Notice to govt. on law for working women:

Notice to govt. on law for working women:

Context

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the government to respond on a petition questioning the lack of implementation of the various provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013

Backdrop

The 2013 statutory law had replaced the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the historic Vishaka case judgment, which stemmed from the brutal gang rape of a social worker in a village of Rajasthan

1997 judgment

The Supreme Court verdict authored in 1997 by then Chief Justice J.S. Verma was inspired by international conventions and the spirit of gender equality enshrined in the Constitution to declare that “gender equality includes protection from sexual harassment and right to work with dignity, which is a universally recognised basic human right.”

Apathy of authorities

Five years after the Act came into existence, NGO Initiatives for Inclusion Foundation and its trustees PallaviPareek and EshaShekhar have brought to light the sheer lack of initiative on the part of government authorities to monitor the implementation and enforce the law

Court issues directions

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India DipakMisra issued notice to the Centre and State governments. They have to reply within the next four weeks

What does the petition contend?

The petition, represented by advocates Sanjay Parikh and AnithaShenoy, pointed out that

• The government at the State level has not even bothered to appoint district officers or local committees under the 2013 Act
• There are no appointments of nodal officers or internal complaints committees in certain offices
• There has been no move to ensure the reporting and collection of annual compliance reports from workplaces

Hence, the law meant to protect working women has hit a roadblock