Take immediate action on complaint of sexual harassment; punish the guilty: CITU

Ensure strict implementation of the POSH Act in all institutions including the judicial institutions: CITU statement

***

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and its women’s sub-committee, the All India Coordination Committee of Working Women (AICCWW-CITU) express their anguish at the shocking revelation of a civil judge from Banda, Uttar Pradesh, about the sexual harassment and torture she has undergone to the extent making her seeking permission to end her life.

The complaint by the civil judge against a particular district judge and his associates that she was abused in the open court and her continuous complaints including an application for transfer has been of no use, gives a picture of the situationfaced by the working women even of the stature of a judge in the judicial system as well.

Her narration (as reported) that “I wish to tell the working women in India; Learn to live with sexual harassment. It’s the truth of our lives” and “The POSH Act (2013) is a big wholesome lie” reflects the experience of the majority of the working women in our country who are non- unionised and are compelled to fight their battle individually. If this is the plight of a judge, one can imagine what private sector women worker and the unorganised sector working women are facing.

AICCWW (CITU) has been continuously demanding and fighting for the strict implementation of the POSH Act in all the workplaces including in the unorganised sector. In most of the establishments including the central government offices and ministries, the Internal Committees as per the POSH Act is not formed or not functioning even after ten years of the passing of the law. The Local committees are not even formed in majority of the districts.

It is the experience of the working women’s movement in the country that through collective effort and unionization we could make this law implemented. It has been a demand of the trade union movement that the representatives (women) of the trade unions must also be included in the ICs.

We welcome that the Chief Justice of India has ordered and enquiry into the case. We demand that a thorough stock taking of the functioning of the ICs as well as the local committees and strict implementation of the law in both organised as well as unorganised sectors immediately by the concerned ministry and enforcement authorities at various levels.

CITU and AICCWW (CITU) call upon the working women in general and its units and women’s sub committees in particular to intensify the campaign among the workers on their rights and the struggles for the implementation of the POSH Act.

-- A R Sindhu, Convenor, AICCWW (CITU), Secretary CITU

Comments

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

By Jag Jivan Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Search This Blog