we lake off at
Jly any at night. New Yeai
.
. | Ie| lransport. There
Chrlamas and la>e mgh.
(i”'
Kes .of night
and it » night
---------------------r. - t again when
,._.ties are rare occasions where were quiu.
Europc
we land in Europe Oor the United
' •
All . these
the girls arc busy
by the dictates of official
%|jfaland almost mao^Jto
mauled
^incapacity in the
fk
“ city's
f'"
the
work
trawport system,'
--------■ f~3thii burgeoning metropo/ conThe
and
-ll. 'r-,
%\
Six
on my children lying sick in be i S;
with no one to care for.
Vi
signalled the end ot a trying night
and I felt relieved."
sfc
However, job satisfaction 'irc®^
feeling of having cared fur 'lie®
sick and ailing, thd joy vnl i.'. f-.-'
on their faces, specially on die
day of the discharge mo. - than j- "
compensates for all th; rigours <>t
night shift." Asked abou the
psychological impact on children.!
she said, "when they were yoimg.|
my parents and in-laws took linn iio liplp me bring them up; now
face on taking
r__z—up night g'nifta
they are growing.up, they undcr|
.1— ......
- °f theifl
;i to working stand the
importance
■i years, 1 have got
mothers job and are proud of mes
in the
Bui she states
the night
night’’."
.
I put in extra effort to fulfill thcii
thei»
emphatically that she has no in
and‘
psychological
The emotionalI
r*
....
z.r.^1^,^..
tentions of giving up.
The needs when 1 am with them con-|
needs when i am with them con
■. . ji and it
if gives me a
places eyeryevery- stantly nagging them about rnor! chance tp'see riew places
iclmits that she ah through stones, in order to.
i time." Maya too,
•••— ——
i has lost a lot of weight. Her wean them away from lhe unde
sirable influences of peer groups
/ of lime
spent with them As more tmpoij
tant than the quantity. Toda]
Jistrac- they arc bold, independent, rej
ha:
o lh
e oeca|
nas been
“J" underplayed. "Distrac- —
sponsible -j
and ’ riM
r.se. iio
lhe
«cJ
;; . J(; ',
»..h .
, we would X
either ^n.won.” she
she S3,.
says with
a. ...au-rnl
materm|
fefSS-i BEHZS sSiuftss..... .-^ On Night Duty
O Bombay. She is one anumg
q,
aFlante number of women who
; irk at night. Viewed through a
.
M:hcr conservative angle, night
/
•
was considered a male bastill women stepped in. Cut^JLTom
challenges and problems vomen
nc
loose from tradidomand
liuditiOiVSnd de:
ngtoosc
iolishing the outworn shib- .
..Jyhmg
olethsofthe past, women nowa- —,
Uys are seen in action as telehone operators, receptionists.
irscs ticketing staff, doctors,
iline traffic assistants and air -j,
I osicsses. In this noctural enironment which is physically de’ landing and mentally exhausting
I he travails of working women go
. ^ noticed. Can women be reheed by men is.the question to
which the anwser is no and that
precisely is the reason why telefphone operators are in a majority
jef the cases women and not men,
gossip or take a bestseller to while sense of pnde.-j
j the reason being a women’s voice
away time. (--------------fe pleasant & has better audibil
iV>c emotional comings has come as a boon tj
can’t work with these
ity. Similarly, compulsions of a
Mava’s reply, fiercely ambitious young womc«
constraints,"
was
I
y
who wish to further their carccrj
i few professions make woman inhi 'taya rase,.money seems Rekha Rao, 20, .who works as
' dispensable for that kind of job &
re l.c lhe driving force in her telephone operator with the I>O5h
. Jthis argument applies well to
. ..
; . it»c vicissitudes of and Telegraphs, Bangalore, cam J
nurses and receptionists. Fhese
jet iag n J sleeplessness but then out 'as a strong woman wh<]
women face a spectrum of prob
there
certain women totally doesn’t consider night shift as |
lems which has a bearing on many
dedicat.-d, ! .. unsung and un- limitation. Rekha joined ihe serl
things like sleep, home, marriage,
honi
..-'.o ,.! having th^gra vice after completing her pici
domestic life and health.
in, ..mi--ii ; having attended to ,univefsit/. ’Might-shift poses m|
Anita, 22, worked in the house/r
Ihe ..vx Mary Kutty, 24, hails*
keeping department of a five star
'
problems. The reporting lime if
(rod X er ala and works in a Sc^th sufficiently early. 7.3(1 pm. riiij
hotel in the suburbs for a 'ear and
'..jy hospital. . Neither wlhe .enables us to travel by ous safely
half." The night shift (10 p m (..h^c M work ^J/^^hift
some areas.. there are vars t<
7.30 a m.) undoubtedly was the
,
.vsuponhet face. Nightshift
jn
In my u;iw
case, ,nd
toughtest",
confessed
Anna
r
,, noirnaily calr^ Sometimes
f
‘iro^s mc to office. Work'
“We had to shoulder additional
come across cntjcal cases andresponsibility and had to be ex- l;
on.rthe local lines there .iti
5 things becfcnt difficult,’ says less traffic, but international
•
. calll
..
tremcly careful while scrubbing & f
'
Mary. "The CAJ. is the tough at night keep usJ busy. Night shif|
cleaning to get that spick and
&
. , . ng . .
lire patients have
span look for the next day. Whdt
is convenient for me as I have til
bt v. uched for ariy abnormal attend engineering classes in thJ
with international airline crews
, ■
AShmu. SAxeJ
’
n- Th^tension is
checking in and out throughout
t
i
these
young
women
*■
of the deal tor these young
• r* L
>k
iC
night, we had
1UU to
IW be
MV on
vn our
ww. feet, (he glitter and
......... grandeu.
o ,
,
‘
,
...... In "
" irx-i
.ill night.
I be glitter. mn
Jiardty get any
pressure
vent. .
Looking
At times, work
wui* p.
!..>.»«•*- would vs.,,,.
. -o at the
, trend, it is
,e^.- an<
H.r.cdlle.g^ U
and the highly sophisticalted- - bugging
increase with
•i. a.. number of flights only
on|y the young
}oung girls bch
lx:! .
y,v 1
Her cdlleague, u“'’1
il g almosphcrc is 1. I
I
1 / <4 r I
.1
•• I
. .\. . 1
>
. .
Workthe
crowd who reli I. e v.-i y
v
facilities for married woman likj
landing at the same time.
t
.... "hep
.
. "iHilv to appeal tO
rung
n.v
MM.v
’
.
...
:2
.....................
:
...
But
one
has
K.
Ikm
*
r gf!v -‘ilave a babycare centre, canteen, pick up
load apart reaching the hotel al 10 moment oi .it
ciisc of the tourist. 1
is in itself a big .JOugh to withstand the rigours of
a
nsencc u.
>
---------------------.
,
in the night
m
*• • -©
........-.....
s an absence of sympal
van, restroom, etc. My huso.imMf
exercise" It is rather surprising WOrk at unearthly hours, inc
ipn as reflected by. nu^c difficult task
too lias night shift al about Ihc^gl
i' ci ■:
Ny. Managing hdme and same lime tn his factory. So <hcrcg|
that some of the so called "five receptionists
have
i<>
mini, a colleague of Amone side and'a tough are not many problem*, to tell you
star monoliths" do not provide throughout the night to rec.in
.
.]
m
go
back
to
••
vk
chiRJ.cn
on
K
job with additional the trulll.,’ she explains. 1
transportation for night shift cm (heir presence at die u
fur months after sb
.. .Jing
ployees, much less for women, needed every minute. Night smi.
. _ jsoru/.tnliii.s
on Othdl. it IS u
-j.r Lalitha completed hVr B.A
baby. "Luckily, m7 m- IC
Jvmv.bil;
yecr,
Though Bombay, by any stan- jsenjoyable only when you like it
.1
ent rope walk. Fortu- (Economics) privately with a«|
ok after the baby during juf
dards is safe, there have been Otherwise it is tougn.
Abuu
all through these years, I first-class and intends studying^?
ibsencc.
Otherwise
I aalcly.
m*-'
cases of chain snatching and eve safcty. Necta has had no piob- '
t llent support from further. All this with a two yeai
,dn’l even think of doing a have
teasing involving women going on |ems. She would invar*a?■
'
ni¥
hi-l..md
neighbours ahd scr- old child at home is no nic.mL
l shift," views Kaajal.
the night shift. In Anita’s case, (axj home at three or four in the
<1 one o*casron achievement.
i
unuy ceilainly plays a key . \.is except
her father would religiously wait morning rather th
thann ah, i
; . , n . ; went wrong and
For a woman to take on ill- I
ii. helping women c!:: ; >
for her at the bus stop at Sion to hotel bus pooled for a umbe.
a
resign,
”
sMr
went
- - hilt jobs Though the salarchallenges of night shift a numtH i
escort her home after the 1 pm - gir|s with homes spread out - 1
?
My husband was of extraneous factors conic into
>aid by hotels and hospx ds is
10 pm shift. Asked which shift ovcr the city,
isual,
the
helpful
U1.u.tfactive, it is a different story
play. An understanding husband,
would she choose given a choice,
Most ot the girls mention*
, on( on a vacation and
with the high-flying ladies,
helpful in-laws, co operative ser
Anita says," Day, of course. I still ^bove are unmarried,
nas been airhostess wiin Pa fnil-time servant too’ had vants, reliable .neighbours, nior.il
remember the time I had to do a brings us to yet anol he; i .ipoit h.
.rnational airline for almost tai ) leave for a week. The support fro'l) colleagues and
night shift and a day shift during a facel of their lives - the domesu.
de. I here isn’t a city in the p;pi time■: servant being absent friends at the olhcc .md mosi
"bandh". At the end of it, I could ang|Ct involving anxious rnomcn
,
[ telephoned and
took important, a hum.m outlook with
children
she hasn’t seen. Two years
barely stand." Anita is une- anj sleepless nights for p?.--. ..
.. v look .i.icr’my children
a sincere vfhitl to solve gcjitimv
lie married Anil, an execu
quivocal in stating that night shift antj in (he case of n . -nr
. . .. v.ho were both running high
.tn u Hliputcr sol (w .IIC I HUI
problems will go a loih1 w.iv m
means more work, but Necla an winnen, a lair amount of aitc.
u .... hionilt o!d icrnpci .iluri > Al a,*’ul
helping her (.ice the scciiiiiu
They
economics graduate who woiks in ljuil al home following an <mni .
!
a
phone
call
and
had
to
kily f..i
endless night with vourar< «v
lh,.terr J
J.uck..,
. . M.o.i
•• -- Anil
.. .i. rcctivcd
.
yet another five star environment mdn’t have any time toguiln s daughl
.... i, |O |the hospital to assist the
confidence <J<hi iwre il is |ust
uldcied the entire responsibil- rysti
in North East Bombay disagrees.
es. I fcqueiii quarrels disturbed the
her aliscnce lie pci- doctors in an emergency opera- another niglituiaic
1
liimigh physically piesent a
-On .he eomn.,
U;e.e
- as a proxy .lion I.
H.iC. I'tluv\httnkar
ic concentrated
<•1 the fad iii.it my tfiour.his
hardly any •*',rV ‘'n ,h' niphl
\ •
IS
fe®
A-oS 3A.7-
x shift."
u'Xt...... .
- *h“-l
“Harl Bharl”, C-46, East of Kallash-I, New Dulhi-HOOkS
une
<it the Paper
Published by
:
THE TRIBUNE
:
CHANpIGARH
JJc***'
(City Edition)
2„LARRjaal
Dated
Medliiccs & tlheir iprcIbBems
Nurses: overworked, underpaid
sweejiing the globe, wedlock became
a part of a nurse’s lito. Modernwalion
also brought about a radical growth in
health ser.vic us and the death rale was
brought clown drastically. Iherewasa
signific.ini giowlh in the world's
P<’l'ptilalion. most evident in develojiing countties like India.
First let us lake a look at a married
nurse’s hie style. She gets uj> al the
frac k of down prvj■paies meals lor the
bT you know that till the I’JHh
j jJ’ nurses were not .illuwed to marentire- family, gets the children ready
•: ’• rv' rfs-er vim e trie I ngiisli worn.in
for school, looks ...
. husband's
_. ...
Io .her
7 I Ion-in v Ni|;hiiii.i;.il<-. initiulm rd tinncx-ds. does hutisehold c hores and, by
cuiKepl ol ihhmiijj cliiimg the ( iiiiiimo
the time she reaches her hospital, she
War, (IH5I6) nqiMog wav'looked
might just Hup into a chair and say:
upon as almost a jclij'.ioils mission ol
■'I'm exhausted let the rest of the
Ide. Dedicated women gavc.lip ideas
world look alter ilsell'
ol marriage, t hildii n and l.iniilies and
Huth these changes - the marriage
Since nurses also have night duties,
defiled then eiilirV Ilves Io the bid mlc jikI the growth of hculih
most ol the time they gel after work is
side1 care1 ol sullc¥rng humanity
- have put iininunsv pressu.'ci on spent in doing household work and
But wilt' the cyiiids ol modernisation tun >rs.
trying to < ate h snail lies of sleep.
By Ezra Danict
D
Immense pressure
But the family commitments of
nurses are only a small part of the
jirolik-m. One has Io look into the
entire gamut of health services in our
countiy In realise the magnitude ol our
lopsided jilaiining
Al the* lime nt lode
lependence there
was only one nu-du alil < ollege and two
nursing colleges in the’ < ounlry. Today
there are about l.’t) medical colleges
and only ill nursing colleges ()l
course there are also lt>7 schools of
nursing but these jirovide only .)-5year diplomas
In today 's < oinpelilive stn irty
(
)
*
equation and we will see Hie extent of
the nurses’ plight.
The Mudaliar Committee rccommended that lheie shcxild lx- one
nurse for three Ix’ds in teaching husjntals and one muse lor live Ix-ds in
non leaching hospitals However, In
over 7
'■1 per cent of the leaching
hospitals the ratio is one nurse to six
jiatients In jnosl Ixisjiilalv it is I 20
(>l com sc the ratio changes from day
to night shills - levs nutves lor more
patients There- are hospitals in the
countiy wlx-ie a single nurse might
have to lixik alt<;i 1 50 jialu-nls on two
tkxirs. It’s that bad
Auxiliary work
the infrastructure for it is inadequate or
just ncX available ~ cotton, bandages.
soaps, disposable syringes, kidney
trays, bedpans and medicine» Often a
nurse fates the awkward situation of
having to ask the patient to arrange lor
things which normally a hospital
should supply This often creates ten
sion between nurses, patients and
attendants.
The cxily silver lining to the nursing
profession is that with education,
esfM’cially science, becoming widespread there arc more educated persons who are taking up nursing as a
profession (oikc girts from kerala
formed 90 p<*r < ent of the admissions
to die PGI's College of Nursing, torijy
50 per rent come from Punjab and the
__ Lack
____ of space
neighbouring Slates).
docs not permit an m-depth examma|M)n
Qy, lopsided planning of nurseducation.
And there was a time when the nurses
spent most of their time with the
patients. Irxlay they must devote a
large segment ui their time to doing
.1 administrative
..
...
auxiliary work,
and .
cler
ic al duties and Ikjuso keeping. One
lesearch lound that in a 750-bpd Poor salaries
tear hmg hosjiiial with 506 nursc-s !z5
A* a carver, nursing may not pay
per cent ol the nurses were on admimuch At one time there was near
nistrative/leac lung and sjx'cialised
s,
■
parity Ix-twet-n the salaries of nurses
jobs l< SPIN. K Us. ojieration theatres
and i linn si-! Jit jiur c ent were on leave and hmive surgi-onv Today llie gap
xs has wideI, -.rive and only 15 jiel c ent wen- left K’lween nurse-sand dextor
|>ii>iiii>Ii<ins .aid t in < i .nt, nu i nirnls
' , t in bur
iHeallh ts a Slate subject
come c-.isiei wnli ii.m vat li Sc .md to Im.k alter ti.’ p. r cm! ol the 750
Conslitulicxt and pay scales vary from
two year M Si di .,n ■ s ulleied by the
patients
Stale
to
Stale.)
But
where
there is
colleges ol noising In I’l’l itieie were
Surprisingly, the 5(M)-lx-d Sector 16
General Hovjiii.il in t handigarh has an edm atxm and unemployment the re •
apjirec
i.il>l.
I
I
nurse
|>dticn!
ratio
will
lx«
enough
persons
willing
Io take
While the doctor is there
although the- doc mi nurse ratio is still up even 'be minimum offered. Nursc-s
for consultancy,
atxmt 1 I) 9 In the BO7-bed IXii tfiere "x^y «e< parting basic of Rs MOO,
are 800 doclcxs Io (> IB nuiscs, or 'I* WW a* pnmary school teachers,
diagnosis, prescription
1.0.79, while on any given day. there but far less than trained graduate and
and surgery, patient
I? |>ivlgradu.ih
jxrslgradnate‘ teachers.
is a average of m H- nurvi. h> 12
A nurse's life in India is back
ji.ilienlv
bedside care is optimised
breaking, hazardous and unrewarding.
Those who du not go abroad (there is
by established norms of
Heavy load
a lugh demand tor them in die Gull
doctor-nurse-patient
Our Gvuyial Hospital apart, the and Western counlnes) and enter the
nurse-jtatieni ratio puls an urifx-liev- profession with a sense of compassion
ratios.
alii) heavy load on tfx- nurses in nxrst ',Rj lk.tlK airon are s*wn sucked mt J a
only 574 graduate nurses in the coun hosjmalv in the cqpntry. loo many
where they mus| b^-on^ imtry, in 19H1 there were • 2 14 .md |he dixtors to jareMrilx- and order. trx> mune 10
U the
i!™. stirrings
’
• •heart and
of■ the
projected figure lor the year JtlOl is many patients to look after and not tJ||5 o..j jh<- conscience.
only (>.77tJ. But briefly. Our country is enough nurses to do the jofi.
In our country, it seems, nothing is
No wonder tlx-n that when ycxi visit ac hieved without unions and assoc i.i
today producing more dextors than
nurses.
a hospital tlx’re are rhances ycxi will lions, strikes and agitations. J hew. and
In the developed countries there are encounter an overworked and irritable not reason and logic, make those at
five Io seven nuiset per dextor. While nurse who will go alxurl 'l<«’ig her the top give justice. The nurses have
the dextor is there fur consultancy,
work hut will have* very little time Io their Trained Nurses Association of
diagnosis, presc njition and suigery.
t'1"' ..........
alti nhon In lac I |,
MjM an<J
India
and a b>ufnR
glut | nR.y havV liven
ji.itient Ix’dsidc care is riplinustd l>,
she Will Illi you II ycxi arc to be on ymk.s
nd thvx
salaries and workstrikes 4
and
th
eslalilished norms of dextor i.uise
ad. i.ill. J I.- la r waul that sou must mg
ing conditions
UJrxiitions have
have improved
improved sonx*patient ratios
Imng an attendantli p the attendant wj,at. but they have n*-ver been aldo
■s In India, how• ver. five years ago.
will jirosidt ladsidi' r
Io gel as rnuc h as say dex tors have.
there were 2 '>■ l.vkli doc tors as comThe nurses have a kxig way to go
lakh muses - a Poor infrastructurc
baied to only I
tiefcwc they can ixganisc tlvemM-lves
J.tfto of just 1. (I
like |>ubln sector
_.u even
_ il you do come acioss a into a powerful jMCssure grexjp Did
And
ratio being marginally lx*iter with I.
devexed nu.M du-m.ght nix lx-able to y00 kno'* lha'
nu,iC$ M' ,n f"8'
1.5)
Und
’t Hcxase
H<xjw of Lordsf
lofds(
Jirovtde adequate c arc stmjily bex ause “
"rt*
Growing gap
Look at the jilanning. While the
Mu'faliar Committee (1959-61) envis
aged a ratie of three nurses for every
doctor, the country Irxlay opens more
medical < ullages than nursing c olleges
and thus jtroduc i s more dextors than
nurses Ihe-^g.ip Ix’lween nurses re
i|iured and nurses available is a phe
nomenal Ki 5 I l.ikh line lulling gradu
ates, dijiloma holdvis and ancillary
nurse midwives)
Il has Iteen found that the infant
mortality and death ralps in India and
Pakistan are high bee ausc there arc
mote dextors tl'.ni nurses, and that
these rales are lower in Malaysia. Sri
I anka and fh.iil.iiid because there
nurses outnumber dm tors This ts
taken as e\ iden< c !• i ••l ow how imjxir
t mt brils de pc..'.
■■■ u
Speciifliscil siutlics
As long as ci"- i. fn dm tors orn
might ailtf that d.•• t. , now go in tin
highl,- spec lallscil luilu s and pra< In e
most ol it abroad Nurses have hail
little or no chance Io kcx-p up with
scientific and technological advancement*. This pften creates professional
friction and personal aninxisdy be,
tween dextors and nurses
i
Vi mu< h for dm lm titirw rel.ilfor J
J I el us now lurn Io llx- nurse pate I
™r"”" —"aa.
Sexual Harassment:
Ways to Obtain Redressal at the Workplace
by
Madhu Kishwar
•I
In the weeks after we published the
cover story on sexual harassment in
Manushi No. 68 several additional
cases of sexual harassment were
brought to Manushi’s notice. They
provided confirmation for our view
that this form.of abuse is extremely
widespread in every stratum of our
society. The cases referred to Manushi
involved.-among others, school teach
ers and customs officers.
