Letter to Media
Date : 24th September, 2012
From,
Rukma Chary.P
Bangalore
To,
Media,
India.
Subject: Condemning “Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment Bill, 2010” and The Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2012.
Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF), is a registered, non-funded, non-profit, Non-Government Organization (NGO) headquartered at Bangalore, creating awareness about abuse of men by society, strongly opposes the Govt and protest anti-male legislations titled “The Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010″ & “The Hindu (Amendment) Marriage Act, 2012″ also known as IrBM Bill.
In this regard SIFF joined protest against IrBM Bill at Jantar Mantar on 18th August, 2012. We also sent letters to all the Rajya Sabha Members raising our objections to Sexual Harassment Bill which was passed by the Lok Sabha on 3rd September, 2012.
“The Hindu Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2012″ is a blind property transfer bill favoring wife in the event of divorce and dilutes the institution of marriage and it’s sacrosanctity in the disguise of avoiding financial hardship of divorced women. The IrBM bill is also against the basic principles of Natural Justice and violates the basic axiom “audi alteram partem” which gives equal opportunity to be heard. This Bill does not allow the husband to contest or oppose the divorce petition filed by wife i.e. if husband want to save the marriage, he cannot challenge divorce. Courts will be empowered to snatch away more than 50% of the property of husband and give away to wife ignoring old-age parents of the husband who will be deprived of their share/contribution in their son’s earnings & property . This bill ignores the age of conjugal relationship between wife and husband, i.e. if wife leaves her husband/matrimonial house after 1 week of marriage and she can file divorce after 3 years to get 50% or more property of husband without any objections.
“The Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010” enacted under Art.15 of Indian Constitution to protect Woman defeats right to equality guaranteed by the same Constitution under Art. 14.
Suicidal deaths by working men is higher than the women committing suicides at workplace. With such huge variance in suicidal deaths between men and women where 4 times more men commits suicides for various reasons, Govt of India is duty bound to study underlying causes of men disposability at workplace. And the current bill which is not only biased in favor of Woman, but also against men. Govt. of India should give preference for enacting laws to protect men at workplace to ensure value implication of constitutional principles.
Government of India supported by Feminist advocates that provisions granted by Constitution empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favor of women. But in this process, the law makers committing transgression of constitutional principles by ignoring gender equality enshrined in our Preamble. Such laws will add fuel at workplace environment leading to more litigations among individuals at workplace. Eventually most of the escalations will land in the courts which are already over occupied with gross misuse of laws such as 498a IPC.
If Sexual Harassment at Work Place bill is passed in the current form many corporate companies will change their way of working and might lead drastic changes in their hiring process and we may see companies hiring either men or women only.
We Men demand that govt. should stop chanting “OOHOO..!!!!…..WOMANIA…!!!” and should enact laws for protecting men from all forms of abuse and thus make all the current Bills and Acts gender neutral.
P.Rukma Chary
Yours Sincerely,
Public Relations Officer,
Save Indian Family Foundation,
Bangalore.
Rukma Chary 