From DNA India
Dec 4, 2010
In the Border Security Force (BSF), cases of sexual harassment are heard by wives of senior officers, not by a special complaints cell, the parliamentary committee on empowerment of women has revealed. This, despite a Supreme Court(SC) directive to paramilitary forces to set up cells, headed by a woman officer, to hear complaints of such nature.
The committee said the wives of senior officers hearing the complaints can never be unbiased. “There can be no impartial corrective measure as there have been cases where women employees were harassed by seniors,’’ the panel said.
The committee recommended immediate abandonment of the practice and urged the home ministry to ensure that the SC guidelines are complied with. It has suggested involving members of NGOs in such committees.
The statutory committee, in its report ‘Women in Paramilitary Forces’,observed that the paramilitary forces were not “scrupulously following’’ the SC guidelines.
The committee also observed that the representation of women in the paramilitary forces was much below 10%, the limit fixed by the government. In BSF, the representation of women was 0.55%, in ITBP 1.38%, SSB 2.04% and in Assam Rifles 0.80%, it said.
It also noted that women were not given employment on compassionate grounds. Out of 340 vacancies meant for employment on compassionate grounds, only four went to women in 2007, three in 2008 and five in 2009 even as the posts were lying vacant. In CISF alone, there were 119 such vacancies.
The panel also recommended gender sensitisation programmes, mobile toilets and creche facilities for women in all forces.
The panel also recommended gender sensitisation programmes, mobile toilets and creche facilities for women in all forces.
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