A persistent theme in all these he could set into motion to deal with
cases was that those protesting against such cascs.This was true even though
the harassment or those wishing to the aggrieved woman is very well
support and defend the victimised connected. She is, among other things,
woman were at a loss as to how to the daughtcr-in-law of a high court
proceed, how to seek redressal. For judge.
instance., a high Customs official
Hence, hisonly recourse seemed to
sought our intervention in a case of be desperate appeals to the very top
sexual harassment involving a woman officials of the central government.
probationary officer. This official had However, veryt few people have (he
been experiencing a great deal of <connections this officer had for getting
frustration in his attempts tp get disci a hearing at the ministerial level. Any
on
|
plinary action taken against the offi procedure which is dependent
cer who had molested the woman reaching the prime minister and other
probationer. He was finally forced to central government mtaisters to deal
seek the intervention of the Finance with each individual case of sexual
Secretary, the Finance Minister, and harassment suffered by a woman,
the Prime Minister in order to get an whether in Bombay or in some remote
inquiry under way into the charge of provincial town, is simply not feasible,
sexual harassment, and to suspend the
Considering how widespread the
officer pending the enquiry. While problem is and how serious its consewcat Manushi were impressed by this qucnccs for women, wc need to begin
official’s care and concern for the by demanding that workplaces be made
welfare of the woman probationer who safer for women. Lack of security from
had asked for his.imervcntion.we were sexual harassment adversely affects
1 also ven- disturbed to discover that our fundamental right to work and earn
even an officer as highly placed as he a livelih<x)d. Too many women are
is did not have a well defined proce compelled to withdraw from earning
dure or mecha’.ism available which their livelihood for fear of sexual ha■j-wi’s-:
rassment. A major prerequisite for
making our workplaces less insecure,
is to demand that every workplace
install and follow a rigorous set of
procedures that make sexual harass
ment an offence that might even result
in the harasser losing his job and being
subject to court action.
Such procedures need not be
elaborate or time consuming. As a pos
sible example wc present the broad
outlines of a procedure. These stipula
tions will need to be refined and modi
fied to make them appropriate for the
requirements of particular work situa
tions.
• In every work unit, be jl a business
firm, a university, or a government
office, a carefully selected person
should be assigned the task of listening
to complaints of sexual harassment,
recording them in writ ing, and taking
official note of
ot each of
of them.
,
® This person should Ibe authorised^]
e
and equipped with the necessary pow,tmd
p(?w.cis required to conduct enquiri.es either*
by her or himself, or to appoint a com
mittee to assist in completing this task.
• Annually, the women in that unit
should be asked to provide a confiden
tial evaluation of the performance of ,
this official in order to ensure that the I .
person holding such a responsible job ] . . .
enjoys the confidence of the women in i •
that unit. The official should not con- I
linue to hold the position if a majority '
of women don’t have confidence in her !
or him.
c The employer should be resj'on- ■ £
sible for ensuring tuat every empkwcc I
■
■
f/uf
■ (.(
; pll
prcTsion that his advances arc accept
able to you. Some men consider themselves entitled to react in obnoxious
and sometimes violent ways il they
can convince themselves and others
that they were led on by a woman.
courts. /.
I
Sometimes, not protesting early
and unacceptable conduct should be women also needAo leanj to defend
.
enough
is in part responsible for
provided to each employee, posted on and protect themselves mOTe effec
women
remaining
silent about inci
the bulletin board, and carefully re tively by taking their own measures.
dents of sexual Harassment they su viewed in training, orientation and re
The first bad habit that we need to fer because tholonger such behavior
training programmes. Punishments by
reject is our own tendency to assume continues, the more lurid are its
the firm might range from censure, to the attitudoof
To0 manifestations and. therefore, the
loss of bonuses and other extra com
many wSmen behave
more embarrassing to discuss with
pensation. to punitive fines, and in
sive ways in their relations with men. others or to make a public issue of. We
more severe eases, to Idss of job.
not saying a determined "no".'to un
Building up an awareness that welcome advances as soon as they , need to learn to talk about such expe
riences without shame, to protest
sexual harassment is unacceptable
start occurring. We often let things go against Attempts at bullying or black
within the unit in itself would act as an too far before we begin fo reject ad
mail. Making this an open struggle is
important preventive measure. It would
vances and stan to protest, by which our best protection against further
have a restraining effect on many of
time many others sec us as having
those who feel emboldened to try it invited trouble or as willing partici sexual harassment and sexual abuse
these days because they feel they can pants in a -flirtatious game.' Too many because blackmailers have little le
verage in an open atmosphere. They
set away with it.
of us live and act in the belief that 'men thrive on fear and secrecy. You have
e The woman complainant should
will be men.’ that is, men are always
have the option of deciding whether aoingtoact sexually aggressive, how a chance of defeating them by being
she wishes her complaint to be kept ever we trv to indicate that their ad more direct and decisive.
It is also very importantfor women
confidential or to make it public.
vances are not welcome. In this view, to loam to provide mutual support and
• If there is a strong prima facie case women just have to pul up with such
aeainst the accused he may be tempo- abuse because it’s in the nature of protection to cach other rather than, as
so often happens, work against cach
raril v suspended from his job forthwith.
things. This victim mentality is our other In most units where bosses are
for the brief period of the investigation, worst enemy, for this stereotyped role
prone to
io harassing women sexually,
so that he does not have the opportu
suits
the
aims
of
the
oncot
Ih
e
COcommon
mmun ploys they
-------one
of
the
use is to
nity to abuse his official position to best. We need to take responsibility f
mbsandspecial favours to the
intimidate the woman or her support- changing our ineffective stereotyTi .
. |losenoncs.’Thiscausesresentments.
Thi s causes resentments,
behaviors. In this regard it is importath
.itionand
and mutua
mutuall hostility
hostility
• n should be mandatory to complete
toad decisively as soon as possib .
,omcn eltlpiOyCcs or students,
the enquiry and take action within a soon as unwelcome advances arc ma .
harder tQ act with
specified period of time, no more than By moving quickly you «ill not alk
an(] support cach other in
three months.
, the man to create the misleading m Qf
As a resultj thc task of
e It should also be mandatory to make
exploiting women becomes much
the report of the enquiry committee
easier. We ‘need to learn to rely on our
public unless the woman complainant
competence and dignity rather than
specifically requests them to keep H
seek favours through flirtations which
confidential. Not releasing these en
are likely to alienate us from other
quiry reports is a common way of
women and deny us their respect and
shielding the culprit by covering the
support. A women not respected by
matter with a shroud of secrecy.
• otherwoiucnisseldomiakensenously
Tlic Indian Institute of Tcchnolby men and. therefore, less able to
i oev. Delhi, is already in the process of
.•Jsist being sexually abused or ha
i establishing procedures for dealing
in lhe unit is made aware that
sexual harassment is unacceptable
within the firm and is a punishable
offence, both by the firm and in the
H sucll
and hopethaTthewwillensure that such
:
protective measures arc taken in.lhcir
'
respective workplaces.
However, apart from demanding
| with sexual harassment. We invite our
I readers to send us their suggestions
IS
rassed.
NUMBER 69
■
I
Follow Up Report on a Case of Sexual
Harassment in Delhi University
by
Madhu Kishwar
...... . z=~ ss=s
68) we reported serious allegations of
sexual harassment against the Hpad,
Department of Adult Continuing Edu
cation and Extension (DACEE), Delhi
University; Dr S.C. Bhatia,Since then,
in the list week of March the DACEE
staff went on a. relay hunger strike, to
protest against the non payjncm of
women members, and,
Professor Shatia to be participating in
meetings.”
• On receiving a copy of this letter
from the author, we thought it necessary to find out from the University
what action it had taken regarding the
charges against Dr BhatiaT i phoned
of rubbish. I refuse to tell you any
thing. That seemed a strange response
from somebody who had been assigned
the task of enquiringtato the
tionU"
I then asked him.* “Since you are I
asserting with such confidence that the
he was out of Delhi. I was advised to women’sahegationsare‘Aibbish’does
charges of sexual harassment
this mean you have already com
against EJr S-..C. Bhatia. Delhi
pleted
your enquiry?”
UniversirvTeachcr’sAssociation
His response: “I don’t need
(DUTA) also joined with the
h
any enquiry to know that those
DACEE union in demanding ac
charges
are
rubbish.
You
bad
no
tion against Dr Bhatia on the basis
business to publish such non
of the charges made against him.
sense.
”
O:i March 26. 1992. in a meet
1
persisted: “Please tell me I
ing o: tha Academic Council, the
/
whether
or not an enquiry hasbeen * *
Vice Cnanccllor. Upendra Baxi. f
1 instituted ajKl whether Bhatia has I
told those present that Dr Bhatia \.A
been asked to proceed on leave.”
wou Id be asked to go on leave and
Ni
He exploded again: “Why
would also be removed as Head
should
I tell you anything? Did
of DACEE. while retaining his
-i
you
consult
us before you pub
position as Director. On learning
lished
that
rubbish?
You had no
of these developments, we as
business
to
publish
such non
sumed that Delhi University was
sense.”
beginning to take the necessary
I replied: “Do you mean that
steps in this case. However, a few
I
should
have sought the
weeks later. Professor Shukla of
University’s permission?” (I had
Delhi University’s Faculty of Educa contact the Pro Vice Chancellor, Pro
tion phoned to say fhat hc was dis lessor Nagar, to obtain information on sent an advance copy of the charges to
turbed to find Dr Bhatia in attendance the latest developments in this case. I the Vice Chancellor UpendraBaxi and
at a meeting of the Board of Research phoned him several times and left mes- had several lengthy phone conversa
Studies in Social Sciences on /April” ~9 sages asking him to call me back. He tions with him on the subject prior to
publishing the article.)
and April 10. 1992. Professor Shukla did not return my calls. Finally, after
Professor Nagar repeated wangrily
subsequently wrote a letter to the Uni try ing a few more times, I phoned him that he
wouldn’t tell me anything Xci
. ;e
versity protesting that: “if the Univer at his residence and spoke to him.
I
hadn
’
t
‘
consulted
’
him
earlier.
He
sity has sent him [Dr Bhatia] on leave,
As soon as I mentioned that I was also cast aspersions regarding the ve
as a i
:incl disdpline calIin"10 find oui if an cikiuir>' com. racity of the two women of DACEE
| and out of legitimate concern
’ for the mince had been established to exam- who made the original complaints.
‘ £ t,ie Vice Chancellorand “
MANUSH1
19
I then asked: “Does this mean that temporary head of DACEE. and asked
Only when the above points are !
you see yourself as a defender of Bhatia her the same two questions. She said clearly stated by the University theie ■
rather than someone who is to investi she knew nothing about Dr Bhatia’s can be any further correspondence ci
gate impartially?”
having been asked to proceed on leave. this count as I am not sure that this t.
His final reply: “I don’t want to talk Nor did she have any information about also the University shall indulge ie
to you since you did not consult me.” an enquiry
set
. . committee
'
rhaving
’_ been
l another
scandolous eye-wash...'
That is where our conversation ended. up. All she knew was that Dr Bhatia
Since the allegations in this case
Professor Nagar’s outbursts and had resigned from the position of Head have a long history, are of a very seri ?
! vehement defence of Dr Bhatia are all . of DACEE, but not as Director, and ous nature, and the University’s own ‘
the more disturbing as he has appar- that he continued to function as a Pro- efforts at investigation have not been •
ently been assigned the task of fessor on the faculty,
vigorous and swift, we demand thar.
organising some sort of enquiry into
In the njcantime Dr Sushma Mcrh. • the University ask for an enqui; ;
the allegations. A day or two before one of the complainants against Dr by a high court judge to look into the ■
’
"
my telephone conversation with him Bhatia, in her letter dated May 4,1992 charges
of sexual”harassment andlend
the two women from DACEE who had in response io his letter of April 28 sure that due process is followed.
made the sexual harassment cornpla inis referred to above, has refused to sub » the terms of reference and structure
against Dr Bhatia received letters from mit any furthcrevidence on the follow- of this investigation be made public,
him saying that, “in order to investi ing grounds:
$ pr Bhatia not be permitted to pargate [their] charges, it has been de
I am afraid that after the experi- ticipate in the work of the University
cided to institute an enquiry’." The two once of the... Baviskar Committee... I pending the completion of the enquiry.
women were “advised to send [their] am rather sceptical about the honesty ® the charge of sexual harassment be1,
complaints... giving all details andany of the University in respect to such investigated separately and indepen
documentary evidence in a sealed cover 'enquiries'.... let the University prop- dently. It should not be confused with
to me [Professor Nagar] in confidence erly appoint an enquiry' clarifying the the other charges of corruption and
as soon as possible, but not later than following points:
mismanagement, or any other long
10 May 1992.”
1. Nature of the enquiry'
standing problems in DACEE, such as
Having failed to get any informa- 2. Composition of the Committee
job regularisation.
liqn about the status of the enquiry 3. Terms of reference of the Commit • the enquiry be completed within
from Professor Nagar. I phoned Pro tee
three months and the report be made
fessor Veena Das. who is send ng as 4. Procedure of enquiry
public soon thereafter.
Manushi’s
Special Volume on
Women Bhakta Poets
is now available in an attractive hardbound edition with laminated
jacket. Contains accounts of the life and work of Mirabai, Andal,
Avvaiyar, Muktabai, Janabai, Bahinabai,Lal Ded, Toral, Loyal and
others and translations of their poetry, many appearing for
the first time in English.
120 pp., profusely illustrated.
Price: Rs. 100 + Rs. 15 registered postage.
Overseas Price: $20 + $5 postage.
Send advance payment to the Manushi address.
>1 ^eau tiful (}iftt
ti «« ri-mD AO
PM®SS~CU3>pmG
SERVICE
“Hai l Bhari", C-46, East of Kailash-I, Naw Dolhi-110065
.
Public Policy DMstaSS
______ Voluntary Health Association oi Indk
Nano of tho Paper
j
THB TELEGRAPH
Published st
8
CALCUTTA
Dated
I
/\.Lc n'<
Lor’iA^^ •
1 8 DEC 1W
^^c^upational diseases in
Indian women on the use
, ndian women workers are
H beroiniiip. increasingly pro
wear glasses by the time thev
-■A-iic to uCCUp<ilioiitii dlscaseb.
roach the ape of
because m
according to a recent survev.
the intense strain on their eyes
Conducted jointly bv ’ the
Many of them, in fact, become
Industrial Toxicology Resear
incapable of continuing with
ch Institute, Lucknow, and the
their work by the time the.
National Institute of Occupatio
reach 50. I he most common
nal Health, Ahmedabad, the
ailhction, apart from failing
study points out that occupa
eyesight, is spondylitis which
tions involving excessive expo
develops due to (he stooping
sure to noise and vibrations
posture adopted at work.
can adversely affect the female
In the brass ware industry in
reproductive system.
Moradabad, working condi
Occurrence of ovarian can
tions are appalling and there is
cer has been considerably high
high morbidity related to respi
er in women cosmetologists as
ratory diseases and heat
well as those women working
exhaustion.
If
in rhe rubber industry
Women involved in carpet
I hough occupational cancer
weaving and khadi-spmning in
h.is not been fully assessed,
Muzapur. Bhadoi, Agra and
women in the textile industry
bhahjahanpur suffer from post
have been found to be prone to
ural defects and backaches
a higher incidence of the dis
while 20 per cent have gynaeco
ease than others, says the sur
logical complaints.
vey, titled "Occuparional and
environmental
health
pro
In the organised sector, out
ol the 42 women workers in tlw
bl urns of Indian women”
coil and insulation section <>i
According to the report, vari
Bh.n at I leavy Electricals Linm
ous socio-economic factors,
, T ed (BHEL) in Bhopal, 71 per
< ■unbined with ge neral ill heal
cent complained of constant
th. lack ol awareness and in
J__ j headaches and GO pur cent had
many cases, inadequate techno
.J itching, in the eyes Also, il.tlogy, make Indian women wor
‘n<-‘d^“ce of pain m the e.xhu
kers unduly vulnerable to heal_____________ _
—J mities, bodyache and muscle
th risks, as compared to their Women in the construct ion industry are <
susceptible io occupuii - ciamps was 5G per cent more in
'T'reTrn'or’
and
-UldUe 10COnstant shif,in«°f . 2i mortar
women than the men.
and
Apart from studying the vai i
researchers,led by DrP.N.Vish98 Per c«nt of women con- Gujarat, were l'. ...
Lw
also studied,
ous health problems, the sur
wanathan of the ITRC, contact- struct>on workers were illitera- Here, the incidence
of lung dJis- vey also puts forth certain
ed women workers
------ - in
... various le- Seventy per cent in Patna .
eases was /0 per cent in the recommendations — one of the
sectors, such as coir-weavers, a,ui 80
percent
8^_,P
er cenl in Delhi
Lelhi were
case of women and 55 per cent
agricultural labourers,
- ---- carpet
carpet below 35 years of age. Due to for men. The incidence of tuber major suggestions being the
weavers, bidi-makers. brasswa- gruve ^xmomical factors, 40 culosis w as 21 per cent f -r wom designing of workroom condi
tions and effective tools to sun
re
workers,
chikanchikan ^er Cent ot W()men continue to en and 11 percent lor men
women workers. The resear
embroiderers and construction w<,rk,uP.fo tlle eighth or ninth
chers also urge that personal
workers.
month of pregnancy and 23 per
The health survev of 1,250
protection devices be designed
It was found that women
women in
in cent uPro lhe very last day. Abs- women coir-workers in Kerala
rhe construction industry
industry are
are ence of even minimum, health spowed
avw„uu that
lHui most
mos of thetn were and their use encouraged by
,
demonstrations and subsidised
susceptible to occupational
occupational I?rolef|ll()n during pregnancy afflicted with
—.. sk
...<in and respira schemes.
stress due to constantt shiftin'
’
as
well
as
general
malnutrition
shifting
tory diseases as well as elephan
Another recommendation is
of fresh mortar. The strenuous resu" in h’gh infant mortality tiasis.
■» *
that awareness be created
iob of rock and brick-crushing ra!vSi<>b
Agricultural workers are con about occupational problems
-is well as carrying loads uu
''omen in the textile indus stantly exposed to the, toxicit >.
up
improvised ladders also result try snov> a higher incidence of of pesticides and mbst women in women workers about the
in strokes, apart from the van occupational cancer and chemi in rural north. India to’ the y!e handling of puienualE
'-us physical factors such as fati cals usc^ija. ifycing, finishing, smoke ot cow-dung cakes while dangerous substances. Female
flame
poking. This adversely affects industrial
hygiene
experts
gue, cramps and postural moth-proofing,’
.
retarding
and
u U1^ !(\° few ,n India, training
defects
w-rinkle- (he lungs and results in b, onchr
resisting could be responsible
should be imparled to mans
. '*
tis, among other things.
In studies
. .......... Ol
conducted
at for it.
more.
|
, In
c-hikan industry, a
Anna and Delhi, it was found
’
•J'
Agate-workers in Kh;arpbal. large number of wonivn have to
Manjul Misra
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Voluntary Health Association of India
Tong Swasthya Bhavan, 40, Institutional Area, New Delhi - lio oie
Date
Nome of the Newspaper
Subject
^Copies sent to/
Follow-up
DD/MM/YY
JE HINDUSTAN TIMES
(Delhi)
NSATTA
(Delhi)
I
ATESMAN
• EXPRESS
NEER
V
(Delhi)
(Delhi)
Public Policy BWiofi
Voluntary Health Assodati m o India
(Delhi)
(Calcutta)
|
Sexual harassment
on the rise .-.ILOsW
WASHINGTON, Nov 29. —
Sexual harassment*of women
is acquiring a menacing dimen
sion worldwide compelling
many of its victims to quit jobs
or suffer humiliation, says UNI
quoting
an
International
Labour Organization study.
Sexual harassment caused
between six and eight-per cent
of women surveyed to change
their jobs. Many of them were
involuntarily dismissed. The
proportion of one oqt qf 12 women being forced ®ut of a job
after being sexually harassed
could apply to many countries.
The ILO Director-General,
Mr Michel Hansenne, says:
“Research finding in twq in
dustrialized countries demons
trate that sexual harassment is
a pervasive problem affecting a
considerable proportion of
working women."
These countries include the
USA, Canada, France, New
Zealand, Spain, Sweden^the
United Kingdom and Japan.
According to the ILO study,
between 15 and 30% of working
women questioned in some
surveys say they have been
subjected to frequent, serious
sexual harassment — un
wanted touching, pinching,
offensive remarks and unwel-
come requests for sexual inter
course.
These “offensive and de
manding” experience often •
result in emotional and physi
cal stress and related illness, it
adds.
While expressing concern at (
these figures, the ILO cautions
that the surveys, limited to 23
. countries and using varied deffinition methods and sample
groups, are not comparable and
should not be interpreted as
othe global situarepresenting
tiqn/
„> ‘The full picture L
——
is L.
incomDlete because a large percen*
----------------------1 a- in
tage
of cases go
unreported
every country,’’ Mr Hansenne
qpmments.
•
•
According to one report,
“some 60% of victims of sexual
harassment ignore it believing
that complaining will not resol
ve the problem but instead will
cause Anther economic and
psychological harm”.
But these surveys do reveal
that concerned awareness of
the problem — in the work
place and nationally as well as
internationally — had come a
long way in a short time.
Indeed, since the ILO report
was prepared, new laws were
adopted in Belgium and
France.
I
I
?
I
i
f Clipping
Telephone •' 630091
jT*|egram ‘ { New DelhU
PRESS-CLIPPINCf- SER’
•‘Hari Bhari”, C-46, East of Kai!ash-I, New Delhi-1
■ flame of the Paper
EVENING NEWS (H T) , ?
? published by
NEW DELHI
I (efr
.
28 NOV BS©
Public PoHcy JWiefc j
Voluntary Health Associado?7i
' Strain 9 the btnie
working woman
7
‘ -
'' •
HT^HE woman of today is deter- artery diseases. Significantly more and roller skating-'
/.
' I. ■ J-Sto
X mined, responsible and ambitious. women smoke than jver before ^thus improve the cardio-vaacuhr
ir^irv-u^a^.Kj. jysleni.
Pragmatic like man, she loo has quickly overtaking men in the inci 7 be heart-be&t becomes
stronger,
accepted the common worship of a dence of lungw cancer too.
breathing tv
•'-■is deeper xsd drculabank account to keep the kitchen fire
The fatigue ^suffered 14 just not tior.
