Succour Punched

Grossly Unfair

• WCD minister Krishna Tirath says difficult to apply laws in households
• Ministry says it’s not possible to establish codes of behaviour within homes and is not likely to yield any witnesses
• It would be more practical to take recourse to the provisions under criminal law
• This excludes women domestic help from the ambit of Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill

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f women domestic workers in this country were hoping for some succour under the Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Bill, they are in for a disappointment. That is if Union women and child development (WCD) minister Krishna Tirath’s recommendations are accepted when the bill comes up for final clearance in Parliament. Tirath says the provisions of the bill will be difficult to implement in a household and it would be better if domestic workers took recourse to criminal law for redressal. A strange logic—which practically refuses to see households as a legitimate site of work—and one that surprisingly has the endorsement of the Union cabinet.

Stating that there would be “practical difficulties” in applying the law within a household, the WCD ministry spells out its explanation in a note dated February 21, 2011: “This issue was examined in consultation with the ministry of law and justice and it was felt there would be practical difficulties in applying the law within the household.” The difficulties being: “Sexual harassment as defined under the said bill is dependent on the perception of the aggrieved woman and is any unwelcome, sexually determined behaviour, whether directly or by implication. Given that it is not possible to establish codes of behaviour within homes and the fact that an incident in the confines of a home is not likely to bear any witnesses, any complaint by a domestic worker would be one person’s word/perception against another’s. It would be more practical to take recourse to provisions under criminal law.”

Tirath forgets a home is the workplace for domestic workers, and unorganised as they are, the bill would have offered them a legal recourse in the event of harassment. There are frequent cases of women and young girls being physically abused by their employers, cases which rarely come to light. Says Jeanne Devos of the National Domestic Workers Movement, “The majority of abuse cases are behind the closed doors of the house. Give me one instance when there are witnesses to such incidents. Women and children (despite the ban on child labour, many young girls from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh comprise the bulk of the workforce) need additional protection.” Jeanne’s organisation receives at least three cases a week, not all of them relating to sexual harassment, but including physical abuse in households.

Incidentally, states like Tamil Nadu have included domestic workers in the Manual Labour Act, while Andhra Pradesh has offered a protective cover under the legal provision for minimum wages. While domestic helps are covered under the Unorganised Sector Workers’ Social Security Act, the current bill would have offered them a legal cover giving them recourse to criminal law.

Tirath’s ministry has also recommended that a clause pertaining to punishment for false or malicious complaints and false evidence be retained, to “guard against the possibility that abuse by some people may affect the credibility of genuine complaints”. The National Advisory Council has not recommended that domestic workers be included in the purview of the proposed bill but it has sought the removal of the above-mentioned clause. The only reason Tirath might want to retain it, say voluntary organisations, is so as to not disturb the power structure at home. Pity feudal mindsets thrive on in modern times.