Re: Memorandum letter : Domestic maids/helps & Rag-Pickers should be within the ambit of PWSH Bill 2010

On 11/6/10, urvashi sharma <rtimahilamanchup@gmail.com> wrote:
> by e-mail
>
> To,
> The Hon'ble Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh
> Government of India , South Block
> New Delhi-110011
>
> With copy for necessary action to
> The Hon'ble President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil
> Rashtrapati Bhavan , New Delhi – 110011
>
> Respected Sir / Madam ,
>
> I wish to bring to your notice that at first I am delighted that the
> Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at the Work Place Bill
> 2010 , that will place victims of sexual harassment at the workplace
> almost at par with rape victims or juvenile delinquents , has been
> cleared by the Union cabinet, in which a key feature is acknowledgment
> of the stigma and social discomfort which filing a case generates for
> a victim. This is good that acknowledging victims' need for absolute
> confidentiality, the bill provides for " no information on the
> complainant or the complaint be made known to the media public in any
> manner".
> Though this would overpower the provisions of the Right to Information
> Act 2005, forbidding investigating officials, government officers and
> anyone else with access to the relevant information to disclose any of
> it , but we welcome this move of the government in the larger interest
> of society. This is also good that to control fake complaints , for
> the very first time , the bill provides for punishment under service
> rules for any person giving a false complaint or false evidence .
>
> Though the bill provides protection to women who are employed and
> also to any woman who enters the workplace as a client, customer,
> apprentice, daily wage worker or in ad hoc capacity , Students,
> research scholars in colleges or university and patients in hospitals
> , the bill has left the most vulnerable ( to sexual harassment )
> section of the society i.e. the domestic maids , who are not covered
> by the bill and this is the most negative aspect of the bill that
> takes all the positives of the bill away from it.
>
> This is in utter injustice that the government wants to leave that
> section of women workers who constitutes a major chunk of
> working-women and are amongst the most exploited ones . Studies have
> shown that they are extremely vulnerable to sexual harassment. In this
> Context , the Bill has extremely limited scope and it is very
> condemnable that the government has not taken this marginalized
> section of the society which constitutes the largest section of
> working-women though working in an unorganized sector.
>
> The Bill shall now be presented in Parliament. I demand that before
> tabling the bill in the parliament , necessary provisions be made to
> bring domestic maids/helps and Rag-pickers within the ambit of the
> "Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at the Work Place Bill
> 2010 " .
>
> Regards;
>
> Date : 06-11-10
>
> Yours truly,
> Urvashi sharma
> (Social Worker )
> F 2376 rajajipuram
> Lucknow - 226017
> mobile 8081898081
>

--
Urvashi Sharma

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