Ittd 'Vi th the improveburning.
«vci<--ii !«■•»
k- psychologic?.I
—.-—t
men I j i; cl
,
physical
but could be
*
A glance at the modern woman and and mental as well. Feclings'of tired-, self with more <enrrvy ^ixi increased
you see inordinate hankering for ness can arise from physical exhaus awareqess. Also:she should avoid skipmoney, an insatiable desire for posses tion, boredom, frustration, sire .cr? 4/..-hj.iogico/fceor
c
sions and a phobia of somebody being intcllectual work too.
Jii.-.Tdess food. She
one-up on them.
. JTshoul
' eating iaeai<, on tfee
Her ambitions are rising and she is
much r-tritiofld
good news, however, is that 1
steeping out to qualitatively meet inX most of these illnesses are prevent- y
r io oi!
creasing requirements, hence paying able.
woman can
can keep
keep herteli
hertdf <^9r‘ ’
able. Every
Every woman
? on high
—.. .......... ----------------------------:______________
caloric
-■
er no nut-
_______ By Chandershekhar Kunira
‘'i6oaal vaJue-
the price which is sometimes more healthy, if she so desires by keepiit
than proportionate. Where the man her mind, spirit and body work , Ciou l
cnty dung is that you
was tension-ridden, burdened with the together in harmony. Thus then th
have to keep in mind the three impor
excesses of multiplying income, she physical body is trim, toned And tant point-.:
h : :■
now moves in and is a potential factor strong, the mind is effected positively moderation. And now ? - ■' , Von
to reckon with. Current medical re resulting in a high $clf esteem,
know that your oiet u w< • i:-:hin4d?
search reveals that degenerative dis tive outlook of life and confidence. Each day if, ■
, .
enrbohyeases, particularly those associated The opposite is also true. Basic- to drates, p:.
with stress and sedentary livin'g, are fitfiess are physical activity or exercise, minerals
showing a dramatic upswing among nutrition, positive thought, and re-.,
• A working-woman requinw energy
women.
and relaxation.
Resultantly most of the women to
bohydrate.. ■ ■ ;
..
,.
day, are victims of high blood press
She should have an internal tune-up of foods m ftdr aaturJ. ..--i state,
ure, chronic fatigue, nervous dis- .programme. Aerobics classes,,
_ ■brisk you car. most effectively diges? and’
orders, low back pain and coronary walking, jogging, cycling, swimming assimilate nutrients. ■ •
< TFPRPlnG
J .y 630091
1
Delhi-65
Telephone » 630091
F»RESS--Cl>*Jpr*1]NG SERVICE
“Hari Bhari” C-46. East °f Kailash‘1' N®w
N#rn® of the Paper
:
10065
ImdiaN eXPress
published by
:
F
'
(
.
7
0 LA-
ChandIGARH
___________ 3-9-
SEP 1990
(City Edition)
*
’rotect the working woman. >
women. But the'fact is that all this |
v
is hollow talk, a vote-catc^ng . i
device that has been in use lor {
. -R’/ONE wants women to . able part of the story. Now look at
iXwork. - Parents . want the
the unbearable. Not tong ago a
daughter to take up some job . top Maharashtra politician, while
ST
because it brings down the dowry
on board a plane, made ugly
ugly ..
bill. A groom wants a working
overtures towards an air hostess,
‘
b ide to be able to pull through the
A former Union Minister misbeimic hardships of life which . haved'with the.Stomen staff of the
jeconocnic
3 Janp^th Telephone Exchange in
'have cwme
z..._ to stay.;But nox Ond
,
____________
•“ of
Delhi, A Madhya Pradesh legislafcseemS'to bother
about the woes
of 2a
—
.
.
.
—
^4.!
? the working woman. She gets only
tor outraged the‘.modesty cf
’
-----woman employee.
rbitter comments from her,men
The story does not end there. ’
J colleagues
(sometimes
extra
' Not long ago. a top cop of Punjab
r sweet which is worse). They
misbehaved with a woman IASI attack women; they lampoon
officer at a party hosted by a top
' them; they lambast them. “She is
bureaucrat. As a Jaipur-based
always lost in the Max Factor
post-graduate student, I do not
culture, always insists on every
know what was reported by lhe •
thing being spick and span arouncf
BQauniiuui-y-«*vv
........... „
local press. What I read in a
a dazzling bright table,.......
a sparkling
clean chair, all that uurw
would
ilrt nO
go with
magazine was nerve-shaking. A
‘ are
far more horrible case was re
the shine of her sari ’". ~
Such
ported in September. 1989, by a
;the compliments men pay their
journal published from the capital.
'women colleagues. But what is
i wrong with insisting on cleanliness around?
Evl
stitution ..arms the ^Gqvemment
with\he power to have special
legislation for women and chth
dfen.
u
Coming down from the high
schemes; the Government could
do a few small things for the
women.in offices, in the fields, in
factories, in hospitals and else
where. A small beginning can be
made by providing an adequate
number of ladies'’ rooms in offices ■
where women Employees can sit
together,-eat together and talk Oft
matters pf common interest
,
©mment-run creches near a c^ter of offices and industrial
be started to provide Jfif
may
HALF
BITTER
BRIGHTER;-.-
A woman would come late (are
men always on time?). She has to
pack her husband off to office and .
the child to school. She leaves in e '
hurry and often before time — the J _
T*-““
child is waiting for the mother. She
c
Sexual harassment of women
would ask-for leave more often,
at work reached the Qbyss when
sometimes the husband is ailing,
one May 18, 1989, the vice prin
sometime the child and at times
cipal of . a Bombay college
she herself (one hopes they do
allegedly outraged the modesty of
not resent her proceeding on
his junior colleague, a young girl
maternity leave).
from a lower middle class family.
And the nadir was reached when
Maybe a woman would come
the principal advised her not to
late sometimes and even leave
press her comp'laint. lest the
before time. But once she is in.
offending senior should spoil her
she is never out. She is never
confidential report, and laughmg.y
seen at the roadside TV shop ' asked her to forget the incident as
when a cricket match is on, never
“kissing is not a sg/ious offence
seen in a gossip session in a
And this is the attitude of teachers,
nearby coffee house. She works
the ones who are expected to lead
with greater zeal, devotion and
mankind from “darkness to light''.
honesty. She handles visitors
gently, yet firmly. She is never
Much noise has been made
discourteous, never rude. Cases
about plans for women and much
of corruption have been rarely
more. In his Independence Day
reported against women em
message, Mr V. P. Singh prom- ,
ployees. Why should then men
ised legislation to reserve 30 per
lambast their women colleagues.
cent seats in panchayats for
That, however, is only the bear-v
Voluntas •
'
'
•/
*
■
J
working women's children with the »
needed care at reasonable ccit. * ‘
Local transport (in big cities) is
yet another area which cries for
attention.
Buses
are
over- .]
crowded. It is a homWe scene
how women enter the buses. And
even if they manage to get In. their
plight in the midst of the crowd is
beyond description. Many miss , |
the right bus and get late only to ;
invite uncharitable taunts from :
their merj. colleagues. Special ,
buses should be- run for women M
employees
from
convenient |
points, or adequate number of
s^afs should bo reserved for tfwn
where it is mot possible to ply
buses exclusivefy for them.
Above all, a stringent code of
conduct with exemplary punish
ment for those who try to violate
the honour and dignity of women
.
— NEELAM AGARWAL
.z.
Telephono 1 &300S1
?•
p.BESS-CLrpplNG SERVICE
U!-Jari ^hari”,
_____ _
'
East of Ka^as^"h New Dolhi-110065
- -• -
_
’ 0 Of th9
i FINANCIAL express-
fish3^ nt
• NEV'.’ DELMI
Public Policy
-------- Assodaties-efTmfo_____________________
ien take the cake,
oinen get baked
MANILA, Dec 9
special training and equipment to
---- :--------- . improve farming and productivity. ■
Women make up to 60 per cent of
get
|oans from the banks. I
the total rural labour force in Asia, female farmers on the other hand !
but they are almost totally ignored r(Jo not have thc $ame degree access 1
by governments in planning, agri- t0 training, credit and other facillicultural development. ’ •
lies as a result they get left behind.
This anti-women bias, in the plan’
ning process handicaps womeen
-phe]ma paria, a scientist at
who are already disadvantaged in the Philippine-based International
most Asian rural societies, accordResearch Institute (IRRI),
ing to farm experts, Asian govern- said that “women have been bypasment officials and women farmers
target beneficiaries of techwho met in a conference on "gender nologies, extension activities and
issues in agriculture” held here this
services.”
week.
[n one rare Philippine research
Although women perform almost PF°i«« th.at,'^'flX'alo?
11 i
.■
discovered that women lost a 101 01
all farm activities - from weeding,
h-irvestine rice transplanting and harvesting to pro- time harvesting nee.
. cessing and marketing,
.. . - to. full. range
Another case is a project in Rawa
of their contribution... has hardly Graei a vj|iage in Sumatra, Indonebeen documented and recognized.
recognized,
sia ^hich slarted in 1982 with Dutch
said the Philippine Agriculture aid
ject boosted the far
Undersecretary Mr Bruce Tolen mers productivity and incomes in
tino.
the area, but the women were total
This is a huge blind spot. Women ly left out.
farmers often do more work than
It was only two years ago that
the man. They work not only in the women were included in several
fields but also run the household. training courses to improve their
In Indonesia, for instance, a study productivity, this phase of the pro
showed that women fanners spend ject was a quick success.
about 5.5 hours a day on domestic
This
tasks, mostly food production, and
- - rpro-women shift in the agriseven hours on income-earning acti- cultural planning startea^only
cently, partly because of the in
vities.
That is a total of more than 12 creased interest in women bv wesb
hours compared to the men who em donor agencies, women farmers
only work less than nine hours on are now defined as a special target
group by rural planners and researthe average,
The problem starts with farming chers.
• ■ ••• women farmers
-----The Asian Development Bank
statistics.
Normally
are not counted since they are not (ADB), which together with the ;
United Nations development fund ■
listed as the head of the family
Instead, they are considered "un for women (UNIFEM) organised ,
paid family workers,” or sup the conference, announced recently 1
hus- that it was increasing its aid projects 1
plementary earners to their
t
for specific women projects coming
bands.
This pro-male bias in the informa- year,
The
tier, gathering stage starts the proTh. overall lot of poor rural ,
cess that results in rural develop- people can be improved only if
ment benefiting largely male far women are also included in develop- 1
ment plans, ‘stated Mg Yuriko
mers.
The men are the ones interviewed Uehara ADB’s women project spe
,.r
by agricultural researchers, they get cialist.
r------
• •
> Clipping
•. 7 f 5300<M
V New’Oe.hl-65 ’
•
net tSOOftt
.
pRKSS-CElHFirv’G toKRVSCE
“Hari 8ha*i’’, c-46 East of Katlash-I, New Delhi-IIOOfS*^
_ _______ -1_________ 2____________ _______ ;--- -—---
I
---------------------------------------------------- ■■
/ Name Of ths Panet t THE INDEPENDENT .
1 Published by
•»
t BOMBAY
.
Public Policy
^cr/^oluiitary Health Association
- 1 AUG 1990
Fn IF RFVOl IffION at the work- .Nkr-
*- *
. —■—>
•-*-
i■ <■*
an Soc-irty.
In the American society evid-
j*-^
vvoiiieii; re v yiuiiun m w ui n. piavc ICI-LAO IV W C4.VyAA
vw ho actively participate in rais
ing their children will be uerr.i,
(•»... mvinc the
the bills
bill* etc.
etc. So
bo here
here ine both sons and daughters
■left
~ nobody
* dyunlouchcd.Onepar«
^5'
untouched. O n e pa r
refused to change, the result has pay ng h
n
|hp tt)Wanl, healthier gender ro es,
r
...
..
that
they
,
this
division
gives
the
-noticeable
------- ------------------------------tional mangswell concurs with to share the power tha
been tension between the bus- ^m tn
£ job, „t Kvle Pruett, a Psychiatrist at the
ticular4ti«
“------ _ changerhas
freedom to do
the ’jobs
at tale Child Study Centre has
Prut i ma VKa^
this view, (in the other extreme. enjoy at home with their hus band and wife. As much as the man
workplace,
there is a ‘leisure
hifcLnven'me
while
it gets
.been
kbeen the entry of women in
,
u ...
in Bombay
gap' bcftveen them at home.
the “pure” egalitarian woman bands. This is partly because of woman may like to manage the l.« —........ ’almost all professions. They
5wki„a
ro
u.me.
been
<^,^r
the
eternal
conflict
a
woman
the
woman
stuck
in
a
routine.
Most
women
work
one
shift
at
» ;
wants to identify with the same
?
; iiave
have also risen
r ~" up &. proved
office or factory and Ji of caretaker there is ho eviden- spheres her husband does and ■goes through of being tom bet- home, it is physically quite
lhem«el*esl° be as competent if the
i
With children being bom as a primarv parent on the gen
impossible for the woman to
inrttetteUh®0 their male col- .‘second shift’ at home.
ce to Drove that thi’viiave been - wants to have an equal amount
manage single handedly the .there
Uk<< *comes
—••• more responsibi
•
der identity of the child. He
.
various professions
nrefessions
,
■ . .. . , ,. , u- .1o..
for nrsa- of nower in the marriage. N>me
i1leagues
m various
home as well as her work.
. lily. In most
most nuclear famihes ubseried boys enjoying uietr
HOw different is H in India?
today the moi her. whether she nurturing
rn
nisine the family's social life & women want the coup.e to be
lhc
(hal
s
he
is
-.venous
.
i & taveexceiled tn the entrepreskills; they knew
Interviews with a cross-seetion
1 unjrial line as well.
home But the role stereotypes jointly oriented towards homr. Many women are not able to
In some cases where the man
or noi. is the primary par- w bal to (fa with a baby and didn’t
of working women and mothers
are
so
ingrained
in us that des- others to their careers, or both achieve
a
sense of balance .and is averse to the idea of helping (.nL Though men do play
T)jis revolution in the workg
Ps jol) bul as
revealed several interesting
nite the changes -in the world,of them to jointly hold some balcnd
powerless, outalh<jmennd where money is around with the children, it is .
ntye has however really not
end lip
up feeling
feeling quite powerless.
. iob pruetl doesn't
n(>| cunslnij„t the man seeks !he woman s job to look after
,hat’fathcrs are better at
In .1.;.
this .....
.situation home nrovides
provides
bathed the homefront and facts.
In betwe
wer are still comfortable and ance between the two.
!■>heiwenmvutes
argue that fathers are better at
One of the peculiar features of
them the security and feeling substitutes far his contribution, ^hem. bathe them feed them etc. mothering than mothers, -amp
bcace is a stalled revolution.
stuck in our traditional roles. en the tw.oextremes. is the transthat thev are in contnil. In some The couple have more servants. The man’s role in helping to ly that two involved parents are
Vtn often what w e hear and see our Indian Society is the Joint Though
l nougn the
me woman
wiynan today
,«,»•••» prok*•'
itional woman who wants to
family
concept.Though
a
rarity
__________ .k.
"
-■ *’
bablv works harder than men at identify with her role at w ork as
cas,.s,(js a matter of fastidious■ 'ge images &. stories of successIn India, unlike in other bring up the child is largely better than one and a lump'.
t i.
i.ii comes «*.well
’•* 11 nc
1
»»*»<:
ness
< hannii*
bourne<uii
outof
ofan
an inubilit
inability
V to
lncS' ,the
h(. av
business women and these' davs, in the yester years .her 'workplace.'she
as himir
home but
but unlike
unlike tlu
the
availability of a influenced by the roles his parstill
imtrepreneurs. but do we sec when joint families were com back and takes Charge of her egalilarran, she behrves that
relinquish traditional roles and domrMic lu.lp is> a boon to the enbi played. A helping father
Manv women are content
mon
the
woman
had
not
only
a
!fce other side of their lives?
antiquitcd
vvorkinit woman so the tension
the fact
working
reinfarces
that with
T......................ideas that Hie house
.
WOrKIllK
- ------[rilUVIl
t J the positive
-------------------role
-wil.l un
IUS that their
‘ - husbands
home.
ifVhile men & women work second shift but a third shift as
should be kept in a particular » ()|r.|)()\vintfl
„g
C
t
household
chothe
man
will
plav
in
bringing
up
help
out «n odd jobs at home or
*11*4 I*’
Ulu TIImH »
~
k
I
*'
This ha<its roptsIn what Arlie
manner. There
Tu—“ are hauntiitg ‘ res done is greatly lessened. But hischildandatraditionalunhel............. -i.-i-i
....
-uaa— rhthe children.
The
jftrough the first shift who really well, says a chief executive of a
p|av with
incmones of one's mothers' even this situation is changing pingfatherreinforveshisaltitu- question
Srarks on the ‘second shift’? Do successful management con- Hochschild s^ys the -Gender
that
we should ask uiffqucSuv..,.
—---------home w hub was always spick & in the metros and domestic help dc that women should bring up selves
[men and women both bear the sultancy firm. Thai is looking Ideology or.Strategy’’ that men
is
that
are
we
con®?*
selves
is
that
are
we
span .V smell of frejlily ground is no longer easily available. r brunt of the work athome or is it? after her in-law s and pandering & women adopt. A gender st rate- her husband should base Ins
the children, today most women
this superficial change -Do
• - » ______
•aRih
gy is a plan of; action through identity more on work than she sp1 i,.. t....
s &r which
was filled with
I really the woman who works to> their likes ^dislikes.
The speeded-up society of from all strata would like the w e su 11 w a nt to •be the transi u an
.But
in
the
changing
beenano
whichapcrMn
i.trieito
solve
prodoes.
tHe
transitional
man
as
Unle
. (things
hincs that
.rentrit
little |jnk
little
that were
tbe extra month in a year? What
today has forced the transitional father to play a more active role al ideologists or do we want to
ofloday.
where
nuclear
families
r.-u...
Families bkms
d,|igiven
ven the
|| isis aall
n far
honie!na
de. Savs a young lady • man to accommodate and than he is doing right now.
•„L al han
l-’and.
thecultucultu WP
well
for Ins
his wife
wife working
worl
humk
’ should a man & woman contri
be egalitarian in the true sense
--. expects Iher
the main eX
----- ....------ ih.«but
to 'me
take tT
(.(‘Uulive
tive “-somelimes
it11 is
ral notions of gender
gender at
at play,
play. to t
bute to the family? How does are more common place who ral
Are we prepared to
H‘ri'h
ex,,
!sthis.
‘n'"‘ adjust to some extent to the con>
like Russia of the term? A
Fjwer both al home
tach develop a ‘gender strategy’ really works the second shift? pursue a gender strategy, a man responsibility at home too.
work? If we really want .
to cope with work. home, marri Invariably it is the woman, lias draws on’beliefs about man
The ir.ix'-t t”’’’
'
ceamenseiir
the woman who cooks, cleans. noou
--------------------hood „„„
andtjiomanhood.
beliefs strategy in the urban working
the revolution to reach our
age
& life itselP
woman bears the oruni ui
An
interesting
study done by mindsthe house; who feels wor- ■
are fo^ed in early child- class today in India is the- T. ran si‘ /
-----------------„
extra load on the woman.
ing in with the household cho- houscwork as well as the job of homes, should not the first step
,
D^u
£t
nrni
ricd
when
the
bn
ai
does
not
boo(
i
and
thus
anchored
to
deep tional type. While most working
be ours forthe men to follow?
Artie Hochschild, a Professor at
res.
But
the
question
to
ask
is
bnnginR
upthe
children,
to
help
The infiuence of roles defined
. bringing up the children, to help These are a few questions
Berkeley, on the ‘Revolution at trun up. who sees to all the nutty emolions llie same is the case Bien and women of the middle &
grp at that a that is it really an equal division women cope, the
the society
society has
has
by
society
is
also
so
{
wie,
WUC.C she
«.<- lived 8"
lty deU‘ls
managing a
wilhwoinen.
upper middle class believe that
Borne
’, where
with
rally feels of work at home and if there i» extended help in the form of among many more which workwoman automatic;
ng men and women would
more responsible wwarosuier any.wiw
ieveals the most women with
ideologies—Traditional, Egalihome and her husband reinfor- Invariably it isn t an equal divin they are
out children spend much more needs to be sewn on the child s tanan and‘ J™®*’1 woman stilltraMionaHndow
as the
woman
tend to lake in
their thinking. ces
Ces it. But the transitional man sion,
sion.
woman
tfc
e
workplace
it
won't
be
long
--------------------inAeworkplace-Vw-ontbelong
conclusion of a truly, 1
traditional
in find
theirftthinking.
time than men on housework; dress and if the child is keeping purely ..^
traditional
OX h-*°X"' still
MaS
women
difficult has also had to eahnge to keep on the routine
rouune jobs
obs of cooking.
cookmg, “
f(>n.mor^ cihangewiU be call e?aliUrian
beroremorechange^U_be«llMany women find it diffiiult has also had to eahnge. to keep
with children they devote more well or not
wantsto
identify wrthherarti„
with her activi
u wants
loident,
(>f lhejr tional up with the times. When the cleaning while the men helpM ^forfroirilhemeninlheBussilime both housework & childca
ae, anu
woma
- ,
ties at home,
and '^
n,s l®^8 to get out t
blinkers
m3„ has
b.inKer. and
.nd home on odd jobs like repairing.
the man. The
roles.and as a result find it hard
re. Just as there is a ‘wage gap’
iwer than t..».
- —tradi--between men & women in the
[ < VIEWPOINT
gsss
|
vhi
Telegram i
f Clipping
< TF 63Q091
t New C^elh'i-65
Telephone i 630091
PI^BSS-CXIPPING SERVICE
“Hari Bhari”, C-46, East oi Kailash-I, New Delhi-110065
Name of the Paper
:
PATRIOT
Published by
:
NEW DELHI
Dated
i
•
~S MAY 1390
Women construction workers
Living under grim conditions
i//7
wages were even less than half or 60
per cent of the minimum wages.
