Sexual Harassment Bill at Workplace remains Unsafe for Men.

Protection of women at work place from sexual harassment. It is a good idea prima facie but the concerns are how well will it be executed?
 

A group of SIF activists including Arnab Ganguly and Niladri Dasgupta took the lead in presenting the loop holes of Sexual Harassment at workplace bill at Rajya Sabha. Somedays back the bill got finally passed in the Lok Sabha. The question remains on how will this empowerment be treated by the misusers. And how will the misusers be treated as the misuse clause is not sharp enough and is arguably protecting the misusers in a surrogate manner. Because it is not Gender Neutral and is not stringent on the Misuses. Even Pakistan has a Gender Neutral Law in place is what a Press release by Virag Read. The Indian bill is NOT Gender Neutral.
 

Will the equation on application of Law continue to remain the same?  That is…
1.    Noble Intentions behind making a law.
2.    Application of law by Motivated Unscrupulous Audience by virtue of failsafe misuse of law.

Will the real victims actually use it? And will the Misusers be prevented from misusing it?
 

My Parents knew one Pannalal Sir (Name Changed), he was associated with a Gujarati School in North Mumbai in 70’s; his work was well appreciated and was the natural claimant to take over the post of the Retiring Principal then. Suddenly he lost his job and was charged of attempt to sexual assault by one of his lady colleague.  Some days later his lady colleague succeeded on that post. Pannalal Sir and that lady shared some differences at professional level and all knew Pannalal Sir was a victim of this ambitious rivalry from his lady colleague who managed the filmy scene of a lady running out with a torn blouse from Sirs table when there was no one.  We all know he is innocent but with no scope of medical test in such case, till date the charges with no witness and proof apart from the torn blouse and the lady’s testimony are constant. Sir is no more but the scar is still there.
 

Now in such cases that we see we have to take care of the laws, that are framed. They should be POTENT enough to help the victims and safe enough in not breeding new victims by its misuse, irrespective of its gender.
 

Sexual Harassment can be planned on MALE and so can be its misuse. Misuse of Sexual Harassment at Workplace law is not new. It has been misused since ages to diffuse a man. Be it A BHISHMA who had to face Shikhandi a eunuch in its present birth and a lady who loved bhishma in her previous birth. On the other hand, VishKanyas were used as poisonous ladies to charm and kill the king of enemy troop. 

But one excellent example of Sexual Harassment at Work Place to diffuse the Goal of a Man at work was VISHWAMITRA V/S MENAKA. 

Vishwamitra Seduced by Menaka

Vishwamitra’s Meditation was disturbed by a well planned coup to prevent him from becoming invincible and CEO of a parallel swarg, where he lost his 10 years in his intense love for the uninvited Menaka, who seduced him by allowing her clothes to be blown off by wind. However Vishwamitra had powers to curse the apsara’s which he did to both Menaka and later Rambha. 

But the Current Bill of Sexual harassment at workplace does not have a potent misuse clause, as it is to be applied by only women and it seems more of a formality with no Fear of Permanent effects of Misuse. Hence there is a scope of improvement in upgrading the quality of bill.
 

To be more clear I would say that if the lady is not able to prove her charges it MAY NOT be taken as a misuse. So Pannalal sirs of the world will remain scarred for lifetime. Be it Micheal Douglas of Disclosure against Demi Moore or Akshay Kumar of Aitraaz against Priyanka Chopra. Unless otherwise in real life these heroes will remain villains in the eyes of the society.

And in regular days we see such cases of regular male sexual harassment at work place reported only in sexpert columns because the bill is only for Women and machinery for men in legal framework remains a Castle in the Air.  

If a lady were to be forced in the above case by a man then it would have been a statistic of Sexual Harassment at workplace.

Men continue to be Legally Challenged…
 

Jinesh Zaveri.