A southern state in India is planning on implementing legislation that will ban women from working night shifts to “ensure their safety.�
The Karnataka government is in the process of passing the bill as a part of the Karnakata Shops and Establishments Act, where women will be prohibited from working later than 8 p.m. in all professions except those within the IT industry and hospitals.
Once again, women are being punished to avoid the possibility of rape or assault while men’s responsibilities are bypassed. After all, it’s much easier to just restrict their rights to work rather than actually deal with the problem. (At the same time, something tells me that the actual well-being and safety of women is not necessarily the government’s concern.)
And apparently not the media's either.The coverage of the story doesn’t discuss the potential financial burden the curfew can have on women (after all, they are being taken from their jobs), but focuses on the problems it will cause for the hotel industry. (Since much of their workforce are women.)
It’s nice to see where everyone’s priorities are.
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WTF? First the Ireland decision, now this. I'm not sure how much more misogynist insanity I can take today.
Wow. That's just a huge depressing clusterfrack of poor reasoning and horrible decision making.
Wouldn't it make more sense to ban men from being out at night so they can't go around raping?
That would make a million times more sense . . . in a non-patriarchal society. But then again, in a non-patriarchal society, women wouldn't have reason to worry about whether or not they'll be raped after work.
Er, it makes no sense at all to set a curfew on victims rather than perpetrators. Will we ever figure that out?
Jamier, exactly. Why are we punishing potential victims instead of potential perpetrators? Not that either is right, but in the world of all things that we might possibly do, this makes about the least sense of all.
Can you imagine the outcry if anyone tried doing this to MEN?
Well yeah, if it happend to men, it would be a "violation of human rights." But when it's women, the government is PROTECTING them.
This reminds me of when I worked at the mall in high school. Instead of hiring extra security to watch the loading docks, management decided that women couldn't go out there after dark for "our safety". I guess the male employees didn't need to worry about being attacked or robbed out there.
This reminds me of when I worked at the mall in high school. Instead of hiring extra security to watch the loading docks, management decided that women couldn't go out there after dark for "our safety". I guess the male employees didn't need to worry about being attacked or robbed out there.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to ban men from being out at night so they can't go around raping?"
I heard that's what Golda Meir said back when a curfew like this was proposed in Israel.
When I worked at 7-Eleven just ten years ago, their policy was to not "allow" women to work the night-shift.
And the reason as told to me by my manager? Only *one* person was ever on graveyard, which meant there wasn't a second person for "protection". Since a woman clearly couldn't protect herself, only men were allowed to work graveyard.
Just read the comments on the post at the link, that in my mind is far more obnoxious.
Just read the comments on the post at the link, that in my mind is far more obnoxious.
Given that the Madras High Court has already ruled in 2001 that women must have the choice to pick shifts, and it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that there is no sexual harrassment and women are provided with appropriate working conditions in respect of work, leisure, health and hygiene, http://thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/06/03/stories/2003060300040100.htm
, the Karnataka Government ban is clearly against this ruling, and I am hoping that someone will challenge it in court.
By the way, the ban doesn't include the most important sector (in terms of revenue) of Karnataka, IT(Information Technology), so women can work in night shifts in call centres and BPOs, but not in other places. This exception for the IT industry clearly shows the hypocrisy of the government.
Given that the Madras High Court has already ruled in 2001 that women must have the choice to pick shifts, and it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that there is no sexual harrassment and women are provided with appropriate working conditions in respect of work, leisure, health and hygiene, http://thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/06/03/stories/2003060300040100.htm
, the Karnataka Government ban is clearly against this ruling, and I am hoping that someone will challenge it in court.
By the way, the ban doesn't include the most important sector (in terms of revenue) of Karnataka, IT(Information Technology), so women can work in night shifts in call centres and BPOs, but not in other places. This exception for the IT industry clearly shows the hypocrisy of the government.