In Calcutta, the daily wages of un
Chandigarh, May B — The working
skilled female workers varied be
conditions of women workers in
tween Rs 13 and Rs 16 as against Rs
building and construction industry
were worse and the existing legisla 18 and 20 for the corresponding mate
workers. In Delhi, however, the un
tive protective provisions were not
only completely ignored by the em skilled male and female workers
were being paid wages unfirmly at
ployers but also fell short of their
the rates fixed by the Delhi
basic needs, said a study conducted
administration.
by the Labour Bureau.
, A majority- of the employers
Emphasising the need for legisla, in
live provisions, the study has noted
Bombay and Madras were found to
that there was no provision for pro- /.be/violating the provisions of the
viding them maternity benefit, pre- -equal remuneration Act. In Madras,
vent them from working during
night or lifting heavy loads which
were the peculiar characteristics ot
the industry.
I
The study conducted in the four
metropolis Delhi/ Bombay. Madras
and Calcutta and covering govern
ment. semi-gbvernment and other
public sector work sites, has said that
the daily wages of most of the un
skilled female construction workers
in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta cit
ies were much less than those fixed
under the minimum wages Act. In
some cases women workers’ daily
Our Special Correspondent
Public Policy DMeioe
Voluntary Health Association of Indu
•
<
■
no employer was making payment
for tjie weekly off days to the
workers.
Provision of handgloves, uni
forms or other safety devices were
just unheard of. the maternity Act
was-simply not applicable and the
prescribed labour records were not
being maintained by most of the
employers.
Ironically, not only almost ail the
women construction workers were
found illiterate, but also as many as
68 of the total 79 children of the !
women workers in Delhi and 39 of :
the total 45 children in Bombay, the
team met. were not attending
schools. The situation, was far better .
in Madras where two-third of the '
children were attending schools.
1
The study has noted that no male
or female worker was reported to be ;
a member of any trade union. The>e
was a lack of consciousness among
the women construction workers as
almost all of them were not even
aware of the beneficial provisions
contained in the important labour
actsi like the minimum wages or the
equal remuneration acts etc.
,
.
x? t
. -r-
7i
■?
f i
Telephone I 630091
I
"H«rl Bhari
I
7 THE BUSINESS & POLITICAL OBSERVER
E
|4arne of the Paper
: NEW DELHI
|;x|C)Y^CzVV
>
published at
JUUL 199
Dated
Wo
labour force
iS
$n
^i.v'-rY'A
B’desh (
6.5 •?
.Lowest
[percentage^
As % of total
^labour force.
■
pi
-••■■■> 65 I
•
‘Jii\"’ :
K
.. ‘V.-
/xs
M
A
..... '
•
Sweden
48.0
Tanzania
‘48.3
Grenada
48.6
Burkina ■_
Faso
; 48.9
/i- :
)i
Ji
Source- UNDP Repo^ 1992
A
I
.
■?'
■■ '<
lx '
..
-1
'■■
A
t
..■■■
Barbados
48.0
r Highest
percentage
JAI
-
of lad*
public P°V'Healt^ssociation
C7
Voluntary
i
■
J,
•*r
f
WORKING WOMEN
I By Neelam Agrawal
facies required
VERYONF
n f c «■
> 0 0 _0 • —
VERYONE U/.n
wants
women 1
Public Policy Division
-J—i to work. Parents want the
Voluntary Health Association of India
daughter to take up some job
because it brings down the
dowry bill. A groom wants a
working bride to be able to pull
;; through
the
economic
. hardships of life which have
16
come to stay. But no one seems
to bother about the woes of the
working woman. She gets only
bitter comments from her men
colleagues (sometimes extra
sweet which -is worse) They
attack women; they lampoon
them, they lambast them. “She
n
is always lost in the Max Fac
tor culture, always insists on
everything being spick and
span around, a dazzling bright
1 nb‘Cu 3 sparl:ing;clean chair
all that would go with the------------J'™.-^er:sa,f1‘’-Such are the. in Delhi.
A Madhya
• compliments"
men pay
them legislator outXd
\h Pradesh
^Sh tW>rOrncn
u lnPita
otnccs
- ^Ids.
fac' colleagues
'“'.’ hos
hos
‘-nd
eisc’wh^
••• -men
But whaVis'
what s ty of a w-om\n
mOdeS’ V
\°riCS
Pltals
and elsewhere.
I
....... ..........
V- •
f
how women enter the Duses.
A o„ LiA-small beg.nning can be mode And even 11 they manage to get
jn. their plight in the midst of
A top police officer of Pun- bv
'
t her jab misbehaved with a woman
-......3 is beyond descrip
tion Many miss the right bus
at her IAS officer at a party hosted bv
and get late, and invite unchar
always on - a top bureaucrat.
‘ employees ca
itable taunts from them men
Sexual
harassment
of togethertind talk
colleagues.
Specif
buses
women at work reached the common Interest
•shou.d be run for women em
abyss
when
on
May
18,
1989,
run
creches
r:o.
-'“c in a hurrv and nftn
tk‘ ~.
Gn °n
a-v
1989, run creches near a cluster of
the vice6 principal
off 3a Bomba
Bombay
offices and
and industrial
industrial units ployees from convenient points
; ' h.-rc time - the child is wait0 colleJp
d*1 °
-V on,ccs
for the mother. She asks for modwty lefged y outraSed the may be started to provide the or adequate number of seats
c.ive more often, sometim -rho
' Oi bls junior col- working women’s children should be reserved for them
hu>band
is
ailing
sornetim
1
^
e
'
girl from a WIlb tbe needed care at a '■'.here it is not possible to plv
husband
buses exclusively for them.
thchild,
and
at
’
timT
^
cla
^
And reasonable cost.
the
and at times she the nadir was reached when
Above all. a stringent code of
•herself (one hopes they‘ do not
with
exemplar-.'
Local transport (in big cities) conduct
the
principal
advised
her
not
to
re:tnl her proceeding on
press her complaint lest the is yet another area which cries punishment for those who trv
maternity leave).
for attention. Buses are over- to violate the honour and
Maybe a woman does come offending senior should spoil
her confidential report, He crowded. It is a horrible scene dignity of women is the need of
ate sometime, and even leaves
the time
even laughingly asked her to
-' ■' 're time. But once she is in forget the incident as "kissing
she is never out. She is never
seen at the roadside TV shoo is not a serious offence" And
When a cricket match is on this is the attitude of teachers
the ones who are expected to
E. Sh^ worVwHh7
lead
1 from "darkness
W.th’ /nsLnnn
insisting
on
on
sx-Tri xixs'x
Much noise has been made
about
plans for women and
;
She is never discourmuch more. In his Independ
-■
never rude Cases of corI ‘“Ution have been rarel-' re- ence Day message, a former I
!!''n ted against women' em- Prime Minister, Mr V.P. Sineh
promised legislation to reseXe
I i’lovees. Why should then men
,
30 per cent seats in panchayats
I inn.bast their women col.
for women. But the fact is that
I ivagues?
all this is hollow talk, a voteI hat. however, is
•nly^ the catching device
—that has been I
I bearable p~r
part of the story.
. ” Now in use for years. Nothing has j
at the
' I2 ^Hbc-arable.
unbearable. Not been done
CVen whcn Article
;
ago a top Maharashtra KAffi,
yH.ctan whtle on board a 15 of the Constitution arms the H‘ane. made ugly overtures to- Government with the power to
! ^,C1S anMair hostess. A former have special legislation for
women and children.
I w.th
tCr mishehaved
Coming down from the high
I with the women staff of the
schemes,
the government could
^ipath Telephone Exchange
do a few small things for the wVus'a'eaXr.8/-6
-.X-
17
1
She ,oves
She |
'CPAKJ
I
“Harl Bhari”, C-46, East o^Kailash-I,
Name
of the Paper
publlshod by
!
INDIA TODAV
i
NEW DELHI
Delhi-110^65
Public Policy ptvMon.. u Voluntary Healthkssomtr^^indUL.
ivr.......
(City Edition)
•• -0
Dated
WORKING WOMEN
Dual Role^p*
It’S still family before job
j
}
metros and mini-metros, nearly..12.4
per cent of households wit h incomes ot
Rs 1.500 per month and over have
housewives who are employed—de
mographic data is conspicuous by its
sketchiness. Says Preet Bedi. genera
of Lintas. an advertising
sisters and are more aware
aware of
ol their
tneir
social responsibilities. At least halt ol
those interviewed had married late,
between the ages of 21 and 24: as many
as 34 per cent had their first child
between 24 and 28: 98 per cent can
read English: and slightly less than aO I
—t are graduates.
Few of them, however, are willing
to gird up and leave traditional roles to
surrogates, notwithstanding how effi
cient they may l?e. So ready-to-cook
foods, which are perceived as compro
mising their traditional role, are out
and jobs with flexible timings are in.
Time is undoubtedly at a premium.
So shopping is done in marts halfway
between home and office, and week
ends are reserved for housework. And
-h—tOR marketeers targeting their to use working women as an advertis
|h products at the •discerning Ining strategy. But today they are in
1 dian woman, the dependable ste creasingly becoming a role model for
reotype has been that of a self-indul the entire population of women. We
gent. financially independent hard
have to know more about them. I nis
headed careerist—someone who can attitude reflects the growing percep
4 easily afford to splurge on gizmos and tion of many marketeers that this
V goods, prefers to live in sell-contained
segment could well be a major target
■ ■ nuclear families and takes all her own audience for many products.
financial decisions.
The detailed qualitative analysis
The iilmost mythical stereotype, a reveals three identifiable types cf
of
recent survey reveals, is all wish-fulfiling. advertising crock. Re
ality makes nonsense of this
X long-standing myth. A major
survey conducted in the four
metros ofDclhi. Bombay. Cal
cutta and Madras shows that,
in sharp contrast to their
more adaptable western
counterparts. Indian work1Ilg women are going through
4 complex act of Irving to
balance their traditional roles
at home with the demands
of their inure 'modernised
workplaces. ■ - .
This unusual—and lor •
marketeers rather discoin- I
filing—pieturd ■. emerges
from a syndicated study . |
of attitudes based on ■
group discussions- con
ducted by Pathfinders, a
market research, orga
nisation. The discussions
comprised ofboth married
and unmarried,, women
ranging.from the'ages of
2() to 4-5 and from clerks to j
executives. The levelling
factor was that all of them
the Indian working women:
took home pay-packets of Rs 1.500 or
The "casual workers", often un
married and generally in the clerk or
above per month.
Says S'. Sthanunathan. the Delhi receptionist grade, who are biding
branch manager of Pathtinders: The their time till marriage and mother
response was enthusiastic. The}
hood take their toll:
opened out a Ipt during the diSCUS► The "just-d-job" women inci
siot’.s." What came through was a dentally the largest category—who
tvveLiion of sorts: most working are likelv to work all their lives, are not
women attached precedence to family ambitious and who work to escape
over t!w>r jobs. Jmd preferred to live in
domestic drudgery: and
joint families where their children
► The "career women", who derive
would he.looked after. And they still
their fulfilment from work and from
consider investment decisions an ex
.
clusively male preserve, despite their little else.
Yet there is a common trait wmen
, own pay-packets.
is shared by working women: they are
Although the number ol working
educated than their home-bound
moret
women is increasing every day in
:
I
Cm'o-.'- oy
* *•
I
I
Amazingly the survey
shows working women would
prefer to live in joint families so
the children are taken care of.
the helping hand extended by their
husbands is readily accepted Al
though the male in the family is still the
official big-budget spendthrift, the
working woman is beginning to par
ticipate. And new-found financial in
dependence gives them a lot of leeway.
A separate income encourages them to
indulge their family and friends.
Fashion came out with a negative.
being regarded as frivolous. The stress
was on elegance and dignity, with
comfortable attire, like cotton sans^
<
taking precedence. Cosmetics are used /
f
qnly by the younger generation, and
that too in moderation. What is impor- r
tant is the latitude and confidence to > ( <
mix freely with men. come home late
and expound "new ideas".
The study confirms that the work- :
s
ing women of today have a wider
Vydcr •
perspective and a greater sense of sell
esteem. So advertisers had better take
isV
notice. As the marketing legend goes:
• You’ve come a long way. baby.
Cv" (
*HJ £
J. Z □
o
IL
'A
Ih
2
O
■ )Sl
o
o
o
y
Ji
I
A, X
\}\
r
Better
*1
j dC Al
f-
r..5'ic ?c' -••
rnadiers
nivnt/cmployers
nor
the who^e battles are of a los liraflop
women’s
movement
has matte nature - - woineii. uho
mnvetnent
thought of addressing. The have to or want to work out side
most pressing problem far the home but are bogged down
most working women is the by the multiple responsihilit'
J.../. or social its of mother and hotiM bite;
lack of institutional
child care facilities for the women who are forced to or
_______ of
__________________________
Want to accept ‘dowrya
children
working couples.
Unfortunately, the mushro<»' means of security in in.iiii.u.c,
ining women’s action groups women who are influenced by
have so far not considered this the advertising blitzkrieg lh.it
an important issue. While child vroniq’te the consumerist g<H>d
care must no? be seen as a lift’womeh'y’ issui-- hut as an issue
Women’s em^ncipaiion in.iv
aftectihg: all working, people, ’ occasionally be 'brought .shout
the lieginning hasTo be made by the ronscidusness. Yaisin).'
by women's groups who can. in efforts of their well-meaning . (
due course eixei i pressure bn "sisters” but nu.redl
f' g ^he Union finance mini
hiboiir iHiion^-’and employers. - AH a nonmetaphysiGal nai.UT.t .
g ster, Dr
Manmohan : Th-Hie wibitaj alone, therer £ari c<»nt. withput
■coihunic
-,g
Singh’s bonus to work- are X: mimber’^fAgroups?who- ’Odcpendence. And u »s hertr
by
giving
Wdr£i6w.ud,
‘
^isi^X
cbm
^t
the
women
’
s
mJL.
mg women by giving wtirk'towards “raising the con? mat. the w;onr€n s movement
rhovemynt
.000 relief sciou^ness
scipu>niss’ ” of
of.women
twomcn regard-j egafd- needs
^eds to
to provide
provide the
the infras^c
them an extra Rs XbOO
infiasiruc
on standard deduction ln>ni
jng
rh<irrights
and
organise;
t
ura
*
and
.ideojo^ic,-.e
.suj p.nt. ■...
lioni J
.............
The rime has Come for
women’s, grot ips ro shed
their exclusivity and
‘work out new methods
to help ordinary
-working women cope
with the myriad
problems that plague
them, say-s
Manini Chatterjee
tel
fe
. >•
■-
-■
<?
v.
I
I
. p
1!
• i i
c
-- j i
Buihal Shyimij ! g
have been universally welcom 'ainnib
ed
by
women
gu 1 cl'.uu
child er
e? aio
al. i1 ney
hey jjso-.wpr
dlso-wuiK
k .J?'":"*"
gt nt ratingacti'.
. - ....
.------zz—-—------ —
-J u
-..........
ncn (some of whom gu'l
...
an Within
iibdCpJn
’i>dG:rid:nsee it as a sop that takes away aFpriunoting
at-pi iniioiing women’’iliter.Ltiv
* iitAativ p
S A worn
womao
■■
...
. '
'
\ rn
/
j
from the equality
ci afls< afGl
aiid aH.
on Iihe
a. gpameans .a
ol ihcomv .< umk; ■
s^“l;1,y 1 ’T?'? T i
n<>^utfgrkojn theextlusiif ■ he
belp ordinary wfrnfen'tope . hfet- ■
nti.iliiv ot
<it sexes)
si-k «• s but
hul . e. rrafl
t oh
hi* Xlr
.nia>
'■ ’---------:--:f........................... -blv assmfipirou that tlimv is a ;be qmte-as much abused B< rite. TO*
-lu-lp. ts>d en -vgt approach .t<, ih* women s- ter .rnth the mvriad-hule-mtser- I
it is a significant gesture tn
’ •‘ivinimsf(iji femmincVlcmaM bushand or- in-bwirAhd ru' A1'*.' n‘-ina«" ti’
1 ”!’«W-<iyc«imu. - •
■ .
k that controirt mvrti. A mi|ii.
itself.
pe.lwps, pcspuclive? Avlfici. huu I^eu 'Ldriili lough she a, 1. .....
•" fl"
fes
nu>h;p.: lhe.r
ant exclus.vis: awjimalffaitUu: For the’ first lime |
hyellw .n.lli.snc...:> i|lta
hg.vi.jg As,■
‘
-civcl..?.,
e„ , .. „ups cohO de. >s g.■a<l,.jHv3»^ 'hed >ut
the working woman is.............
seenopprusseJ
Jis
.. far cty. .uule perspective. .
3 pu.l TPu.e womeu. «... k BUe®'1 “ ■' ,hc ‘'-"l T lal’i ’--'k’*- Vfi’-' '' ’-S"15 eUl'f I'^.e ,, .All a J.sd.,.upwards
an entity by her.se It
Undoubtedly,
a
great
deal
of
dayTTEtTheelTToT-lTiiTTinn-^^kv_J.b_oiL2HLA^
7°
:
;
'
!
A
ebijscioQM^^
- or the -cxxryd^-pr^W^m of ®-dm|ry
from the pel image <>l the Indi
government,
puvaie women
- ~
an woman as mailur, wile, sTirccrc work has been done by ..iructuKd support ul><> been 1(>ok atier youngersiblings.
these groups in givinc w.na-n mvs
’earer Joint
re
nloii.inaf-.uy, the radical employers and trade unioih in
M.mywirkrngwomen.otjjlsinunurer,
housekeeper.
mes g
greater.
|« int humins
fainil
|tvajv beenninp an mM>(r- "oim ii’s groups have been so ptovnhng day c.ue facilities de the pale of the movement,
Though women ail alonr.. at lb.- cmfiiiencu to tle.d wish a a
already becnining an i
world,
but
. lien irtr. ot the past in’ui b.m l id. > 'taken
aken 1,
1‘ "
up
t llh lighting the lor the children of their empng have conn to realise that the
■ home and in the !ie'.-.l, have difficult
ri hal"
haT system,
system, that utlit- al all but sm<f we h\e in times co..peramm of mal-colleagues
enough,
the
women's
;.i<r.<
.-.dche
‘ ivahs’ui vote u c i'\! 'u
done the bulk <>f the work, ths.
a:..•n
I as been
liven pud
paid in
tin
in
has
tended
to
ignore
the
■.aSs.iir
into
history
'
;r
..ii
Las
m >.,r trom iilcahsiic, pr.mtn.i! at w.n k «»n 1 of male relatives at
‘working woman- icttr
basic problems of \-vrt . lav '•“•'•■
'
w- iv 1•
oi alleviating the pm- hi»m<_4re a key to sui uval and
;.vr ■ ••
i: s t->
to -.vt
who works outside li
.s.vtviur. (hu.mising d.l..::..is
,:u rea vioglv,
..:«, .hv ■ a.ul
contentment ? •.v..'uki be in the
a<l •••• vase icnit vs it bi-m must b'? •.‘•"i ked out.
• for a wage/salary.
:i.-.g-'.ltcan:
tn.ii the
in mder l-i h»i ns on the'-c ifi’t.-: •■st ■>; w<>.;i-.;i if the
.u
r>,ln the last changing social mil ■adv the home of a ilt.wi •, •, it- cv'Jplrs ate ‘^ci::,-, faco ■ w.iii I ;
-ui-a -ion ! • i-. i s -o ■ ■. : »
< i. .
r ■
..I »«> viewand family circumstances of tun or rakim; up rhe Iv.t.ii ba: :hr luUlr
II . i • . '' . • ;■■■•' I
’.!I ..I.Kt
- ! I. .1 i.! 'll 1 h» v : I '■
< .
:., i 11
1 •« I
• ••!I '•!■
I .u 1 ••V.llh
• U h ••.•/
vn:; : '..y .1 nd
today, the wotknu’. ivoman r! •• . 'll !>eha it ill a I* alle! o.l -.v if»
.-. h.-h.^d tll«th.- w.CHf
WO!► b
•Ill ill I.. I.. • . II- I. •
’ •
:.u .
!i
iioi» and V.OI k "I: ilivli.vd
•'•.man m
faces some uniipu- probiviti. .-t I . * Iv |( •. i|SV s. ■ ct ll I.':
1! h.
’»• ■ !■.'<
■■
I l.t l Imo valid v >>t
*. H
which ih-hIk r
th«
- x . ... - ~ ’-r p 7 i $
y
■
,/ * B' - -
■■
bys-teye
to
mrey*.
pleads
x Brt he? three-cW tou Arua
a
notke,
f •» M a. kfa±and Strsarafng
« homing on to
Ashs seta dssitt rad b her
xy k catch her
tratoe: “Mummy
ce car with Jichu
She iMm the
peeked chBd at
1 rune to the
osse e«rty today
-a dsas rehaar. Sups
vnd> a start.
ai the audit tas-
tat day. She
fotfotren about
td promised
«. One look k
uiky face and
’h. I knew h all
e a bar and you
SucMn looks at
i Ismay.'
ips one of the
eelmgs tn a worin of social and
hnoning have
cames an enor— of neglecting
■eing a poor par
ody as a decade
a choice, of wor
st home. But
not have a choihe u a middle or
class woman,
nake ends meet
he lak*. she has
■ not surprising,
ontinues to feel
ting her 'primahouse-wife and
i, srfxj are climbf success are no
s- Even the most
ssiond or cXeeuyy doubts about
xxi mother. And
ie real or imagint, wct;tm often
g then children
xis—what psy1
'coosdence
its and researto blame for th-;
I abotr. leavfn j
^rind. mostly in
a or creche*,
out wkh a find’ that children
reches^are per-
twfore the
£rs
heave a
nP her with eviituraqr. On
Aginfenufocre-
even more
week b creches gwseraBy run
the nsk of having an ‘insecure
attachment’ to their nether*.
