‘Women are often unable to reach out to laws meant to protect them’ Says Abhijit Gangopadhyay

KOLKATA: Despite several laws having been promulgated in the country to protect the rights of women, they are often unable to reach out and take advantage of them, claimed Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court.

Justice Gangopadhyay was speaking at a seminar on the great Indian social reformer, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, whose 251st birth anniversary will be celebrated on Monday.

As an example, Justice Gangopadhyay, who had recently been in the national headlines because of his verdict in the school recruitment case in West Bengal, referred to the law regarding maternity leave to substantiate his argument.

"There is a specific law on this count. But in many cases, women, especially those coming from financially backward sections, do not benefit from it. The reason is poverty and a lack of awareness. This discrimination continues among the financially backward sections," Justice Gangopadhyay said.

On this matter, he also reminded us that it took as long as 11 years to introduce the law on maternity leave since the discussions to do so started in 1950.Justice Gangopadhyay also referred to the delayed introduction of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, commonly known as the PoSH Act.

"Even verbal abuse or attacking a woman on personal matters is equivalent to harassment. A woman facing such things has the right to approach the law enforcement authorities concerned. But unfortunately, many in our country are not aware of the concept of women's dignity. The implementation of the law as regards mental harassment against women is much better in Europe and the USA," Justice Gangopadhyay said.

As regards the PoSH Act, his observation was that while women subordinates at offices often hesitate to report cases of sexual harassment, there are also incidents where some women misuse the provisions of that Act. (IANS)

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