8 pm curfew irks working women
Women employees demand proper security in Gurgaon rather than restriction on working hours
So here’s Gurgaon Police’s new belief — save yourself or go hiding. After the recent unfortunate gang rape of a 23-year-old woman pub employee, which sent shock waves in Gurgaon and suburbs, the Gurgaon administration, recently directed all malls, commercial establishments and pubs not to let women employees work beyond 8pm.
Deputy commissioner P. C. Meena, has been quoted saying that woman employees can work beyond the permitted time only if employers are granted permission from the labour department.
With the restriction on late-night jobs for security reasons, working women in Gurgaon feel it’s impractical and unreasonable for the government officials to introduce a curfew hour only for women.
Geetanjali Sharma (name changed), a service sector employee from Gurgaon says, “It’s not a practical solution. On one hand, we talk about women performance at par with men, while on the other, you restrict their liberty to work freely. Though this gang rape happened in wee hours, what about the case where a girl was raped at IFFCO Chowk in broad daylight in a moving bus? It’s 8pm today, later they might just ask us to sit at home. Rather than moral policing, they should improve the security measures in Gurgaon which includes deputing PCR vans at vulnerable points and maintaining basic streetlights in the dark alleys.â€
Agrees Bhavna (name changed), a BPO employee and says, “When work is all about merit and performance, why restrict working hours only for women? Is it only because they can’t provide proper security? The innocents will be forced into their houses, and crooks will be granted freedom. This shows the poor mentality of the government officials too.â€
One of the Twitter posts by Priyanka Shobna Nair reads, “How about the Haryana government imposing a curfew on men after 8pm? That should stop rapes!â€
The administration has also introduced a list of do’s and don’ts to mall owners and pub operators, which include that pub operators and organisations have to maintain records of visitors, keep photocopies of identity cards, address proofs of customers. Also, employers should ensure transport for women and have a logbook to record vehicle details, registration number, and time of departure, name of driver and others.
Pallavi Upreti, who works in a pub in Gurgaon, states her status of office cabs, “We don’t have any checking or GPRS system in our cabs. Although we have online database to register ourselves before hiring a cab from office, but there is no other checking after that. At times, employees drive back themselves.â€
But they are few who are positive about the new initiative. Shipra Chander, a freelance interior designer says, “It’s a workable solution so that such incidents don’t occur in future. It will help girls reach home on time and help them commute with safety.â€
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