They also point out
such
babies are mere likeiy to develop
Into uncooperative and aggres
sive children during theft school
years- But says US psychoiojpM
CaroUee Howes. "We find that
the quality of care makes much
mefe difference than the age a
which the child is enrolled.’
Whsr most reaearchers do agree
oa is dut during the first few
months, babies appear to do
best-Mien tended to by one per
son, preferably a parent.
THE
fl the above presumes'
that there is a satisfacto-’
ry day-care | system.
* “ which allows women the
freedom to work outside their
homes. But the truth H htr from
it. No? only are qualified person
nel scarce, they also come expen
sive. putting them automatically
beyond the reach of the normal
middle-class woman. The same
goes for creches. Only govern
ment employees are better off,
as several central government
office complexes have well main
tained. professional creches on
their premises. Run mostly by
the personnel of the Griha
Kalyan Mantralaya, these cre
ches have women who recieve
rudimentary training in childca
re. The premises are large with
fadJities like toys, tricycles and
individual cots for children.
These creches cater to children
in the age group of 3 months to 5
years. Says Shobha Mathur,
supervisor in the creche at
Shastri Bhavan, "When children knowing well that they would be
come to us very young, they get met This will only prove harm
adjusted to the environment of ful in the long run."
the creche faster. Moreover, at
Should one then assume that
our creches, the caretaker day-care is fine •with babies?
children ratio is very good. This According to Dr Vinay Khetrapal,
helps us give better attention to
child psychiatrist and counsel
the children." Mothers are
lor. this is not true either, as
happy with such creches too, chUdren do need a lot of nurtu
since it enables them to go ring. While it is true that a stayacross to see their children seve at-home mother has all the time
ral times during the day.
in the world at her disposal and
But these are the fortunate can devote more time to the
few. For the rest, it is mostly pri child, it depends to a large extent
vately run creches and even
on her attitude and the child him
neighbourhood women, who self. "A working mother general
mind chddren for a fee. Many of ly is more fulfilled and contented
these places "re crowded, with
and hence, she has a richer expe
no arrangements for playing or rience to share with her child, it
sleeping. The creche owners also stands to reason that a
enforce strict discipline which happy mother makes her child
gives the children scarce free happy." Conversely, a woman
dom. Often, when it is a school
who feels frustrated or even
going child he feels restricted worthless ffor being socially
throughout the day. There are unproductive
.. may transmit
even instances of caretakers mis these negative feelings to the
treating the children. One child and may even unconscious
mother says she found her twoly blamethe
.....................................
child for her plight,
yra-old son in his soiled
"If only ! were free tn
to dn
do what I
because he had been
want", is a constant refrain with
nmning such women. This explains why.
himu;_
- Appachildren of some stz,
r.
itay-at-home
rentiy, she had
1 on
mothers are maladjusted
d»«!?d and
end
M
ON
SUNDAY
PIUILISIE
■
earlier occasions to do’ it In his
house before he came to the cre
che. This may be an extreme
case, but such incidents are not
uncommon.
So, is it really harmful for
children to be left in creches?
How important is a mother's con
stant care for the development of
a child? And finally, is the guilt
necessary?
Answers to these questions are
not easy. But psychologists
opine that a positive attitude on
the part of parents, especially the
mother, goes a long way in mini
mising the harmful effects of sur
rogate day-care. Says Dr Ira Saxe
na. child psychologist and writer
for children. "I disagree with the
theory that a mother should constanly remain with the child for
proper
development
What
certainly matters through, is that
she avoid any feeling of guilt and
taka a positive view of the whole
issue. Children are most sensi
tive to the moods of the mother
and often, sensing the guilt in
her. make absurd demands
PIONEER
April
58®
is bestfor
your child is an
endless debate as
Thangamard
discovers. -
"A?
DAY CARE
DILEMMA
have more psychological pro
blems than those of working
mothers, who have a balanced
view of things.
The quality of time spent with
the child is more important than
the quantity, though for ven
small babies, where touch stimu
lation matters a lot, this may not
be very true, say doctors. But ‘
even here, a responsive baby
sitter can be a good surrogate.
Unfortunately,
our
creche
owners do not think so and
restria cuddling and touching to
the minimum.
ccording to Dr Saxena. J
mother should spend
some time with the child
-M-immediately after return
ing from work, simply holding or
talking to the child. If this is a sha- Do they really need their mothers so much?
red experience with both the par- ensured that the children felt
counter-productive with the
ents present it becomes
well cared for and there was prac child refusing to go to a creche in
more rewarding. She cites the tically no maladjustment among the future. Explains Dr Khetraexample of adivasi children both them.
of. whose parents go to work. In
often finds tiiuuicio
mothers using pal. "Some children have the
, One
WIIC UKUII
a cnidv
_ __
..
.
ca fear of their mothers going away,
study rnnHnr,^
conducted on a particu- the threat o£a
creche
when
tribe, it was found that the child acts difficult.’This is a very never to return or even die. To
*lar
— —
prevent this feeling of abandon
parents sat down with the ..dangerous
- dangerous thing, since small ment. a mother leould take her
children, holding them close in children have a fear of abandontoddler to her workplace to show
the -evenings
evenings every day. This ment and the threat may prove
him what she does there when
periods .
to boys
There is be.
some reser.
children, ators. But thei
lonely is j
natural. Whs
adults have t
alone for lenpl
iods. "On an av
about three to
hours alone wit
adult supervisio.
okay
for
mu
children, which
what
it
wot
amount to. dun
school days. Duni
holidays, it would b
wise to get the chik
enrolled in some
group actintvor com
munity projects This
will ensure that hr• or
t
'he
is notmto
drawn in
-—.........
undesirable compa
ny or habits." says l»r
Khetrap.U th and
large, as children
grow older.
thr\
1 show mon- tolerance
J towards the working
mother, even feeimg
proud other.
A certain amount
of freedom is ven
important
tor
a
chad $
sell-estrerr.
arid
confidence,
avers Dr Saxena. "For
those few hours the
child leels that he or
she is tn charge of the
house and this gives
their ego a big boost.
Moreover, everyone
needs space to grow,
more so childre:.. It
fosters
creativity
too.' shei savs ■ She
however
cautions
parents about
;
u;e
transition, years of
12-13. when a lot of
emotional and physi
cal
changes
take
place in the chUd.
This period calls for
better understanding
2 between the parents
2 and children to prev~ enl
any
x maladjustment.
3 Dr Saxena has the
j last word when she
x says. 'J see rhe trend
of working women in
a very positive way.
Children are extremely adapta
ble and resilient It would be
much better all round if mothers
take an equally positive view of
their jobs and concentrate on giv
ing their children as much of
their time as they can spare. And
1 am sure we will succeed in
___
_
building
up healthy and responsible
ihlp adults*'
firli lire *
fit
she leaves him. and let him have
a look at the place. This reassu
res the child and makes him
understand her job is equally
important"
So much for children left in cre
ches. What about those who are
slightly older and stay bv them
selves at home?
Is staying alone for prolonged
a
: 630091
f
PRESS"C^Ipp»mG service:
■■Mari Shari" C-46. PnrT of Ksilash-I. New Delhi-110065
Name of the Paper
P'jo.twed at
Da tad
IN Di. . . G.XPRCSS
•
NEW DELHI
2 "DEC 1991
/■ uoi'
!w\-)
(City Edition)
’-.I
fe? v'Nhs Raj_______
HE MUCH awaited census report on women's parjlj tkipatton in work is finally
out. ft's not exciting
enough tor women to cry themsebes hoarse. But the 1991 census
does show that 23 per cent of the
women in the country are working
as against 19.6 per cent in 1981. h
has also come out with the startling
revelation that Kerala has one of the
lowest employment rates for women
in the country. Just 17 per cent of
the women in the model state of the
country are economically employed.
In actual terms, the number of
working women in the country -
% I'ation, for statistics still do not
reflect the true picture of the large
number of women working m this
country.
Rt^ra^of?
h*’
rCgIsfrar‘
J1 °fInd,a * ho worked closeiv
^hiheOepdfiment of Women and
Quid Development. UNIFEM (Untfcd Nations Organisation for
Women) and the SNDT University
®J°°mbay10 get a realistic estimate
«the number of working women in
J* “Mtty says the percentage of
•CTkmg women would be considerRy more.
? Despite the special training given
■wumeraton to ask probing quesand the film spots with lyncs
^Gulzar on “en do hathon ko
4
1991
census uia
on working women
1^1 census
po
^??tJiterate state gives least jobs
aadar do."(respect these hands). .Mr
Nanda says there were several cultu
ral factors that stopped women from
openly admitting that they worked,
particularly in Haryana and Punjab" I
ft
-t was difficult for women and even j
the men to accept that the work they
were doing in fields and in their
homes were economically produc-
In Harvana. Mr Nanda entered a
home where the woman of the
house and her
u‘ ,.?c
mg and looking after 10 ccv.s. Tl.u
were obviously selling the milk for
monetary return but told the
enumerators that the milk sufficed
for the needs of the family. The
husband, a transporter, was out of
work but the
women insisted that he
^^e'
rea/br
bread-*inner of the
fafni|v. Sim.lark
women in rhe') the work done by
women in the fields is just not
perceived as being ecnomically renumerative work, especially if the
women are working in their own
fields.
,utIC „ .
There was even a former chief
justice who
..j when asked about his
,S..*Ork disrn'sscd <’ as "house
work." A little later the housewife'
arrived with tea and gave a list of
the things she did which included
two jobs that brought her monetary
returns.
think....
C£«d
□ They work
two-third of the
hours worked in the
world, but only a
third is registered as
work.
□ For ail this women
earn a tenth of the
world’s income and
are registered as
owners of a tenth of
the world’s property.
(Poster outSKje UNIFEM ott>ce)
ran<
•eol t
The
re ligb
?osy r
Dhui
1U)O‘!
olour
5x4 i
malle
tron.
whit,
ang.
doti
•e ai
j*elow-
Isc
h. I
Vy!
et------------OJ
can you still say that
she doesn’t work?
1
mTie t»pula«on (51 6
necono'
would present
lfl We$l nucaliy independent
women a»
wonwi
of women
Bengal the percentage
The 1991 census also tnes to find j
the same as m HaQ»na;
working is
~
om the nurr.berof maJeandtcmaJe
backward
states
o«of Ur —and
— w.
.
The
backward
slates
•
•
in
I ▼0 4
R.h,T ^.e more women working headed■ homeholiK.
i..w—»Bihar have more women *c
c^tustlOpercentofthehouscthan in West Bengal.
hetds were headed by women
The female work participation thuuah tn omr ureas like the Northrate is higher in rural areas than m1 cast 30 to 35 % were
urban areas. It « estimated that women. The 199’. figures of femaic:—mn the
Full marks to the
over 27 % of the women
t.~ rural hc 'ded households has not ye. been
5utes of India which have higtest
10 *% in urban ubulatcd but *^" \Xd o(
areas work as against 1"
emplovment rates for women. !Sik
•5 the largest uens believe that at ‘'ait l’^dJ ,
kim heads the list with 53 PCr«n'cl areas. In rural areaswork in the households todav arc headed by
the women economically employed^ number of women vfollowed by women. These statisus wcu d be I
of working women agricultural sector,
The percentage •-s
G. of the region is household ‘ndus’™st. “- weaving. useful m studying the Ration j
in the other sutM
<4 %
Arunachal handicrafts, tailoring - forestry tcol- patterns in the counttv.
wood and
Mizoram
With all this vital data on women. I
Nagaland-39%. lecting and earning
Pradesh - 40
minor forest produce I and sale of
■•••'y women the women's department can no*
and Manipur ' «rth a respectable fish There arc not many
' j in then own enterprise of hooc to gget
C( a better prorde H
Other states
< wv-co earning a bveli- engaged
manufacturing a commodity or
o< run- women
wornen in
; India With the data
number of women
.va.'Mble.UNlFE-MwHhtheh-lpof
hood are Andhra Pvadesh-^s ’
a':
ning a shop.
..... and Madhya
Himachal
In urban areas the largest number a. well-mown demographer, . is
each Tamil Nadu - 31 .. of women are employed in the Mercedes
Ce-Krooon. aod .is
M
33%
Ra^S-rVeac^W^ construction industry , followed by Kathleen Goud. »n Amenccn e ' rcn from WISTAT (Women s in
those in government service as
dicators and Statist), has already
nurses and teachers.
Women are largely employed in run a course kx those m govern^nNUvT^^pHaryana n a. low paying jobs and m manual ment and outside on how totise the
data to promote women S develop
labour.
.
„
Mr Nanda says despite their eco ment.
' . ■
nomic status, women doo t have
Bengal, with its Left phdoyophy of
------ 1 White the women of Kerala are way
■ ahead of women m the re« o< je
country m iiteracy. :n hmibng
I sue of the fanmy and <*.eopwivm
per sc. when n comes to gandu
eoooomic em^ment )t« 17 per
cent of the women work TTns*
’ despite Kerala producinghcUrge*
number of nurses m the country
ortrc.
□ Women are half
the world's
population.
decision making powers, eu-pl "
Kerala and the North-east, .here
there are matnardul s«*«s md
women have inhentance nghts
Though the percentage of men
Telephone : 630091
service
PRESS clipping
C-46, E«»t of K»ila»h-I. Now DoIhl-IICWS
^sri Bhari
j
Name of the Paper
: THE TIMES OF INDIA
published at
;
5 JUL 1992
LUCKNOW
^Fiasco over seco nd maternity leave
xkstsi s«&sr»*
,h.,. „„ ,.w
awssWi rr-r-FBS
during the entire service. (FP). is impef^t. and therefore therefore decided to have the
child.
LATE MARRIAGES: It was
. 1 nt
-L
mu-
A Justice Sudhir Narain of
•. /lAllahabad High Court ’
ihas
man«
i has issued
issue an interim
•
vr atlcast
two years has elapsed trol
marriages and for this reason
advised in such
by sociologists and doctors
that the normal spacing of two
years should be relaxed so that
gnancy at the time of joining as
pctitioncr argued that lhe vise would deny her the right to the child becomes a major in
maiernny
time and sctllci in life belorethe
— ocetoiant teacher tn LT grade me peiiuonc
,vaavail
i[ of ol
maternity
leave close on
-»■< ,r."»“J is arbitrary, lhe heels of the first, and she retirement ol the employees.
unjust and unreasonable and it
—.1~.—---7 and exce
fringes
’s
But the petitioner became preg- ssively*
ssively in
intn
g the petitioner
.
nant again soon after and
under Article 21 of
?PPlie?mm fUT^aw?i h dt'e Constitution of India.
leave from July L 1^- wmen
argued that since the
was refused by the head
1S a,so appiic. .
"'The^prov.sion for maternity ’ble to the cases of miscarriage
,
L; I>malp emnlovecs including abortion, it has
,CtiT ^ ndeMhestaU govern- absolutely no concern with the
working under the state
.
f f u pianning comPCnl Kn’Xk in rL 153 Pnsmg in restricting the family
fsegsaSw^?«s!9-s*ss:
UP (subsidiary amendment the
policy
. .Ao-ii
childbirth.
rUpDnJi)«lONS- Bv the first
IMPERFECT FP: It was
PROVISIONS. By
argUed that the total scientific
pr0V1SO-Jl^ve wou^not
development available in India
*■
•«’
I
^jobs orday-care centres?
By G.*V. Joshi , ' -drice”.',’
. because they encourage more adversely affect child developAre there any alternatives interaction between parents ment or give cause for alarm.
> HE Government of Mahar- .which employees .can take up and children during Jhe day.
He found that infants
.... ashtra has put up a prop- so that the problem is solved to Knowing that you can get to brought up in day-care centres
sal for part-time employment, some extent? One way of assur- your child in an emergency., were likely to develop -insecure
sor its women employees. Part- ing full-time jobs to women is within minutes, and • you, can attachments to their parents.
time work
division of;
' ■ means division
of , iO arrange for creches and day- see them if and when you want They showed more serious
bs of full-time workers. One ' care centres for infants and during the day relieves a lot of aggression, less cooperation,
i ll-time job will create two toddlers up to the age of five in tension and anxiety. The chil-, lesstolerance, more misbepart-time jobs. This will xm-- offices and factories. Em- dren also seem to like it'that haviour and at times social
he number of women ployer-sponsored child-care way. Many parents spend a withdrawal. It was found that
workers, pr>nK!inrt«
. .
-----...
programmes are gaining popu- part of their lunch hour with many infants interpret daily
omen to contribute to house- larity in many countries. Many their children. They just want separation for 10-12 hours
old expenses to some extent women
vv VAliUM AAWW
k.ACA to work
W Ml. Jk 1XJL
VV AXIGIVV
1.1 AC
now |J4
prefer
for to
make OUAC
sure that
they are fine from: the working mothers as
the same time, they
- may
L: employers who offer on-site. and adjusting..
: v * I. rejection,:with which they cope
jbl9am?r?,tlme.to sPena
day-care; centres.
x On-site ; child-care centres by withdrawal. One- year-olds
Some companies offer day- can be a powerful tool in re-in full-time day-care displayed
Apart from the government’s care’services free, while in cruiting employees. Many.em- ; greater. , avoidance of their
* difficulties
....... in splitting- the jobs other cases employees pay for ployers say that offering; on- mothers • than, did parent* j
- -l-l
>?!?■ ..................
cl^nbutl0n of re5-K?011
sibi- them, nominally and some site child-care services leads to ’:reared infants. Five to eight*' Hities, there are many aspects of assistance comes from muni- less absenteeism and better year-olds who had spent most
' Ahis proposal, which will create cipal committees. A few com- productivity, improved em- of their first two years at a
>new problems xwx
for women em- panies have formed day-care ployee morale and enhanced day-care centre were more
cooperatives to reduce the high- employer image. There is less likely to hit, kick, threaten and
dike teachers, railways booking ,
— argue than those not in day
clerks, bank assistants, stenog; care by who started late.
- -raphers working, in, pools is ;
/I/-.
Another psychologist ex
• ^very-easy and can be done in all
amined 110 one-year-olds from
i cases where the present emaffluent families. Half of them
• j .ftloyees are willing to take up
were.cared for full time by the
part-time or, h^lr-time jobs.
mother.. The other half had
But at higher echelons where
.. stable but hired caretakers.
women take part in policy
Substitute-cared
infants
/fflllffl®!
making and its execution,
turned out to have significantzll
£
splitting is ndt so easy.
ly less secure relationship with
One part of the proposal will
’i ; their/ mothers. The findings
allow (them to work part time ’
J wer^^confirmed by another •’
study of middle-class children.
for two to three years after the
It was found that one-yearbirth of a child and suitable
k olds in full-time day/care cenadjustments will be made in tli'i'iiillii'illllilliii
——
1 'ires; displayed, greater avoi-.
pension and gratuity.
nension
cratuitv. This is
r dance of their mothers than did
favoured, by a majority of
A
| parent-reared infants.
women, as these are very diffi- - ■ <>v
cult y^ars. Quality child care at ,
Z
According to another child
the infant stage is hard to find. K'
psychologist, regular absences
Care, and attendance in sici-i-^,
by mothers can be very damag
ness^.5 breast-feeding * and fs
ing for children under three.
maternal attention at such a’
Only after the age of three up
tender age make the presence ’■>
• to six, they profit from a half
of a mother at home an asset. A >
-day, in-a high-quality day-care
mother can never be replaced u •
> centre.Yj. Shefurther adds,
- . “There is. a, consensus among
![ by any; one, including the^.A--*’. v :
--------------- - . -There is. a, consensus among
. fatheri in the first two years.;j co^t<of (:doing, it alone., Such anxiety among parents where proschnnl..children that the
• 5^do^ ..xiacHt^ aiithor. chttdren from children are in one-site child- . benefiU-oisr good, pre-school
’•YourBabyand CMid”,am,O8i5infa^cyitJirouSh kindergarten .care centres.;^
r programme^diminish or are
WuehUal childi-fearinr han/... Such centres
Retired couples can. help a teventhe hours in
booViaysl MBabies need indi-?^organised by the lot. They can look after two to -a day-care'centre; go beyond
iViduklbare for at least the first?Governraent and private in- three infants in their homes as six houw&&
* -Sars”'?/-She * is/-totally dustrialisfc-: so that infants to a social. service as well as a ' . Acrordingtopsychologists, a
......... ::....... ;
VV Mjr •
'' J
___ E
the WA
VI
A
V W U* •
JO V
UA3C4.V
1^
^.looked
substitute for the natural paniediately after delivery leav-^^p^^
aISo take re- loneUnes/and t^lttag-bo^
without
dom.
These
experienced
pa
their infants in day-care course to a wide range of less
seriously harming children to
rents
of
yesterday
can
substi
■lentred. Burton White, the au- expensive measures. Nursing
day and/society/- when they
|®or ofTA Parents Guide to the bleaks for new mother; vhere- tute for the real grandparents grow up. •.
and can shower their love and
■Jkst Three Years” says, “After'.ver it is practicable, liberal affection
there is no clear
on the children, if not cutTherefore,
j ifiore than 30 years of research ieavB
weather emergencies,
.single master key type
in
the
best
manner
at
least
102 howlchildren develop well, I gick leave to care for ill chilsolution to the problems of day
better than servants cap.
\
I would hot think of putting an dren, are a few of them.
care. Working parents are a
I infant: or toddler of my pwn^.
