TERI Sexual Harassment Case
Last week, RK Pachauri, who is still facing charges of sexual harassment, was promoted to the position of Vice Chairman at TERI. This called for protests by students & alumni of TERI university, along with information about the fact that promoting Pachauri was illegal. So, now the TERI council decided to send him on a long paid leave.
JNU
Jawaharlal Nehru University students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar has been arrested in a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy for holding an “anti-national” event inside the university premises.The protest in question was part of an event held on campus to commemorate the hanging of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat, convicted of terrorism. However, Kanhaiya Kumar was not even the organizer of the event which is being used to legitimize his arrest.
Women’s Rights in Religion
On hearing the PIL questioning the ban on women’s entry in the Sabarimala temple, the Supreme Court has asked temple officials why the ban exists when the Vedas and the Upanishads don’t discriminate. The temple officials have been given 6 weeks to respond.
Breaking down stereotypes, Afroz Begum and Jahan Aara have become the first women Qazis in Rajasthan after completing a two-year training course from Mumbai-based Darul Uloom-i-Nisawa. However, male religious leaders continue to refuse to accept them as qazis.
Judicial Intervention
The Supreme Court has directed all the states to formulate a uniform policy to provide compensation to victims of rape and other forms of sexual assault, saying such aid was crucial for a survivor’s rehabilitation. However, simultaneously it is important to note that the promised one stop crisis centers are yet to be a reality and 40% of the of the money allotted in the Nirbhaya fund remains unutilised.
In context of the Army Medical Corps’ refusal to appoint a doctor who was pregnant at the time of joining service (claiming she was unfit), the Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that a woman cannot be forced to make a choice between bearing a child and employment.
A Woman’s Right to Resist & Reject
In West Bengal, a teenage girl on her way to appear in board examination was attacked by a group of women and men, who threatened to strip and rape her, for rejecting a boy’s proposal.
A 17-year-old girl was burnt alive by a youth, who had been stalking her, when she resisted his rape attempt in Aurangabad village of Mathura.
Reported Rapes, Updates & Verdicts
A witness in the rape case filed against Sri Raghaveshwara Swami of the Sri Ramachandrapura Mutt has said that he received death threats from the followers of the seer.
In Meerut, the parents of a 22-year-old girl agreed to withdraw the rape complaint against their daughter’s rapist, when he agreed to marry the girl.
A 45-year-old Dalit woman was murdered in Meerut. Rape is also suspected. Villagers said that the police did not take prompt action in the case and staged protest when a police team finally reached.
Aarsha International School (Gurgaon) director-principal has been arrested in connection with attempt to rape on an eight-year-old girl of his school.
Several cases of rape, attempt to rape and child sexual abuse were reported. Several verdicts were also pronounced.
Other News
Karnataka has proposed to lift the restriction on women working in the night shift in all sectors. Currently, women are allowed to be employed in the night shift only in IT & IT-es sectors.
A study conducted by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) on special courts established under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in Delhi found that the behaviour of police, doctors and lawyers has not changed much since the law was passed and the investigation process continues to be traumatic for the survivor.
Featured Image Credit: A picture of a protest meeting at JNU | http://kafila.org/
