Women Security and Workplaces in India (Editorial)

Abstract

The Syndicate Meeting of the Calicut University in Kerala held on March 16, 2022, had taken an important decision by approving to dismiss a faculty in the university campus. Dismissal of a person from his service is no matter of celebration, but the incident gives hope against the increasing number of sexual harassment in workplaces. Several sexual assault cases have been reported in Kerala that led to punishments like suspension of the accused. The accused were often acquitted by the court on minimal procedural charges. The Internal Placement Cell on the campus investigated the complaint, collected testimonies and submitted the report to the university. The dismissal of the faculty by the university is hence a significant action taken against sexual harassment of women. The presence of mind and integrity in the testimony of the complainant is appreciable. The girls overcame several threats and dissuasions even from their families and stood firmly on their complaint. People who are quite sure of the wrong done by the accused also rely on victim-blaming in such situations. The Syndicate members and the Investigation Committee also unanimously found the accused guilty and submitted the report to the Vice-Chancellor. Finally, the action was taken on the 16th of March, 2022. The editors of Ishal Paithrkam express our gratitude to the Vice Chancellor and the Syndicate members on behalf of every woman facing sexual harassment. 
The leader of the Telangana Struggle and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mallu Swarajyam has passed away recently. She shared her experiences of the Telangana Struggle in the book We Are Making History along with others.  A Ph. D dissertation submitted before the Telangana Struggle testifies about the participation of armed women in wars. Mallu Swarajyam and fourteen other women talk about their experiences in the Telangana Struggle in this book. Swarajyam has been part of the Guerrilla squads of the struggle. When the struggle was over, the women participants were asked to go back to their homes and get married. They testify that even though the struggle freed them, the patriarchal society reminded them that their future is confined in the walls of their houses. What hurt them most was not the physical injuries of war, but the advice that women are supposed to stay at home (272). Who needs a home? Who needs the protection and security of a home? The question needs to be answered. The history of Mallu Swarajyam’s future in the later years of Indian Politics needs to be written as well. The institutions and the established system give minority status to women. Women have to detach themselves or struggle against these circumstances to work in the public and private spheres. So, history changes when women start to speak out.