But finding a good day-care reality in the present days of
I into any substitute care prog. _ ■ ft is also not necessary that _ centre is not the end of all rising prices. The problems are
rammeton a full-time basis, these centres should be in the problems. It is just a beginning Joo many and difficult to reUnless /ou. have very strong work centres of mothers only, of the problems that parents solve. However^ part-time jobs
,rMs<ms(£I urg© you not to dele-31 Fatherstshould also be taught may face in the years to come, ts a good beginning in the right
gate; the —
primmy ,dind-’rearing|theJABCs o£ (ChUd care from In 1987, a cMld, psychologist, direction and employers and
and
elseduringthe‘5Inf
infantstag Day-care centres Jay Belesky, expressed concern society can also help working
£——• ~
ant. stage.
child’s first three years of life^at the edtetf, of parent’s* work over accumulating evidence women by looking after their
i Babies ^orm. the first human J. place are favoured among
----- va- that contradicted his earlier children itff theirrinfancy. ‘ Att&chnaasxb* -oxica jmd '« onlvarious child-care orovramr
view that day-care did not <ANF).//^<^^;i...
F
GT.
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dlj'Mjljhhp
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foniror
the woman’s ill-paid,
mure work
RRISHNA PARIDA
Jwihe number of women working
,1 In the unorganised sectors has
JL increased steadily over the
|arj. And yet they remain by and
rge scattered and isolated. Because
f Inadequate employment opporjmties and resource mobilisation
jrogramrnes, they are forced logo for
^skilled and ill-|>uld Jobs.
. To Improve the status of un
billed women, laws have been
pended, policies formulated, profammes chalked out and funds allo•led, but very few of the benefits
lave reached them. Laws relating to
(omen like the Factories Act, 1948,
Rural Employment Project) women's
participation ranged from five In 20
per cent
The rapid mobilisation of workforce from the organised to the un
organised sector has started after
1959-60. As the National Perspective
Plan for Women 1988-2000 notes, the
whole move towards modernisation
in coir, bidi. matchbox, textiles, to
bacco plantation, coal mines, phar
maceuticals. etc. has resulted in a
massive displacement of female la
bourers in the country.
I
behind. Now the further we go. the
greater the role of every member of
the world community
2 me com
munity Itself Th’* . < progress to
wards the nalurat scheme of things.
The USSR and the USA together
make up’only some 10 per cent of
mankind. And they have no right,
nor are able physically alone or joint
ly. to determine its future. However
u special responsibility devolves on
both powers. A great deal depends
on them in averting a nuclear threat,
and In other mailers. •Ibe future of
humanity can bo safeguarded only if
besides demilitarisation there will
also be democratlsalion of interna
tional relations^
Views on other aspects of security |
were changed against this backgiound of understanding modern re
alities. Having realised that security
has become predominantly a politi
cal rather than a military issue, we
also drew another conclusion; secu
rity today cannot be acquired ul the
expense or to the detriment of the
other side •— security can only be
mutual, and speaking of (lie world as
a whole — universal. Security en
compasses not only military, but also
political, economic and also humani
tarian spheres.
i
The USSR has In recent years
Lome up with constructive ideas in
Lach of these spheres. This made the
wrjr
.»j<a
»
A
A
/
'<'-1
It
Belwi-.-n 1974 and 1981. 28-64
lakh wul l c:K. of whom 14 lakh were
women.
got
displaced
by
power looms As a result, the total
employment of women in the texHies and jute industries declined
from MJ lo 30 per ci:nl During 195960. thi»i-..iiids of worm.-n labourers
lost their work when the textile and
jute nulls of Gujarat. Calcutta. Bom
bay and Ahrnedaliad installed new
mar hinvries
Today,
very
few
women <iieworking in moling, wind
ing ur tn sacking deparlmurds.
In 1984. almost all the tobacco
centres of Andhra Pradesh re
trenched about 25.000 women work
ers after the "green th'eshing plants
machine"were installed In the coal
mines wagon loading is largely done
by the women employees With the
installation of pay-loading ma
chines. all women workers lost their
jobs Tbi' Baveju Committee appoint■oviel stance more active and al the
BLme time more'open.
.. . An
...example
,
Is
ed by the Central Government has
langed views of the country's place ■ recommended lo the coal industry
R the world economy. Eor a long
retrem.limcnl
of
50.000
wagon-loaders.
Riie our main concern has been to
In electronics, pharmaceuticals
Btosure our complete independence
and heavy industries, the percentage
■ of the surrounding world. This dicI tiled our course towards autarchy.
of women employees has gone down
by nearly 5(1 per cent A similar Irnnd
I
II is now understood In tfie USSR
may bu now emerging in the rail
I tnat one cannot successfully develop
ways. banks, insurance and posts
In conditions of autarchy and that it
and
telegraphs in the wake of
is necessary to take a more active
computerisation
part in the international division of
In the matchbox industry of
labour, proceeding from the fact that
Sivakasi, the total pen.entagu ol
economic interdependence in the
world will grow. And we must lake a
women labour is around 70 Even
certain responsibility upon ourselves, provided, of course, that the
USSR IS granted u fully equal status
in world economic ties. ■
bidi binding is largely done by iho
women. The total houis required h>r
binding 1000 bidis range from 12 to
!6 with on income of Rs six lo eight
Here, even pregnant women work
from b a m lo ‘J p.m In Tamilnadu.
In the town cd Vellore, (here arn
20.000
Th« author in director, Institute of the
USA und Cunad'J Studies.
stitching a dozen of hosiery garments .
which inill-owni-rsseil in the market
for Rs 90 to Rs 100 |>er dozen. ,
In agriculture, the disparity be- i
1
Mines Act, 1952. Plantation Labour
id. 1951, Equal Remuneration Act,
|976, and the Maternity Benefit Act
tool are often obeyed more In
Ireach than in compliance.
| According to the National Sample
Service Organisation (NSSO) re|X>rt
1987) on the "Status of Women in
ndia," 94 per cent of women are en•aged in the unorganised sectors of
lie country, 81.4 per cent In agriculure and the rest in non-formal
lectors.
i A great majority of programmes
jnitialed by the Government have
.Tailed to nt lifcve their target largely .
'due to the bureaucratic red-lapism.
|Thu IRDi*(hitiigralud Rural Dcvnloppndxl Programme) has failed to reach
pls target of 30 pur cent of women, tn
la( (. It only benefited 9.87 pur cent in
1985-86 women and 15.1.1 percent in
986-87 Under the NREP (National
Here a woman makes. 1.250 bidis at
(he rateof Rs 11 60 per 1.000 a day.
The plight of women labourers
forking In the ginning factories of •
Tamilnadu is equally miserable ,
Some of them continued to work
more than 16 hours
Women working in the garment
and textile industrios on the piece
rate basis Delhi produce for 60 per
cant of the total garment export from
India. Of the 100.000 workers in the
induhry women constitute 25 per •
cent. Here a woman earns Rs 4 for'
/i * V'’
K ?!
Women always do the harder types ' ,
of work Their work gives them no 1 •
chance to earn actual amount they t»
require In the single crop area there i)
is no additional lacilities for other <f
woiks So during the off-season . f
months, they run from village Io vil- ,
luge witli their husbands and rela
tives in search of work. The village
economy has undergone a sea
change over the years.
Drought, cyclones and floods ,
have made them homeless and dis
possessed of their land. Eor lack of
infrastructural facilities and job op.portunities. the poor villagers are f
forced Io quit their land in search of
Jobs and migrate la urban and semiurban areas for their daily bread
A study of the e listing work status of the migrants reporting for employment shows that women are far
worse-placed than men. Of Hie 22.2
million persons who reported em
ployment as the main reason for mi
gration. only 2.7 million i.e. 12 6 per
cent were females.
Among the female migrant work
ers reporting employment as the
main reason for migration, 43.9 per
cent were main workers. 3 6 margin
al workers and the rest non-workers.
The corresponding figures for the
male workers are 91. J. 0.3 and 8.0
per cent rcspei lively, according to
the 1981 Census report.
In the big t ines women are rag
pickers as well In Ahmedabad itself
ihrru are 10 000 women who start at
5 a m. in tin' morning In Calcutta,
Bombay, and Delhi thousands of
women do this typ) of work for their
daily living The iiaders in the {taper
cuih’ction give oifferent rates Io.
lioinn
liusud
workcri
woman
from Lidl
Rs 2 to
Rs 4 per day. ■
1
I
J
•
r
c
Name of the Paper
:
PATRIOT
Published at
I
NEW DELHI
Dated
I
i
11 DEC 1992
US working mothers
/lAA /frfr____
and guilt. Some studies showed that the not equally true for younger children.
By Mohinder Singh
A
working mother has two
,/\ clusters of duties, household and
both of which were tradi
tionally considered full-time occupa
tions. And the question is not solely one
of the amount of time and energy needed
for the two: there are special conflicts
when the woman has simultaneous
responsibilities in her home and at her
place of employment. Even a different
set of behaviours may be ca 11 ed for; competitive and assertive in the office,
cooperative and nurturant in the home.
Considerable concern has therefore
been evinced about the health and well
being of the working mother. Numerous
surveys and studies have been carried
out, especially in the US, about the ef
fects of this dual role on the working
mother. Some of the findings from such
studies and researches are discussed
below.
Employed mothers as a group appear
healthier than housewives. Possibly the
difference may be due to selective
recruitment of healthier mothers into
employment or a tendency of those
whose health is poor to leave employ
ment. Still the difference favouring the
employed suggests that the dual set of
rule responsibilities is not typically
damaging to .the health of the mother —.
the earlier apprehensions about it have
proved ill - founded.'
Concern al-o jt combining full-time
cmploytneiH v.iih adequate performance
in the cl'.ild-tare’and housekeeper roles
seems to have been extremely
t
widespread among employed mothers..
However employed mothers are not the
only ones to tuvc problems with anxiety
full-time college-educated housewives
were actually more anxious and overall
concerned about thei r children than com
parable women who combined a profes
sional career with motherhood.
Again whatever anxiety and guilt
working mothers may have experienced,
it was rarely translated into symptoms
like sleeplessness or nervousness. In fact,
some studies have revealed the opposite.
Employed mothers are more likely to be
free of such symptoms; good mentalemotional health is reported for a larger
proportion of professionally employed
wives than equally able full-time
housewives. And employed mothers
having a more positive image of themsel-,
ves than do housewives.
Studies, particularly of American
working mothers, however, showed that
neither the family recreation (except TV
viewing) nor commercial recreation (ex
cept golf) were appreciably affected.
wives are more powerful in internal
Both male and female students with household affairs, working wives have
employed mothers perceived significant relatively greater external power, par
ly smaller differences between men and ticularly with regard to economicaffairs.
women. Daughter* of working women The most consistent finding from the
particularly saw women as competent studies in which various decision areas
and effective. They viewed work as wire examined is the positive association
and her
something they will want to do when between the wife’s employment
. t
they are mothers. "It is women whose power concerning financtsl tnatten.
mothers have not worked who devalue
feminine competence",says a researcher.
Daughters of women in high-status oc
cupations held the most forward views
about male-female equality.
The idea that maternal employment
brings emotional deprivation to the
school-age child has not been supported
in most studies. Of course, the absence of
negative effects does not mean that
mother’s employment is irrelevant to the
child; possibly mothers have been suffi
ciently concerned to effectively counter
balance any ill effects. Studies suggest
that the working mother who obtains per
sonal satisfaction from employment,
does not have excessive guilt, and has
adequate housekeeping arrangements is
likely to perform as well as the nonwork
ing mother or even better for her school
going children.
The earlier view that maternal
employment had a great many effects on
the child, all bad, is not supported by
recent research. Yes, effects it has but
these depend on the nature of the employ
ment, theattitude of the mother, her fami
The effects of maternal employment
ly circumstances, social class, the age .
on the infant depend on the extent of the
and sex of the child, the kind of chi Id-care 1
absence and the nature of the
arrangements, and a host of other condi- mother's
1
care —whether it is warm,
lions J uvenile delinquency, for example, substitute
:
increased in lower classes with maternal !stimulating and stable. However, while
of maternal employment and the
employment, but remained unaffected by studies
:
school-age child offer reassurance to the
maternal employment in the middle
class. Incidentally, the working mother is working mother, no such reassurance is
mi Ider in discipline because of conscious forthcomi ng concerning the effect on in
effort to compensate or because of higher fants.
Employed wives tend to have greater
morale. Part-time maternal employment
seemed to have a positive effect on . power than nonemployed wive*.
adolescent children, although this was Whereas housewives relative to working
Public Policy Drvtelofl
Voluntary Health Association of Indi#
i
Studies indicate greater marital hap
piness for those wives who take employ
ment voluntarily because such oppor
tunity extends their freedom of choice.
Contrariwise, being "forced" into taking
employment reduces their autonomy and
results in lessened marital satisfaction.
There is evidence of more conflict, arguing, quarrelling, living apart or even
considering divorce among the
employed mothers, but not necessarily
more of permanent separation or divorce.
Despite more conflict, no more
employed mothers than housewives are
dissatisfied with their marriages. Ap
parently, the advantages associated with
employment compensated for the higher
levels of conflict characteristic of their
marriages. Yet, on the composite score,
nonworking. wives of high income
groups ranked the highest io marital
satisfaction.
Most of the research findings arecon>istent that in the 1960s and probably;
early 1970s, the full-time employment of
mother* contributed, if only slightly, to
more conflict and tensions and less tbaritai happiness. By the late 1970s and
thereafter this effect seems to have disap
peared in the middle dasses. However,
there is evidence of more conflict and
less marital satisfaction in lower-dass
couples in which the mother is "forced^
to seek employment.
/
Totopho”* l 63<N>8'
PRI5SS
SERVICES
CLn’VlNG New
Dolhi-1'’006b
• Had Bhsr’"
Hatne of th® Psp9f
Published al
I
C-46. East of Kat I ash-L
j financial EXPRESS
: NEW DELHI
»
-3 Noyjm
A«a where various la*' and enact I
ments have curbed or banned I
labour agitation, in South Asia Uxi I
N the coniextof the economic
the State, m Us attempt to create a 1
J| reforms introduced by lb
climate attractive to (C'pecully j
Vi| Government, n
foreign) investors, has cttcvti'c.. .
-SL.xrtment w comidct their
prevented unionisation m H/v- in ,
offer
,
.
India bv using method' smh as I
In contrast to South-east Asia the
wxsmen of transport tacili
could also be recruited at
up the case ot women A bud women
(
penetration of female intensive, ex
ncs 4nd’cvcn by police acti-'n in
The mtrocle' of South-east Asia has been based upon gross
recapitulation of the exiting litcra- (relamelv low cost Such employ
pen
oriented
facion
production
o
*
)lh
an upbiincmg where
exploitation of female labour. Given the preference of
lure on the conditions of women in ment. while enabling a greater im
very recent and limited m South obc
jK.ncc and an unquc'imnoi
obedience
u-untnes which have gone the Mme provement m the material well
export-oriented units for women workers, the South-east
Asia In countries such as India. acceptance o
off authority aic m')’1 way would help us to draw inlcr- being of the women and their lamiimport-substitution rather than ex- siscd, th<
the_ tjU
fact lh
thatlI ,t ,s :b. ir tn a
Asian experience could show us what our new expoUIks than jx^ble in other avadablc
port promotion has been the thrust
job. limited alteitiativc job .■p|H.liu
V'K|he burgeoning discipline of iobv also involved long hours of
oriented strategies portend for our women. Alpona Vermo
(,f industrial policy, although there nines, the laA "t an
<
women s studies has. as its raison work, low pay relative to men. easy
-.■.':r.-c shifts
trade union -actisits.
and time son
have been some
s....— in
— direction
---uuuv
......
I d ctre. the building up ol a feminist retrenchment, little scope for skill
Al
so,
unlike
say
Smgatakes a look
recently
ssttamts
„ain,s inin jitendmg
attending mcciinu'
meeting ■■h'
at:ei‘
pcispective into even branch of aouiotion to enable easy job shifts,
pore where
where the industrial sector woik
|| senc
p-*'work, aall
sene as barrieis to un
L,demies Hv unmasking the iole unheallhv work condilionv. and
absorbs 4U
40 per
per cent of lhe female |on|saUon
absorbs
ionisation F,tqucnt vompl.miis . I
placed bv women m the survival and strict superviMon. Most of those
labour force, and Hong Kong where iI)ness jnd ^.maneous ma"
maintenance of soucty and taking employed in micro-chip J-“-“n'es
•" stoppagC!, are reminiscent of lhe
il absorbs Ml per cent, industry in
• tlK-m out ol their invisible and reix.rtedlv reached near blindness
general provides employment for a mass hysteria ami l.m ' g
:I
subaltern existence, it i' hoped. « iv bv lhe time they were -4 years of
m^h smaller percentage of working surted to by the South u t -V'm
I ‘ would be paved for according them d-. Alsu women who migrated
women in South Asia (only l< per women workers m die calls 'even (
a position of equality in society. direvtlv from the protected sxKial
cent m India) where much of the lies. But given the o.-iaowd.-l 1
, However, this naive assumption environment of rural lamihes (as inexpanding workforce in general. labour markets m South A- ..
I gets belied by the ticqucnl tendency Malayvia) *v’e all c.i'V ptcy to
and tviumv.
female workforce -•tn iparticular. thc Mnua| jbM.iKJ ol St.: . *v"-’iinil
i toconsign anas of women scumern! sexual exploitation by young men m
th-:
iv Still dependent on peasant agricul facilities such as dnld
I to the separate- disuphne ol1 the cities, and suicides following
ture and the informal sector. appears to be little '!•• •’ •-tm hk;
I Women s Studies and close ’he•’ unwanted pregnancies from preHowever, cxnort-orienled factories hixid of any signilu.mt impr.
ni.inial attachments that did not
as a new and g: owing source of menl
................
I .haptci thcreallcr
in these conditions J' occiii >
I
lhe new telorms bear tc'cinbl- lead I" marriage, wcie frequently
■
t Asia
female employment in the region paiU o( ul■ South-east
| aiicc Io the policies followed tvjmal- u-poitcd among ccitam ethnic
warrant
W
.Iff Jill closer examination.
- -time,
time, as
as in
in South-easi
p'uups. such as the Tamils in
h bv those bouih c.i't Asian soon
In Sri Lanka, for instance, free
At the same
which were able to take advan Malavsia.
trade zones (FTZ) are of growing Asia where vancus lawss and enastI itics
tage ol the expansion in woikl tr.uk
significance as employers of women ments have curbed wr bant'- !
I wo decades have, however,
South Asia ‘ ->
in maniitactuics - cleclronics. gar elapsed since this form ol indus
workers
workers who
wuv -constituted
---------- an esti- labour agitation, m ments ..nd textiles being the main trialisation was initialed and most
mated M per cent of «he total the Slate, in its attempt : ■ ue.
climate
attractive
(c a
employers Since the sixties, labour- Southeast Asian countries ate toI workforce in IW. Here, in a wtuaintensivc. expoil-bricnted industiies dav entering what some haw
—1 non of persistently high unemploy foreign) investors, ha
prevented
unmni
.ation
1 •.
(especially, though not always, termed lhe second phase The sub
ment. unh hmited alternatise job
•
based on muhmatiunalioiial investstantial differences between coun
openings for women, the workers, India by using m.'.i
Gaining ground
mcntl have emerged as a sigmtic.ini tries in the overall laboui market
typically under 25 years of age, depriving women of tut -P'il
ties
and
even
by
police
actic^
•
ncw soniic- ol female cniploymciit
demand has made tor a significant
----- smele. mostly from rural origins
m Asia Womens employment in difference in the work conditions---------------migrating for a first job. brought up deed with an upbnngtrc Kong Wjby
today are noted
noted to
to enjoy
enjoy aa
e
pprotected
,otected and
ekdiomcs is noted to have grown ,,„a
otnnumM -a.; ,...d ^venues, women
ww„ workers
Cw,
, trlativelv
and concon- obedience and an ur.q-K
comiderably higher standard of hv
ml|leu, face a much acceptance of authonty arc c...
Horn ml to sil.txiil between l‘'71 and
'
floating and peripheral work- ' ing and better work o-nd-hons than «
sised. the fact that it is ■heir ■-:•
cl|mal
IMm) in
.mJ increase J
their counterparts in most other bars
o( job. limited alternative jer op:(...........
;.,nv rexiend.ng
,i,-ndme onlv
ovei six-lold in Sme.i|xirc in tl.e the sixties, womens work vondi
’ng hves
-.’usujih
only up
up 1
Asian
countries^
In
Singapore
reth
,
n
much
of
Southmties. the lack of an
turns have improved radically A l0 the time
—
• -base
h4;c ^en
' same puiod In bouih Korea, oncthey
s^hddren
east Asia Emergmg studies indicate trade union activity, and tim. •
thiid of the enure industrial labour
workers are now able to defy man - higher incidence of illness among straints in attending rr.-.eui.. ■
fotsc consists ot women below 2b
Korean workers relative to
F r r-T^7_
cU..**than
lltrvcA
»fl iMDdf
'!? S bSs ° *Of
wooers
of ETZs
those
m other work, all serve as banivts h working in electronics, textiles and
Vlk>l AU I 3 wi ■ •
-------------- - S r"’bccn cv
ionisation. Frequent con pl.mn' •'
mdustries. strict work superstsion.
tov making
plained by the 'continuing slack in
illness and spontaneous uiasv •'
.
Madu ' revealed that lhe demand
susceptibility to sexual exploitation
------ - ate remini'ccnt h - ,
!he labour market ■>'<»
.
was toi voting, unmarried, relatively
by supersisurs. low wages that allow stoppages
are and fainting fit' >industualisalion. their IjA of family
mass ..h"..-*
fur hulc saving after deductmg mass hystena
educated women J'-nnied to have
childcaie support, given lt.cii rural
sorted to
by
Asian
boardmg fees (for heavdy over -women
«-ed
toworkers
bv themSouth-east
;U manual dcxknty ( mmbl. tin
the early seven
based lamihes. which compel many
1 and do.dlls II. .-nd toi the
crowded dormitory facilities) and
to give up factory employment and
ties But given the overcrowded
a.ous icj CHIOS and inoi.otomms
mhei expenses, and frequent imtake up domestic service Jobs on
labour markets in South Asm and
•urc ol the work. Given the conpusmun of fines for absence due to
marriage, and the virtual absence o
the virtual absence of State welfare v
to acquire the necessary ski Is and. m
ch
,|tkaie. and
lor
the garment industry to o hc«
sudden illness or shortfall in produc facilities such as childcare, there
5 iable eender disparity in wages.
