Recently Al-Jazeera reported that several Filipino women have filed complaints with the police in Manila alleging sexual harassment by their Filipino employers overseas-mostly public servants working in Embassies overseas.One of the women complained that an officer at the Philippine Embassy in Jeddah raped her when she went to the Embassy requesting to be given duplicate papers to go home. This is indeed shocking! Millions of women all over the world go overseas in search of employment and remit billions of dollars home to their families and relatives. The least that their governments can do is ensure privacy and protection for them!
In India,the Supreme Court in a well reasoned Judgment in Vishakha's case has laid down guidelines for employers to follow to protect women employees from sexual harassment. The Ministry of law and Justice has already drafted a bill but it is yet to be passed by Parliament! Thousands of incidents of sexual harassment take place every year but go unreported because the women are too scared to report the matter against their superior officers. Harassment need not be just sexual but can also be psychological,emotional or physical. The Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha was alleged to have been involved in a gang-rape of a 17 year old girl several years ago yet continued to occupy the high office shamelessly! There are hundreds of MPs,MLAs and public servants involved in criminal cases of violence against women yet contest elections and become ministers etc..In India even some women commit physical assault on their domestic help and even abet their husbands in sexual assault.Unless all political parties take a firm stand on this issue,there is little hope for women!
In India,the Supreme Court in a well reasoned Judgment in Vishakha's case has laid down guidelines for employers to follow to protect women employees from sexual harassment. The Ministry of law and Justice has already drafted a bill but it is yet to be passed by Parliament! Thousands of incidents of sexual harassment take place every year but go unreported because the women are too scared to report the matter against their superior officers. Harassment need not be just sexual but can also be psychological,emotional or physical. The Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha was alleged to have been involved in a gang-rape of a 17 year old girl several years ago yet continued to occupy the high office shamelessly! There are hundreds of MPs,MLAs and public servants involved in criminal cases of violence against women yet contest elections and become ministers etc..In India even some women commit physical assault on their domestic help and even abet their husbands in sexual assault.Unless all political parties take a firm stand on this issue,there is little hope for women!
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