Story 1 (circa 1996):
Mansi is a masters’ student at a public University. In his introductory session, visiting faculty, Professor A, asks each student in his class what their background and aspirations are. Mansi says she has a 6-month old daughter. Professor A sounds delighted, and says that his daughter is now a teen; he misses her baby stage, and in every class waxes eloquent about his wife, who is also a college professor with a nightingale voice. He insists that Mansi brings her baby to the university one day, and he would take the entire class out for coffee in honor of the baby. Mansi does that, and the class is delighted to cuddle the baby. Professor A buys a doll for the baby. Few days later, he lends a book to Mansi. When she finishes the book, Professor A requests her to return it by visiting his workplace. Once Mansi reaches there, he takes her to a vacant classroom and proposes love to her. She is taken aback, refuses his overtures, and leaves. He comes after her to the metro station to speak with her. Mansi chances upon a school friend in the metro station, and tells them that Professor A is literally following her. She goes straight to her husband’s office to tell him what happened. Her husband says she must have done something that provoked Professor A to propose to her.
When masters’ results were declared, Mansi understands that Professor A intentionally awarded poor scores to avenge her refusal.
Story 2 (circa 2023):
Rita is an employee of a private University. With her long slender frame, waist-length curly hair, and exquisite fashion sense, her colleagues often tell her that she should be walking the runway instead of working in a university. Rita has a dark secret that her colleagues don’t know about. Her boss is constantly making quips on her beauty that goes beyond complementing her, and makes comments on her perceived close-ness with married male colleagues, hinting that she is morally loose. This person keeps posting pictures of his wife and family in social media, and no one would believe her if she said that this person has another side. She starts getting dark circles, shows symptoms like mood swings, melt-downs and gets jittery when she has to be in a one-on-one professional situation with her boss. Although she is quiet close to the Chairperson of the Gender Committee, she does not report the incident to her; but resigns instead. She thought that the boss has power to harm her career and she did not want to risk it.
There were no sexual harassment laws in 1996 to protect Mansi. Rita had a choice, that was a no-choice. UGC (Prevention Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2015 provides a framework to address sexual harassment, but how can organizations deal with the fear of retaliation by those in power? Saying no had a consequence for Mansi in the ‘old’ days of no law-and it was that consequence that deterred Rita from lodging a complaint in ‘new’ days where law could not do enough to stop her from spiralling into the deep well of a mental health crisis.
Can something similar to Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Act, 2015 be applied in university settings? Or should there be sustained campaigns by universities/colleges to alleviate the fear of retaliation by those in power? Do these institutions have enough resources to do such campaigns? Does the law offer safety to those that are mandated to adjudicate such matters in the Internal Complaints Committee?
There will be no difference between Mansi-s and Rita-s unless we really address these ground realities.
DoubleSpeak 