State
facilities
for
childcare,
and
for
Uul
of South-east Asu and the Durd tion. Equally gr.m con(d'lion^
T tenure for tnovmg up the industrial State
upgrading skills and educational
appears to be bttle short-term likehwork and employment for women
levels, with private sector up?°n“’
with which arc icpurted m the kandia FTZ ol heod of any sigmhc.mt impiove
ment in these condmo i' as ixxsu :n
skill upgrading beirg concentrated they
parts of of South-cart Asu
r
At the same time, as in South-east
on
men
Indeed
women
cs|M«t
«acumnasi. even m the second phase on
s.neutwnc and Ikrng msc-cunty of the emjduyment they
toty workers in Singapore and 1 long
of uulnstiialisalion iHgiimmg ill the
Dated
Women: A workforce to reckon with
r
I
SSExs SSSsS
SS-iX
SkSZs Ssjgs -rs-
4
«
•J
Voluntary Health Association of India
Tong Swasthya Bhavan, 40, Institutional Area, New Delhi -110 016
€
Telephone : 630091
PRESS-CLIPPEVG serviob
-Harl Bhari", C-46, East of Kailash-I, N«w Dalhi-110065
Name of the Paper I THE STATESMAN
Published at
I
Dated
2 8 MAY 1992
DELHI
(Late City Edition)
German firms want sterilized women
From IAN MURRAY
BONN: Women in easterni
Germany are being sterilized to•
escape the dole queue. With al
most twice as many women as
men out of work there, employ
ers can pick and chose. Accord
ing to Editha Beier, special wo
men’s commissioner in Saxony
Anhalt, many are prepared to
■j
offer them jobs only if they get a job to feed them. There is
cannot become pregnant.
just no work for unmarried woa-
“The employers ask: ‘Is this men who might have children.”’
woman going to be available
Similar evidence has been
for a long or a short time?’ be
by Sybille Richter,
fore they choose,” she said last collected
Equal Opportunities Commis
Thursday. “This is a dramatic sioner at Stendal in Branden
symbol of the living conditions burg. She said that women had
here.”
been required to provide
She said that unmarried written
medical proof that they
mothers, desperate to earn cannot have children before
money, were particularly vul they were accepted to fill a vac
nerable. Some had told her that ancy. She said, however, that
they had been offered work but clinics she had contacted
only on condition that they
her that they had re
could guarantee they would assured
fused
to
carry out sterilization
never have another pregnancy.
younger women who had no
One electrical worker reported of
partners or children.
that she had been told, “throw
But the women’s*clinic at the
your man out and you can have
a job”. She then had herself medical academy • in Mag
sterilized and was offered deburg has seen the number of
sterilizations there rise from a
work.
Government regulations pro maximun of 400 a year before
vide for up to six weeks’ paid unification to 1,200 last year,
leave for a mother-to-be. It is the first full year of unification.
Wolfgang Weise, who heads
up to the woman’s discretion
when it is taken. They are also the unit, insists that the opera
permitted to take up to ai year tion is performed only on wo
of unpaid leave after the jbirth men over 30 who have had at
during which time the employ least one child. Before she can
er is obliged to keep the job be sterilized, a woman has to
convince the clinic that she has
open.
Frau Beier said that the prob taken a rational decision and
lem existed all over eastern will not regret the act a month
Germany, where 63% of wo later. According to Dr Weise,
men are out of work. “The shor no patient has said that she
tage of jobs is putting single wants the operation just so as
women into a predicament. If to obtain a job.
Ho.v«”’er, Frau Beier has
they have children they cannot
Public Policy DivistoC'
Voluntary Health Association of India
come across cases of women as
young as 19 being sterilized.
Werner Munch, the Prime
Minister of Saxony Anhalt, ag
reed in a radio interview this
week that the affair was a scan
dal. Werner Schreiber, the
State’s Social Services Minis
ter, condemned the companies
as of the lowest category and
called on employers to guaran
tee women's rights to have a
family and a career.
Frau Beier last week pub- !
lished a statement asking wo- |
men to come forward in confi- |
dence to give details of any I
company making sterilization a
condition for employment I
With women frightened of los- '
ing their jobs if they report
their employer, she is not confi
dent that many will comply.
“Women see sterilization as 1
the only way in which they can
cope with the situation.’’ she
said. — From The Times,
i
London.
'WOMEN’' •
—~~
UTU8AN KONSUMER February 1992
---------
S e xu a I Hara$ s men tAt Work
by S. Selvaranl
happened.
® Oec upa tlonaj structure
--The majority of
decision-makers
In most occupa
tions are males
while the auxil
iary staff arc fe
males.
nvmna-
more
sympa
thetic women In
management
might help men
be more respect
ful of women.
AN ugly phenomenon lurks In ©tur workplace — sexual ;
harasament. It's a silent scourge that affects many <
women; but is still a taboo subject to the Government,
management, unions and even some victims them
selves.
Sexual harassment at work is not a personal or
• 'merely a woman’s matter. Because men are the
perpetrators In most cases, it is a shared work issue.
But this occupational hazard is not being treated
- with the importance it deserves.
WHAT exactly Is sexual harass
ment? Basically, it Includes un
wanted and related verbal ad
vances. sexually-loaded com
ments or Jokes, lewd remarks,
sexually suggestive looks and
gestures, unnecessary touching
(eg. knee-patting, grabbing,
bottom-pinching), or demand for
dates or sexual favours.
■ According (o Puan Rohana
. Arifiln. a senior lecturer In the
School of Social Sciences. Universltl Sains Malaysia, sexual
harassment Is any male action
that is unwelcomed, offensive and
repealedly done, therefore In
fringing on the woman's right
not to be'■listiirbed and her right
to a pleasant working environ
ment.
How Prevalent?
Debunk
These
Myths
Why It Happens
• Out of our total woi kforce of
7.05 mil in 1990. one-third were • Male-dominated manage
ment — They tend to tolerate or
females.
• In 1987. females comprised ignore the problem, thus per
48.5% of the manufacturing sec petuating it.
• Power relationahip — Men
tor.
• 95% of our electronics work- feel they are superior to women,
hold
ers and 50% of plantation, especially if they h
' ’ ,positions
workers are women.
• of authority
ty and
an women are their
subordinates.
In Industries that have a high st
J
Media and Ideology —
percentage of women labour, tne ®
risk of sexual harassment is al Portrayal of women as sex ob
ways present. Studies by the jects In advertisements, cartoons
MalayslanTYade Union Congress and television programmes Is a
(M'HJC) in 1988 showed that the major cause.
^Catalogue Of Harassment
• A female clerk-curn-typlst alleged. In her com
plaint to the Labour Department and I’ollce, that
lier boss, a construction company manager, hugged
and kissed her on two occasions in his office. He
claimed he kissed her "without any intention of
hurting her'. He received a one-year Jail sentence
for outraging her modesty (Star. 28.3.86).
• Four female production operators complained
of unfair dismissal as they claimed they were fired
for rejecting the advances of their male supervisor
and production manager. One operator claimed
Dial the supervisor often groped her body while she
was al work and that others have similarly suffered
but were afraid to complain (/VST, 25.3.86).
• Some female trainee clerks alleged that a sen
ior officer of the National Electricity Board (now
Tenaga Naslonal) molested them during an orien
tation programme at the training centres in Selan
gor and Terengganu. They lodged a report with
NEB which then started investigations (NST,
19.6.90).
• A 38-ycar old rubber tapper claimed being
offered a small loan by her kanganl (male super
visor) in return for sexual favours, which she
refused. However, he grabbed at her breast while
she was working one day but she managed to scare
him away with her lapping knife.
She and her husband reported the mat ter to the
management, and an inquiry was held where the
kaaqant finally admitted his guilt. He was put to
work on a contract basis and after a few months,
resumed his former Job.
When the victim and her co-workers protested,
the sen lor officer Insinuated she was promiscuous.
She angrily attacked him with a broom, for which
she was suspended and later dismissed.
At her inquiry, the officer publicly alleged that
she was having an affair with the kaaganL
1
• Hav‘"g Unio^
electronics industry and the
public sector have the highest
Incidence (Malay Mall. 30.8.88).
In Britain, a newspaper sur
vey found that nearly 2 million
working women, or one In six of
the total, have experienced sexual
harassment at tneirotnee, shop
or factory (Star, 2.11.91).
Why does sexual harassmenton -the-Job occur? It's not be
cause men generally find women
attractive. Rather, It Is the basic
attitude of men towomen. Sexual
harassment Is a lack of respect
shown to women as a person and
as a worker.
Puan Rohana gives the fol
lowing reasons why sexual har
assment exists, and persists at
the workplace:
to announce that sexual harass*
tnent Is limited ('.» only m small
figure and exc l.umlng surprise ..
at (he chhii f-. ’ mosl victims
are relucta! I :• xlgc « -iwut.
Their rear’ .■•
<’) t lack of
undersku.u«.igi:
,.•••» thcwhole
problem.
J
• Sexual double standards In
society — Society may not con
demn a married man having an
occasional fling. But If a woman,
though single, behaves In a
similar manner, she’s Immedi
ately labelled a "loose' woman. A
woman also gets the blame for
the
__ "weaknesses' of men. A
illy harassed woman would
sexually
thus, prefer to keep the problem
under wraps.
• Women not assertive
enough — Because of this and
lack of support from their other
women colleagues, women usu
ally blame themselves for what
IF YOU ARE
A VICTIM
• Don't stay silent. Tills gives the impres
sion that you don't mind the harassment.
State your displeasure Immediately and ask
him to stop. If you wait too long, he may
claim you enjoyed It.
• Confide in a colleague, family member, a
friend you trust, or social groups like CAP.
• Keep a diary ofcvents for poslble use as
evidence later on. Note down the time, place
and kind of harassment you suffered, any
witnesses, and any effect on your health.
You may use witnesses or tapes of conversa
tion to support your claim. Note down also
any comments about your work perform
ance.
• Take a colleague or friend along and ask
the harasser to stop. Warn him you'll make
a formal complaint If the harassment contin
ues. Note down what happens. Or you may
ask someone outside work to write to him to
stop. He may stop If he realises that others
know about his behaviour.
• Find out If other women have been har
assed by the same man. You may form an
informal group to act together and to sup
port each other in your allegations.
• Inform your Union, or complain to the
management. A won! of caution - you may
find yourself closely supervised or be dis
suaded by others to drop the complaint.
Don't give up. in any Interview you have with
management, take a friend along for support
and to be a witness.
© If an internal Inquiry Is held, produce all
your written evidence and witnesses
• if nothing Is done by your management.
re|»ort to the jx>llce.
® Women 'ask
for if by the way
they talk. walk,
dress or behave.
—this is not true.
__ _ex________
How can you
plain sexual barassinent of prop‘ ittfredworkerlyaitfred
work
Ing women or
or
even those who
observe sinvi
strict icreouserve
.....
Unions sh<;' ill :• -p|x»rt the vic
tim iuu.i iar - .he
. r up with
the managrmctii. it >' :h! help to
have a v
w-l .hln the
Union to l-uuxlic <<.,1s and
provide cnx :<>nai t...
Union' sl;O . ’
-o have
guidelines a;, .;.
.'j.I harassmcnl lii' orpnean .
. dected
agrecmciJ ‘ s w v1 ‘
11 ’C- management.
They should rnq
for h
workplace policy
,
if..
! ’.; identillcs
sexual harassment
harassmci,' -s a serious
punishable oiTcnr
Unions should 'Iso educate
women on sexual
.issment and
encourage then-■ . .vcly combat
sexism wfihin the workplace.
Workers must lx encouraged to
speak up and .-h. llcngc (he Ianguagc and b -haviour ot others who
harass women al work.
„
r:..) Management
s
_
„.
liglousconduct In
their dressing?
• Sexual harassment Is fun to
women. — Tell that Io a victim
who Is distraught and agitated
by the persistent, objectionable
advances.
• Women find sexual harass
ment complimentary,
................ — Mosl
women find it demea
demeaning and
disrespectful.
Why Victims
Keep Quiet
A victim may keep quiet be
cause she may be forced to re
sign and this may affect her In
come. seniority benefits and lol)
prospects. Or if she slays, her
refusal to com ply may cos I her In
the form of negative evaluation
of her work, no pay Increase, no
promotion or a demotion, no
overtime, heavier tasks, longer
1jours, and a denial ofother rights
or perks.
The strain of harassment and
the penalties for refusing can
cause her physical and menial
problems such as headaches,
migraine, depression, sleepless
ness, digestive problems, loss of
lob satisfaction, poor work per
formance. nervous breakdown,
and so on.
" Despite
•!' this -fierlng,
suffering, most
most
victims do not lodge a formal
complaint for lea? of public
shame, being felled a troublemaker accused of lying, being
blamed for what happened, or
losing their Jobe.
Some are afraid of the resultIng traumatic questioning and
challenge to their moral character. and worried about the alIItudes of their spouses, family.
colleagues and friends. There are
also those who are Ignorant of
their rights.
Some victims also fear retali
ation and loss of Job for com
plaining. This is especially true
for .V.
female p,..,
plantation workers
who are relatively p<x>r and who
live In quarters provided by their
management. Therefore, not
many come forward to complain
to the authorities.
it is thus not surprising for
some plantation workers’ unions
ReSpOnSlDlH tV
r
J
The management can influenc e
the work climate so that It dis
courages sexual harassment. A
management that takes a .serious
view of the oflencc and takes
pminpl action against t he offender.
will < onvinre workers nut to sexu
ally harass female colleagues. _■
Management should also set a
healthy tone thiough their own
Ix'haviour. the pin ups put up. or
through the way they portray
women In (heir advertisement.
The management should have
a strict policy against sexual har
assment (eg loss of promotion or
pav) and inform workers of this
policy. They should also Incoqxj
rate changes In the work environ
ment so that it's not conducive to
sexual harassment — sue h as fe
male estate workers working in
pairs, or being attended to by
women hospital assistants.
Legislation
Needed
hi the United Stales, the Equal
Employment Opportunities regu
lations specifically forbid sexual
harassment at work. Empoyers arc
responsible for any harassment in
their units and have to pay> compcns.iting damages to entpl<
iploycvs
J™ ^y^TtablT:
to
gSa. employers are also
hc|d rr!iponslh|c fo’r the behaviour
oflht.|r ^In|>|<vc<~,.
,n Britain, under the Sex Discrlmlnalion Act. employers are li
able for any discriminating ac.
act ...
done
whether
by their employees, whet
her or not
the employer was aware of the
practice, unless they can show they
t<x>k
took reasonable practical steps l„
to
avoid the situation.
Malaysia however has no kgls
latlon on sexual harassnx’nt al the
workplace. But any Indecent lx?
havlour to female employer's may
constitute (he offence of out raging
of modesty, whichcarricsa penally
of maximum Imprisonment of 10
n ()r
wllh w))|pp|nu. (HST.
7. | |.9|)
Now I hat more and more women
arc entering the workplace, the
Government should seriously
consider dr.iwingup I.jwsoii sexual
harassment to piuKx I their rights
as wot kers
I
-CI.IP’F’IIVG SERVICES
-Hari Bnari", C-46, East of Kaila«h-I, New Delhi-110065
THE HINDU
Nama of the Paper
Published at
:
-------- \ (r
DELHI
(Delhi Edition)
Dated
Gender-based tyranny
v •
.
.
r m ... c
■«r- M “THEREAS the voice of women s
W /W / liberation movements all over the
1/ >/ world is soaring sky high for
emancipation and advancement of
their fellow women, there exists a small group
within this already discriminated and exploited
lot whose privation and misery are
multitudinal and monstrous. The widows,
divorcees, separated, abandoned wives and
single mothers — all of whom live under the
label of female-headed households, suffer not
only the usual gender-based tyranny but also
their social isolation or exclusion from the male
counterparts.
.
While the presence of males as prime bread
winners may not be a matter of special
significance for the male-headed households, the
The number of households
where women are the sole
bread winners of the
families is steadily growing.
absence of such men in the female-headed
households certainly matters in various ways.
Waging virtually a silent social war against a
galaxy of forces, these women not on!>*lide
against the undercurrents of our patriarchal
society but most often, and paradoxically too.
against their own fraternity which contradicts
the claim of women activists in fighting against
Sholds in >he world
are now estimated to be headed by women,
according to the International Labour
Organisation (ILO). In many developing
countries, notably Africa, women head three in
every ten households. But this is likely to be a
conservative estimate. Recent studies by the ILO
have shown that the number of families in
which women are the sole supporters is on the
increase. Many such women are very poor
earning their living in urban informal markets
or struggling for survival among
unemployed and marginally employed. They
face serious hardships supporting themselves
ankitI1ndia^lthlrproportion of female-headed
estimated that the number of female-heat
female-heaued
-eHmatwl
households where the women earners are the
only bread-winners of their families is steadily
growing. •
Poverty within poverty: Fvisearchers have
found poverty to be a predominant cause of the
incidence of female-headedn jss. Often these
women own little or no land, are in the higher
age group, depend on wage labour, have a low
education level and large families. They are also
concentrated among the Scheduled Castes. The
most affected are the children who are circum
stantially coerced to sacrifice their precious
childhood and sell their labour for a pittance.
Ranjana Kumaffs study shows that the inci
dence of female-headedness was more among
the Scheduled Castes (46 per cent); most of
these women were below the poverty line (/2
per cent). In more cases the children actively
supported their mothers and so very few chil
dren attended school.
Studies done by the Gandhigram Rural uni
versity in Tamil Nadu shed light on a different
dimension. Accordingly, social problems con
fronting those families are to be considered as
critical as that of their economic problems and
that both kind of problems are found to exert
countervailing pressure on the deprivation or
development of these households.
One woman said: “I would rather live
peacefully as a married woman, albeit separat
ed. than being insulted as a divorcee in this
superstition-ndden society. I can live with suf
fering. but not sacrileges. I can face tortures but
not taboos. As a typical rural woman. I would
prefer to die with a social identity as some one s
ocus
wife and preferably as a sumangali (woman
whose husband is living), rather than a aivw-
CeThe concept of ‘single mother's is relatively
new to India but is not an unknown phenom
enon. Sporadic Instances of unmarried women
with children could be seen both in urban and
rural areas. However, in countries like Africa,
the number of single mothers is significant and
rapidly growing as more young men become fa
thers but not busbands. When a man crosses
the border to work in South Africa, he must mi
grate alone, for the law prohibits his family
households was put around 10 per cent
from living with him. In Botswana. 80 per cent
according to the 1961 and 19 /1 ^ns^eSof all unmarried women above the age of 2d
Pravln and Leela Visaria (1985) found 16 to — have children. While in most cases, says the
per cent of the female-headed households in
ILO. the fathers have left villages to find work in
some parts of the country, while Hemalatha
others pn,fer lQ sUy singlc avoid pc|y.
Dandekar found 23 to 26 per cent ol such
•
—
gamy/toTetaln their
freedom Tor because •they
households in a Maharashtrian village. Ranjana cannot rely upon the financial support of their
Kumari (1989) found up to ] 9 per cent of such partners.
households in four Uttar Pradesh villages. Tamil
Confronted by the canker of poverty and illi
Nadu ranks fourth in terms of
Percentage
teracy
sandwiched between the scorns of
of female-headed households and 20 to 25 per societyand
and demands of dependents, these
cent of the households are estimated to be
women put up a valiant struggle earning and
female-headed both de jure and ae facto.
The number of such households, therefore, is sustaining their livelihood in the local commulikely to be much larger than actually
in the Census. The Department^ uz'Yf0™
A
. M. P.Boraian
Child Welfare in the Ministry of Welfare has
.
•
Tslephon® : 630091
PRESS-CLXPPSERVICE
"Hari 8h»n", C-^b. csst ©t KaHean-*,
Nar?x» of the Paper
Published st
:
iccikm
THE HINDU
GURGAON
(New Delhi Edition)
’ - 8 F-AR 1992
Dated
Whither equality at the workplace?
be shewed from the point of view of a woman.
The court observed that "asking what a
reasonable employer would do runs the risk of
reinforcing any prevailing level of
cLscnmioauou bv employers and fails to focus
directly on the best way to eliminate sexual
harassment from the workplace". Thus by
interpreting the word sexual harassment' to
include sex discrimination' the court had given
effective remedy to the woman who had
complained of sexual harassment.
In contrast to the imaginative and effective
nu-rpretation adopted by the U.S. courts on the
issue of sexual discrimination, the rather
conservative attitude of the Supreme Court of
India stands out in the case of Madhu Kishwar
vs State of Bihar (1992). In this case sections 7
and 8 of Chhota Nagpur Tenancy Act 1908
things, discriminating against a person "with
were challenged before the Supreme Court,
respect to his or her compensation,
i ndcr this Act succession to property was
conditions, privileges of employment, because oi thr0Ugh descendants in the male line' and the
such individuals ...sex." In an earlier case
mdle ht.|rs |n thc ma|e iinc’ alone were entitled
Meritor Savings Bank vs Vinson the U.S
the property. These provisions of the Act
Supreme Court while interpretingline•aben
were challenged as being opposed to the
clause held that where sexual harassment
equality guaranteed by the Constitution. The
Supreme Court in its proceedings recorded dial
created a "hostile or abusive work
environment" it would amount to
’J
^fhere is as yet no law in India dealing with sexual
harassment and discrimination at the workplace.
On the occasion of International Women's Day,
it is appropriate that women's movements should
focus on this issue and demand a comprehensive law
to cover the same.
EXU.AL harassment al the work place is a
Wk* common experience of most working
women. In India where legislations
L-X abound in almost every other field It is
ow mere
amazing how
there is
is no
no law
law to
to uea.
deal «.u.
