How Women In Politics Are Still Excluded From India's POSH Act And Left Vulnerable To Sexual Harassment

On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea seeking to expand the scope of the Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment at Workplace (POSH) Act, 2013, to include political parties. The court observed that such organisations cannot be classified as workplaces under the law. The plea was filed by Advocate Yogamaya M G, seeking recognition of political parties as workplaces in order to bring them under the POSH framework.

“How can you include political parties as a workplace? Joining a party is not a place of employment,” remarked Chief Justice Gavai during the hearing. The bench further stated that "It will open a Pandora's box... there will be blackmail." The CJI further added that political engagement does not constitute employment as there is "no payment."

No Legal Shield

This is absurd! Political parties aren't voluntary bodies of sympathisers. They have membership cards, enforce discipline, collect funds, maintain offices, and operate with strict hierarchies. They have a state headquarters with female employees.

"When it comes to women's safety, it is a Pandora's box. What about women who are harassed by male political members? " asks Ranjana Kumari, a Women's Rights Activist and Director of the Centre for Social Research. "Don't we know that sexual favours are rampant in political parties. It's like an ostrich, you want to bury your head in the sand and say there's no attack on me. You are just trying to ignore it and put a curtain to cover all the mischief that political workers do with other political women workers," says the activist.

Member of Parliament Satabdi Roy agrees that the lawmakers should be more considerate toward women. "Law is above all, but as a woman, I feel women are unsafe, and people who are making it unsafe are everywhere. There should have been more consideration by the Supreme Court," says Roy.

Women Reduced To 'Items'

Women workers share the same work burden as men everywhere, including the political workplaces. They are also vulnerable to exploitation, especially verbal remarks. The past is witness to some blatant political misogyny and patriarchal instances. Not so long ago, Tamil Nadu's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, DMK leader Saidai Sadiq, made misogynistic remarks against women BJP leaders Gayathri Raghuram, Gowthami, Namitha Gauthami, and Khushboo Sundar.

He called the women leaders 'items’. In his speech, he had said, "All four leaders are items. Khushboo says that lotus will bloom in Tamil Nadu. I say that even hair will grow back in Amit Shah’s head, but lotus has no chance of blooming in Tamil Nadu.” He further said, “Do you all know how many times my brother Ilaya Aruna did Khushboo? I mean, he had meetings with her when she was in DMK. Nearly six times, he took Khushboo and had meetings in RA Puram.” The DMK functionary also commented that, unlike the DMK, the BJP depended on the 'actresses' to make inroads into Tamil Nadu. The DMK leader apologised when things got out of his hands and his derogatory speech went viral. There are multiple instances like these.

In May 2022, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil passed remarks on Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule. he had said, "If you don't understand politics, go home and cook." In December 2021, senior Congress leader Ramesh Kumar, during an Assembly meeting, was heard saying, "There is a saying. When rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it." March 2021, Uttarakhand's Tirath Singh Rawat's comments on women wearing gripped jeans. October 2021, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar's contentious remarks on Indian women "wanting to stay single and not wanting to give birth after marriage." In the same month, BJP's national general secretary CT Ravi's controversial remark, "Western influence and the culture of micro families are the reason why women want to stay single."

April 2019, BJP's Gopal Shetty's comments on actor Urmila Matondkar, "Urmila ji has been brought to politics because she is a celebrity and due to how she looks. She is a bholi bhali ladki who is zero in politics." October 2020, UP BJP leader Surendra Singh's provocative statement about "rape crimes can be stopped only with sanskar (values), not governance." In January 2019, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya called Priyanka Gandhi 'Chocolaty Face." In July 2013, Congress Leader Digvijaya Singh called Rahul Gandhi's aide Meenakshi Natarajan "Sau tunch maal" – a common slang used to objectify and tease women.

Politics Still Boy's Club

Leaders post their remarks, send out an apology, and get away with anything. This reflects patriarchy and shows how women can be objectified and subjected to character assassination by men without any consequence. Therefore, political parties should be included in POSH. Political workers are working for a party; the least they expect is protection under the Law. Denying them this protection on the grounds that they are not "employees" dismisses their labour as inconsequential and exposes them to sexual discrimination. Moreover, parties hiding behind the 'voluntary association' veil are funny.

"They are working and they are taking salaries from the taxpayers' money, so there's nothing voluntary. The exploitation is on another level. Even the smallest and biggest parties of the country are exploiting women. It should open Pandora's box," says noted Anti-Rape Activist Yogita Bhayana. She points out that the fault lies in the decision makers, as they are all men. "Unfortunately, the decision makers are men, even in the Supreme Court or in political parties. They are the harassers," she notes.

Justice, But Not For Women

The bigger question is where should a woman party worker facing internal harassment turn for help? A woman can report harrasment to the Lower Court; however, it cannot replace an internal mechanism that extends safety, confidentiality, and redress. This leaves women exposed to harassment in political spaces that are dominated by men. And this is not anticipation. In this petition as well, the Advocate Yogamaya M G had cited alarming statistics indicating that 45 per cent of women in Indian politics reported experiencing physical abuse, while 49 per cent faced verbal abuse from colleagues and political workers.

A UN Women study noted the prevalence of sexual favours demanded within political parties a decade ago. An Inter-Parliamentary Union survey found that 82 per cent of women parliamentarians had faced psychological violence, including sexual threats and derogatory remarks.

"Being a woman in politics is a difficult task. When POSH comes, they know they cannot lay their hands on women. It's a very dirty scene. We blame Bollywood, but political parties are worse. They are trying to cover their own ambitions. They know it is very prevalent at the block level. The higher it goes, the bigger the harassment becomes. Even the Supreme Court has its hands in gloves," remarks Bhayana. And Ranjana Kumari agrees, "They have completely ignored that there is a lot of sexual harassment in the political parties, and that's why there are not many women joining politics."

Unfortunately, the decision for women's safety is given into the hands of men. It is the misogynistic and patriarchal mindset that's ruling the decision against women's interests. "It's like you scratch my back, I scratch your back. Nobody wants women to be safe. They take suo motu action on animal cases but not on real issues," opines the activist.

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