Women’s woes at the workplace

Workplaces, ranging from big offices to educational institutes, have been declared highly unsafe for women with grim tales of sexual exploitation creeping from behind the fa`E7ade of modernity, according to a study by management students in Agra town.

Over 100 women employees in the Taj Mahal city were interviewed, and a huge 60 per cent revealed that they had either been subjected to or were witness of sexual exploitation in their offices.

Kanika Bansal, Khushboo Mittal and Kriti Sehgal, three final year students of Seth Padam Chand Jain Institute of Management Studies in Agra, conducted the survey over a two-month period.

What they learnt was not only an eye-opener for them, but will also be a shock for Agra's grossly conservative society.

"Many broke down when we took them into confidence and narrated the murky doings of their big bosses," Kanika said.

"While some among the younger lot refused to cow down, others succumbed to emotional blackmail," she said.

Said Khushboo: "Among the exploiters were mainly old and mature men who mistakenly believed that an affair or two would restore their vitality and creativity! They probably wanted their excitement back." Kriti pointed out that many respondents also put the blame on women for not having a proper dressing sense. According to them, many women did not know their limits and dressed up provocatively, inviting lewd comments.

The only solution, according to the management students, is that working women will have to stand up for themselves and speak out boldly against any kind of exploitation instead of timidly surrendering.

"We are confident that with the passage of time they will come out of this negative mindset and will learn to live on their own terms," said Kanika.

Added Khushboo: "Obviously the men cannot digest women marching ahead on an equal footing. They often feel threatened by women, who today are shouldering all responsibilities and emerging on top on every front.

"The only way men can demean and humiliate their women colleagues is to pass moral strictures, make fun or pass dirty comments. Some go to extreme limits of physically abusing them." Kriti added: "It is indeed a depressing scenario. But women themselves need to come out of it through their collective efforts."

— IANS