"^’hi .a
>blem of thn nature which affects one
uuuii
half of the population The Constitution uf
of India
India
guarantees equality between sexes among other
things. But this equality would become
meaningless unless it is translated into
something which the people can actually make
use of. As far as women m this country are
concerned the equality guaranteed by the
Constitution has remained an illusory nght.
even at the workplace where women are
compenng on an equal footing with men.
It is against this background, that a recent
decision of the Court of Appeals in the United
States assumes importance. In the case of
Ellison vs Brady (1991) the court held that
sexual harassment amounts to sex
discnmination.
In this case Kerry Ellison was working as a
revenue agent with the Internal Revenue
Service. A male co-worker started harassing
Ellison by writing love letters to her and
loitering around her place of work. Ellison
complained to her employer and the man
bothering her was warned and transferred to
another place. But later the man
uaufk
GAL FILE
discrimination. Applying the Supreme Court s
reasoning th Ellison s case the appellate court
said that such situations of sexual harassment
should be examined from the perspective of the
woman who is the victim and not from the
perspective of an average person. The court
noted that as a result of experience peculiar to
the female sex. "manydowomen
share common
not nece^arilv
share,
concerns which men u- —..—
’ • •
such as fear that sexual harassment may lead to
violent sexual assault." The court concluded
that the act of the employer amounted to
discrimination because a woman of average
nutiv
employer agreed to the same. Ellison objected to
this and filed a complaint against her employer
charging him with sexual harassment.
The court upheld her charge. More or less
hcy
similar to the Equal Remuneration Act^ n I ndfa.
Id
rule VU of the CMl Rights Act of 1964 in the
so a
U.S.A.. prohibits.employers from among other a*aln
---------------- ------------
4
"
on an earlier occasion when similar writ
petitions were being heard by the court, time
was given to the Government of Bihar "to
consider the feasibility of carrying out an
-----amendment in the offending sections
and?to
clearly provide that succession was "5"
r-'*
to the male ih the male fine." A comminee was
set up by the Bihar government to examine this
quesrion. The
The committee
committee came
came to
to the conclusion
question.
i—• among the Ccheduled
that by custom prevalent
Scheduled
Tribes a female heir is excluded from succession
and in case the law was otherwise interpreted
or changed and property was allowed to go into
hands of female heirs, there would be great
agitation and unrest in the area among the
scheduled tribe people who have custom-based
.
„ discrimination and harassment should be examined from the perspective of the woman.
Cases such as
not from that of an average person,
advertisement w as issued, i.e. April 5. 1990. t
--------------relQ"“‘g"''*“ "i5""8 District judge sent a communication to the
attitude of the Bihar—
Government
in this matter;
the court rnsread of dedd,ng the ccoafruUonal
High c„urt
----Regional Employment Officer informing him
valldity of
section challenged once again.
the eligibility conditions required from the
the Bihar Government to reconsider the• however stands out in contrast. In the case of
candidates. One of the conditions wa« that n<
T'rmila
Devi
vs
State
of
U.P.
and
others'
(1992).
^Presumably
committee is
isto
be
ma[ter presumably aa new committee
to be
woman candidate was eligible for a Class til
the Allahabad High Court held that u rule
up
up as (he Committee s report has been
post. This was based on rules framed under i
which
made
women
ineligible
for
appointment
^cted t0 be submitted to the court. One
Government of India Act. 19 55 Hence 1 mu!
VSU11UCI3
— to ministerial posts in the Civil Courts went
wonders,. how constituting one more commiitee
Devi was denied a chance to apply for me po:
against the provision of Art. 16 of the
to vuoiif,'
change the
the Bihar’
lb going lU
•**»- attitude of
-- ----------Thankfully, the High Court in a prompt
Constitution which provides that no citizen shall
Government. And again Committees arv
are rhe
the
manner struck down this rule as being violati'
of Art. 16 of the Constitution and directed the
District Judge. Gorakhpur to issue ?
In the meanttue the case has been adjourned descent. p|ace of birth residence).
communication informing that womea can all
for a further th^ m< nths. Thia case is of the
In this case Urmila Devi applied for a Class III app^r for the posts advertised before. S
exclusion of women from inheritance was
year 1982 and it is difficult to understand why
posting in the Civil Courts at Gorakhpur on the
D>
A( ASA1L
the court is reluctant to decide issues like this
employer should act in a manner were as much cittzqps of India_as others, and
basis of an advertisement Issued by the District
P Y
harassment. Here
they were entitled to the benefit ofth*
thf which are clearly discriminatory. Let alone
Judge. Gorakhpur. On the same day as the
V . oL h
P
remedial action should guarantees of the Constitution. Having seen the expanding the existing law. t.te courts seem to
lcsl 01 c‘
I'
I ’■
Sbxual abuse a fact of life for
Kuwait’s Indian maids
tz ' i
T V 7J
KUWAIT CITY - Indian maids
r are an exploited lot in Kuwait.
The maids, numbering between
! 35,GOO to 40,000,' are in many
peases "subjected to’•molestation,
' beating, solitary confinement and
J even sexual assault at the hands of
their Kuwaiti employers.
•• Inquiries with Kuwaiti author
cities and members of the Indian
community here revealed that on
an average one such “exploited’’
)Indian maid was'seeking refuge at
the Indian embassy daily.
/ EMBASSY’S’ BURDEN: The
jlndian embassy has hired a
^permanent accommodation in the
Wasma area of the metropolis for
She upkeep ' of ; such harassed
*maids at an exhorbitant price of
^Kuwaiti Dinar 600 (Rs 60,000) per
month.
''
i Inquiries also revealed that at
-any given time 25 to 30 such maids
*wcre always lodged at the hired
^accommodation, situated near the
local jxilicc station, for safety
^reasons. ','
Both Indian embassy officials
and the Kuwaiti'authorities were
^unHiiimniis in (but llm liginr. of
•'exploited*' innidb was nol vciy
*Jnigc hIvch lhe »l/rid»lr |w»pid:i
. \1lon of Indian iiiiiids heir. ‘
WAKPID LABOUR LAWS:
limit ex hhlil Kiiwiiirv ’uni
quo' labour laws, completely nose in Kuwait City.” Most of plight became worst
tilted in favour of the Kuwaitis, these cases take place far off in the lady of the hou:
were mainly responsible for the the desert areas where close dence and told her o
maltreatment meted out to mem monitoring was not always possi- become pregnant,” sh< ri
“I ran away one day vo
bers of any expatriate community. ~ble, the Kuwaiti authorities said.
However, they claimed that “all was no one in the hou -- ' ’
“Anybody coming to Kuwait
for employment was at the mercy possible measures are being taken to the embassy and h*.e r ■
the centre ever since,'
of his or her employer as under to do away with the problem.”
A group of Indian Journalists, The embassy is pursue ‘
the existing system he or she is not
Most of the girls cl;
permitted to leave the country which visited lhe Dasma centre
___
o
unless the exit visa was
signed
byy and interviewed some of the they had taken loans c ■.
lhe employer", the sources said, maids there, found that a majority their jewellery to pa-,
“Nol only maids and domestic of theny hailedI from either between Rs 20,001-2.5/«
Pradesh
agents in India to ob’en.
servants, but even top profession- • Andhra
*
* • or Kerala.
Most of them complained that jobs
als like doctors and engineers and
SOU) OFF BY S1L.
technical hands come under these not only were they manhandled
but even their paltry salaries Annamma Abraham of K .
regulations," the sources said.
Acting Charge d'Affaircs at the Kuwaiti Dinar 35-40 (Rs 3,5O(FRs in Kerala has a different st,
Indian mission J.S.Sapra, when 4,000) were not paid by the em- tell. “I will have to co:
poison if I have to go b ■:
confronted with the allegations, P*°yfP ^or months together,
“When we complain to the re cause I will be left with n,.
conceded that the problem was
there and that the embassy was cruiting agents in Kuwait about alternative,” she said
non-payment and other problems, She was allegedly sold off 1
seized of it.
He,., however, categorically we are pacified and told that sponsor but she somehow
stated that the attitude of the things will improve soon,” most of aged to free herself, she
The embassy is trying
Kuwaiti Government and author those interviewed said.
__ _____
__
GAGGED
AND
RAPED: things with her s|H>nsar a
ities diict'lly concerned
wns
Among the 30-odd maids piesept alternative employemer.t i
“vet)y, very
„ ,posilive and good and
that they spared no efforts what at the centre; a 22-year-old from as she has a 90-year old f
soever to resolve lhe mullers to Rajarnpcl in Andhra Pradesh several other family inc'
idkgnl Ihwl bhn win gagged Mild , mippoil buck homo./
out bed hiilihliii lion "
• J
'/’ I' '
MORI': ( ASIN IN DKSERI icpcntcdly ru|K-d by the sponsor's
mhi.
, •
However, both the Ku*."
AHI.AS:
Kuu'iilli
milhoi ilici,
I he girl has been nt the centre the Indian nuthoniies ca r
while com riling that such tires
rxistril, said ’ ll h nol ns if they fi»i four months and gave birth io ' ly denied this trend is
.i l».iy idioiil ii niiinih b.n k "My iiinrnsr •UNI.
hi
ill h.i| »|»< miiij* ll|-lil Itmlri Mill
•<T
Voluntary ItUealth ^ssrociatiioini of IInoua
PEHA-PP 10(5)
[ ACTION ALEUT]
SUB:
RAPE OF BAWWARX
A ’SATIIIN' IN RAJASTHAN
Dear Friend,
1
v,
Rnnwarl
a
'sathiri',
Who
is the grassroot
Banwari,
^th Sorter for
for the
the Women • s OevelopmSnt Progrnmmo (WDP)
Rsponsored- by the
; government,
has been widely
the Rajasthan
1 w
number
by womens
womens organisations as well as a
condemned
voluntary organisations across the country.
of 1
1 3 old was
Banwari, a Kumhar woman who is about forty fyears
working
has been
Itrained as a 'sathin' in 1985 and eversince which
is located
' i'.ii" seven
seven years
in Bhateri, a Till...» in
Jaipur.'
kilometers
from
J
aipu
•
related
to
land,
45,
land, water,
system,,i literacy
literacy and Payment^of^wages
she --^iXibutionseveral
public
ianlne rellei works
• . Early
Early this
this year »“-a>'r1eah“‘,Th^,rted
was
t
--a ' campaign against child
child marriages
I!iarr ® i
iSSUed by the Chief
in the context of aa public
publ<jj appeal district collectors
to
Minister, who had written to all dlst*
alienain this and
regard,
2?oSUVro*« “"r^llasers
"her subsequent rape is very
and 1—
ehild
mieh linked to her attempts -to
-toaddress
and stop
i
families
belonging
marriage in
her village.
in her
village, Some inliuentia1 caste group which
to the
the Gujjar caste (a middle leve
group
powerful
is both
both economically and politically a
marriages
child i-in Rajasthan) were planning to perform
of the Gujjar
one
in their families.
Banwari requested
old daughter married
families
not
to
get
their
their
one
year
tamines no^
&
aggressive response.. In response
but received a hostile and
marriages
ch:
to the appeal of the District Collector on child
by all the
planned for this year,
year, aa list
list was
was prepared some of the
district, which
which included
•sathins1
in the district,
Deputy SuperinGujjar families in the village. The SDO and rounds of the
hectic
tendent of Police started making
child, marriages from taking
villages in order to prevent
SDO and DYSP came to Bhateri *
place. On May 5th 1992 the
families, however
to stop the marriage in one of the Gujjar
and’ tl^
marriage
the state machinery failed to stop the
solemnised
at 2
marriage of the one year old girl was village connected
• » in the
a.m.on the re:zt day. Most people
child
marriages
with police action,
Banwari's effort to stop
in the village
as a resu'-t of which the overall atmosphere
tense.
Subsequently the
and surrourding areas was very
TnnajSw^sthyar'’-c,
40 institutional A”?. .’3sr Qutab Hotel, New Delhi 110 016, INDIA
Phonrs GdfiOZI. 66f:'
^ax : 011-6R35377
Grams: VOLHEALTH
C.'
a '••'•<.>071 652QS3
.2
H.'IIHV.!| i
I es.^on " ,
Gujjar community decided I.o "teach her a
a nd
(hi,j,ja r
comnui: i I
was
boycotted
socially
and
the entire
in the village was instructed not to sell milk to her J i
WT-j/Exl] and not to buy any earthen pots from her. On another occas.- ;
1
Mohan, Banwari’s husband, was beaten up by
b
one of 4‘he memi). i
to
the
host!Je environ
>
of the Gujjar family. As a response
as
we.I ]
as
r!
the ‘sathins’ from
neighbouring villages
Project Directors used to visit Banwari at brief ii’ter.al
had
eased
and
durir
and it appeared as if
the
tension
"this period the villagers were also interacting with Banwari
was
sha 11 ort i
However,
all
the
semblance of well
being
1
992.
A group
with the rape of Banwari on September 22nd,
gang
raped
Banwar i
of five men belonging to a Gujjar family,
Banwari
went
and beat up her husband badly, Subsequent]y,
with
case
through a harrowing experience from lodging the
exami na t ion.
The
medical
the police to
trying
to
get a
Ba nwari
when
police were indifferent to the issue because
and the Pracheta went to lodge a FIR at the police station,
"Due
to
added
that:
and
the Dy. S? expressed skepticism
false
allegations".
personal enimity people sometimes make
After much questioning by the police a FIR was lodged and
rest
to
the AST was deputed to accompany Banwari and the
the PiiC, Bassi for. a medical examination . When they reached
the
PHC, the male doctor present there refused to conduct
pos
ted
doctors
lady
the
two
neither
of
and
examination
to
was
referred
at' the PHC was available. Therefore , she
the
revealed
that
later
Jaipur.
It was
the hospital in
examination
for
medical
requested
for a
PHC doctor had
rn
pe.
than
for
rather
confirming the age of the victim
re
fused
J
u
rist
Medical
the
reached Jaipur,
When Banwari
the
f rom
orders
wi thout
to conduct a medical examination
it
contacted
was
the Magistrate
time
Magistrate. By ’the
re
fused
Mag,i s tra te
The
in
the evening.
p. m.
was past 5
rc I. ii r n
shouId
that
they
saying
to give them any orders,
the
Meanwhi1e,
court.
meet him in 'his
next morning and
policy left Banwari and Mohan at the Mah i1 a Thana for the
I he
of
senior officers
intervention of
night. After the
after
hours
of
48
a
gap
after
done
vaginal
swab
was
WDP, a
the incident.
Several activists from women’s organisations, c i v i I 1i be t t ies
research
f rom
groups, voluntary organisations as
well
as
to suppor t Banwari. The
organisations have
come
forward
the
rape of Banwari raises some very i mportant issues for
future of women who are grassroot workers as well as women’s
one
Here,
connt ry.
development programmes
all
over
the
progrnmmos
supported
’is
hot merely ‘talking
about state
but also a large number of women workers i n voIv cd Jn vol tin l a ry
Volun La ry
Ila jas t han
The
organisations across the
country.
Health Association has been actively involved 1inn the do Icnco
deve1 opment
women’s
of
of Banwari as well as
the
future
in
the
.justice
programmes in the' state.
state. The struggle for
October
10th
On
Banwari case is continuing in
in
Rajasthan,
for
Women
Commission
I
National
from
I.he
and 11th a -team
M
inistcr
and
the
Chief
leaders
Banwari
as
well
as
local
met
since
it
strengthened
the
case
this has
definitely
and
Or
I
oho
r
Ra
jasthan
govprnnirii
roverniiion
I
.
(hi
put
pressure
on
the
has
•>
:3:
11th and 12th, a joint meeting of
th i ns was organised
’athlns
/MJ "Sphere more than 100 sathins came to the bSa
express their solidarity,
They expressed their fanger against the
government for not
ensuring speedy justice and booking the
criminals in this
f
case.
They also expressed concern regarding
the
future
°T the WDP programme as well as their own safety in
carrying
on with the development programmes. The next step in
this
campaign is a mammoth rally on October 22nd
in Jaipur to
mark a month since the day Banwari was brutalised.
Groups
from all over the country have been called and
even
those
who will not be able to be present,
p- : z ;__ L physically, can still
express their solidarity by sendihg telegrams; on the specified
date to:
i
The Chief Minister
Rajaslhan Central Secretariat
i
Jaipur, Rajasthan.
We are sending a copy of this note to
order to appraise them as well as their all state VHAs in
member institutions
regarding this issue, We are sure that many
grassroot workers have been harassed in the of the women
field and we
feel th at this incident needs to be
shared and discussed
among health workers, both men and 1women, so
that t we are
not caught unawares and we build
up
support
networks; in
the areas we work.
Ms. Fiona Dias
Programme Assistant
Public Policy Division
i
J
Ms. Rama jjaru
Programme Officer
Public Policy Division
J
A HKI’Oirf
ON
22.10.92
---- —
the
about
do something
out to
ch
a
1
kecj
was
tried
she
After the action
’ sathin' was raped because
to hn v< •
decided
Bhateri Rape-j case where a
groups
the women’s
marriage,
I hr>
child
from
to stop a z
Hi ns
Ms.Fiona
;
22.10.92.
on
the
meeting
he
I
d
.n 1
meeting
a
public
attended
this
VIIA1
r
Division,
Public Policy
Jaipur, Rajasthan.
, Himachal
Pradesh,
Uttai
At 10 a.m. 'sathins' from Ahmedabad,
i from Delhi and neighbourini
Pradesh and Rajasthan along with
men,
who were sensitive
states met at Ram Nivas Bagh. Many
states
iThe crowd comprised
oi
also joined the women,
to the issue
3,
journalists
social workers, health workers
activists,
areas,
some government
’teachers,
women
from [ur*1,in
lawyers,
v.—
.
about 3000 and more people.
officials and an MLA.. There were
and went around the maini city
Jdharna’,
The ctowd ;^2'
leftj Ram Nivas Bagh
■
* Jtill it reached a major junction and sat on a of normal
of Jaipur
and disrupting the
flow
the
carried on
till one
reached
thus, blocking the traffic
*
Later
the
morcha
Secretariat the supposedly - "sactomi"
activity.
the
circle
opposite
1--awns
central
The crowds sat or,
the
rights.
dignity
and
for
the
.of people' s
and verses specially prepared
slogans
sang
songs
shouted
and
outside
the people
very
occasion. All throughout the morcha
different
voices, It wa? a
and the air was filled with to see people of diverse cultures
topching; and
and meaningful sig
caste and status
coming to seek
t. rising «hnve
c
above the barriers of
justice unitedly.
item on the agenda. Ms. Mukulika
A 'public meeting was the next
1 upon
r compered the meeting, She called
.
Singh an ex IAS officer <
few words
v
___ say
ordinator of Vishaka
to ft
£he
Ms. Mamta Jetly the c°2
to organise this mee t. meted
the
person
» was not
Ms. Mamta Jetly was
episode and how justice
the
after
spoke about the entire
month
22,
one
i
22.10.92,
the
•the
Bhateri
uptil
on
spoke
to out to
Mohinibbai
' sathin *
Later another
incidence.
workplace
which she was
harrasment at the
sexual
*
another 1 esathin' spoke
issue of c---uQ„ir
a victim of some years back, After her
them.
how she had to combat with
about her experiences
xperiences andwho was gang raped by members of the
gang
state
— -1Then Bhaveri the l
sathin
first she
gave a jist of
oi the
she
•
.
At
Gujjar community spoke,
out at the system.
of affairs and thep lash
--- ed
people working in ’h^r1
; noticed by the
Bhaveri Bhateri was
trained and performedi -.her
nd she was
a g e n t aand
change
f
’
train
other as .’'.sa
.s”thins
'*11
good
as a
she_ used to
.■•person.
Th*
respectful
role diligently. La ter
1ooked a t her as a
chi 1 H
rise
in
the
The who 1 e v 1.1 1 age
abou t
do something
to
decided
her duty
as
Todas
’sathin’?.?
Government
a
duty
as a
di d
her •mistake
'mistake'’ and is ,fhis the wa,
marriages and hence she
been
Bhaveri asks wha t has
same government who on one
rewarded
. The
she should be
instrumental
in changing
I
doing nothing
’
encourages 1 sathins' to be today, is doing
attitude on socia 1 i ssues,
to this duty, which she fuinh’ ^’e
injustice meted out to her due
Who are hand m giovc
the police
out
at
i)She lashed
c
:2:
rapists,
she questioned the ggovernment for pretending
this
incident never took place at all., CShe challenged the government
and the entire, machinery;‘that shej will fight. the issue till
the rapists are ..punished. Bhaverl appeared full of r-age at
the humility she had to go through despite her efforts to
do all she can fqr the people, She failed to understand the
intense need for police around the gates of the ■ secretariat.
After Bhaveri spoke the crowd got very emotional and 1Bhaverljl
zindabad’ and 'Nari Ekta zindabad’ filled the air. Later another
'sathln' spoke about the demands that they want as soon ac
possible and the memorandum was signed by the people presenr
there,, g
.,r
t
* ., .
Finally the crowd wanted' to meet the Home Minister but was
not; allowed to do so. A delegation went to meet the Minister,
he agreed to set a CBI inquiry bdt refused to arrest the rapists
until the report ascertaining the above is available, lie refused
to see reason and the crowd was disappointed that despi te
the agitation the Home Minister was so adamant about his stand'
on the issue.
The women then decided to break through the police cordan
and get into the secretariat, there was a mild lathi charge
__
due to this and one' MLA
was injured in
in thd. confrontation.
The women then sat on the lawns of the Central Circle and
had a dharna till 8 p.m. This was followed by a decision Id
carry on and intensify the agitation at the Central level.
The next day a meeting was held to discuss the further plan
of action but it was not finalised.
I left Jaipur feeling
good and proud that women are coming out with their problems
and braving the stigma attached to issues like this one.
I
was proud that VHAI ..decided to express its solidarity with
another fhea4th worker who needed this much for her struggle
tpwards justice.
FIONA* DIAS SAXENA
PUBLIC POLICY.DIVISION,VHAJ.
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4
*PR
3.3.93
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i.
i.if
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- Media
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