Rape or sexual harassment has a peculiar way of affecting our psyche and the imagination but we discovered that our society is moving in happy indifference to the trend. Absence of conscience or genuine dissenting voices has been one reason for the situation. However, now we noticed something is whirring for the constitution of the ‘Local Complaints Committee’ by the government in all the districts of Nagaland to address the rising cases of sexual harassment of women at work places. Make no mistake that this committee should not be treated like any other mechanical and technical frames and operations. Sans the spirit and soul a committee of such as this attached to our moral code and conscience cannot have its full life. In short, unless heart and head are engrained or infused in the mechanism of the committee we cannot see the effectiveness of the operation. The world knew what had happened to the government constituted Human Rights Commission in various states of India? This should be a lesson enough to remind us the line ‘Once bitten, twice shy’. The absence of heart and head was the cause for the ‘demise’ of the rights panels.
We may recall here that in September last year, all the deputy commissioners in Nagaland were directed to constitute ‘Local Complaints Committee’ in their respective districts and also designate a nodal officer in each sub-division to receive complaints for the redress of complaints relating to sexual harassment of women employees at their work places. This measure is as per provisions under section 6 & 7 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. According to the state government, the Local Complaint Committee members will be nominated by the deputy commissioners. A chairperson will be nominated from amongst the eminent women in the field of social work and committed to the cause of women. One member will be nominated from amongst the women working in sub-divisions. Two members, of whom at least one will be a woman, to be nominated from amongst such NGOs or associations committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment, which may be prescribed. Provided that atleast one of the nominees should, preferably, have a background in law or legal knowledge, the official statement of the government said.
It is worth noting that the “Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 is a legislative act in India that seeks to protect women from sexual harassment at their place of work. It was passed by the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) on September 3, 2012. It was passed by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) on February 26, 2013. The Bill got the assent of the President on April 23, 2013. The Act came into force from December 9, 2013.”
