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Harassment at the workplace is horrible for anybody to go through, but what happens when this morphs into deadly stalking? Read here.
22-year-old Sandhya Rani, the youngest in her family, was set on fire by a colleague which resulted in her death on Friday (22/12/17) morning.
“Sandhya was returning home on Thursday evening when the accused came on a motorcycle and accosted her at the Lalaguda area of Hyderabad. The two, according to eyewitnesses, spoke for a few minutes.
During a heated argument, the attacker threw petrol on her, set her on fire and escaped before people could raise an alarm. According to the police, Karthik wanted Sandhya to quit her job, but she wasn’t willing to do so for the sake of her family.
Later, he surrendered to the police.” – as reported in The News Minute
We, as a society, seem to somehow consider the horrid crime of stalking as ‘nothing serious’ in our mindsets. The idea of a stranger following you or keeping an eye on you at all times isn’t unnerving enough for us, apparently. But what to do when this is done by somebody you know, somebody you see every day? Like in the above case, a colleague.
Workplace harassment has always been a hurdle for women to tackle in their professional spheres. Be it in the form of inappropriate advances, conversation or straight up blackmail. Here, we see another item added to the list: stalking. In Sandhya’s case, her colleague liked her and wanted to marry her but was sacked from his job soon, so he wanted to force Sandhya to leave her job too! He had been after her life for the past year. Isn’t it bad enough being harassed in the workplace already that women now have these people stalking them everywhere they go?
But this is not something new, the only thing that is new is the attention that it has started gaining. How do we expect women to grow and be equal contributors to society as men when they can’t even move from one place to another without receiving unwanted attention? There are laws that in place for countering sexual harassment at work, but the approach needs to become more inclusive of all the other types of issues that women employees go through. Not only the sexual harassment committees, but the police should also become more helpful towards cases of stalking. We have heard of many instances when they simply say that it isn’t a big deal and that the person is just overthinking. We have clearly seen how so many of the crimes that happen to women begin with stalking. This attitude cannot continue regarding a crime which is so insidious and affects a person emotionally and mentally, besides the exposure to physical danger.
It’s time to change our attitudes to stalking and realise the immense horror a victim goes through. It is also necessary to inculcate a culture of hearing out the grievances that an employee might have towards another employee and take them seriously, including helping the employee file an FIR if necessary. The idea that someone will hear you out is comforting and can help prevent gruesome crimes like the above if we are alert enough.
New Delhi, India I like to read, write, and talk. A feminist through and through, with a soft spot for chocolate. read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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