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1] DELHI: Sexual Harassment In (NGO) Work Place chro2003 AIPRF Delhi, March 31, 2005, Thursday Oppose Sexual Harassment in Work Place; Fight for a Safe Working Environment for Women This is a reality that women are most insecure in Delhi. So many incidence of violence against women are published in daily news services. In real term it is a tip of ice-berg. Recently surge of events against women such like rape, murder, female feticide haunts civil society. Ironically most of criminals are in safe haven. While women live against this grave situation which is hunting them each and every time. A report says that the percentage of rape in Delhi was 24% of all the other cities in the previous year. So many groups are working on this issue but situation is not turning for the good. It is a "system" whose content is patriarchal and which is working as a safeguard for criminals. The NGOs who are called by themselves and others as active members of civil society, have been no longer a safe institution for women. Some criminal incidence against women in NGOs offices are published by women group and organization such like Saheli, Jago-ri, Stree Adhikar Sangathan. Recently, the Statesman, a daily English news paper published a news on 18th March 05 about sexual harassment in Chintanoffice, a NGO which is working in rag pickers for rehabilitation. The correspondent reported that an employee, Abhay Ranjan working for Chintan has been arrested after his colleague filed a case of sexual harassment. The victim said that she was harassed on 4th Feb when she had to stay back in the office at Bhogal due to an impending trip to Mumbai. On 8th Feb. in Mumbai this person approached her on some pretext and demanded sexual favors, in the name of high society etiquettes. The victim approached the director of Chintan through her written complain against Abhay Ranjan. After this complaint a meeting was held in office but seeing no progress about this case victim approached Delhi Police. On 14th March 05 she filed an FIR under section 354 and 509. After some time of the filing of this FIR the director of Chintan proposed a three member committee to this sexual harassment case without consulting the victim. The director of Chintan, instead of helping the victim, is making such arrangements that the latter is facing more hardship now, eg. she has been shifted from the work she was assigned, she is not being invited to the official meetings while other employees continue to attend it. After raising the issue of harassment an hostile environment is being created for her with the word going that soon she will be expelled from the institution. This not a lone case of sexual harassment which is being dealt in this way, in other NGOs also whenever such a case comes up the victim is further penalized. In another NGO, Deshkaal, about a year ago one girl employee complained of sexual harassment by the director himself, was victimized further. Whole office turned against her and all were forced to give a statement that the victim was absent from the office on the date of occurrence of the case. The committee of hand picked members did not go against him. In another case, an NGO named CREDA, Mirzapur, UP, the director again is the culprit but no action has been initiated against him by the police and civil authorities, instead he enjoys respect in the higher echelons of society. The helpless girl here too has to face the brunt of the hostile situation where the system works against the victim. Here we want to remind all of you about growing number of sexual harassment case in NGOs sphere. So many young people join NGO for charming employment and for a new type of social activism also. But the growing incidence against women at offices and working place are a vulnerable place for women and demand lot of measures to secure working-women in NGOs organizational and functional system. The NGO system in fact, works like a place where the directors and the high-ups call all the shots with no democratic environment for the employees, especially the women. The employees of NGOs are totally dependent on the bosses and cannot do anything when feel cornered and harassed. Whenever the inner working of an NGO is questioned they put forward the logic that as NGOs are doing social work in the society any question raised against them "is an affront to the social work itself and goes against the interests of the society." We appeal to all of you that in the case of sexual harassment in Chintan office, you should demand for immediate action against Abhay Ranjan. We demand a better behavior towards the victim for her recovery of modesty of a woman. We also demand that the working place for the victim be made conducive for the victim. Anjani Kumar Convenor, AIPRF, DELHI 31st March, 2005 Ph. 09868140997 Email: aiprf.org@... delhi_aiprf@... delhi_aiprf@... ALL INDIA PEOPLES RESISTENCE FORUM (AIPRF) 67A, Rameshwar Nagar, Azadpur, Delhi Ph. 011-27675001 -------------------------------------------------------------- 2] : Updates On State Repression chro2003 AIPRF, March 30, 2005, Wednesday Update on Repression in Andhra Pradesh In the ever increasing repression on people??™s movements in Andhra Pradesh, there have been two disturbing developments in the last couple of days. The state police machinery began repression in the form of denial of permission to public meetings and unveiling of memorial statues, indiscriminate arrests, tortures, raids on villages and combings just after the first round of talks between the government and the CPI-Maoist and CPI (ML) Janashakti. The spate of encounter killings also started in January and within less than 90 days after the first ???encounter??? on January 6, the state police, particularly the infamous criminal force Grey Hounds, have killed more than 50 activists including a couple of persons working legally in public life. This growing violence and repression on the people??™s movement are witnessing a new phase in the implication of emissaries of CPI-Maoist in false cases and illegal detention of a functionary of Martyrs??™ Relations and Friends Committee. The CPI-Maoist named revolutionary poet Varavara Rao, revolutionary singer-composer Gaddar and Revolutionary Writers??™ Association president and novelist G Kalyana Rao as its emissaries for the talks between itself and the government. They participated in finalizing the modalities, ceasefire agreement and agenda prior to the talks and participated in the first round of talks held during October 15-20 at Hyderabad. Thus the government had respected their position and granted them immunity. In fact, it is not a great favour from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, but in any conflict,the people who appear as advocate for the contending parties will have that respect and immunity. However, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has become so uncivilised and undemocratic that even during the talks it tried to undermine the emissaries??™ position. At many places their public meetings were disturbed and they were charged on flimsy grounds like ???giving provocative speeches??? an ???exceeding the time permitted for their speech???. After the first round, the police began to target the emissaries and tried to implicate them in a number of false cases. As part of that attempt, the emissaries were charged with ???conspiracy to murder??? in the cases of murder of a constable in Mahaboobnagar district and attack on Chilakaluripet police station in Guntur district. The three emissaries have nothing to do with the offences and in both the cases the CPI-Maoist claimed the responsibility. The emissaries of talks are implicated in these cases deliberately by the government in order to stall the talks and terrorise all those who demand the government to hold talks. The other act, arresting Ms Anjamma, secretary of Amarula Bandhumithrula Sangham (Martyrs??™ Relatives and Friends Committee), is a symbol of the government??™s intolerance and brutality. Her husband, a district leader of All India People??™s Resistance Forum (AIPRF) was killed in a fake encounter last year and she became a part of an attempt to bring together the relatives of all those killed in fake encounters. The families who lost their kith and kin in fake encounters since 1969 in the state number more than 4,000 and the committee started mobilising them. The state police authorities who killed those activists do not want the families of the deceased to come together and a severe repression is let loose on the families. Thus Anjamma was picked up from her home eaving her old mother and two young kids. Even after four days, she is neither released nor produced in any court of law. All India People's Resistance Forum (AIPRF) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3] AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: "3,797 Executed In 2004" International Secretariat of Amnesty International,London, April 05, 2005, Tuesday, AI Index: ACT 50/011/2005 Death Penalty: 3,797 executed in 2004 During 2004, more than 3,797 people were executed in 25 countries and at least 7,395 were sentenced to death in 64 countries, said Amnesty International today. Releasing its annual worldwide statistics on the use of capital punishment, Amnesty International called on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, currently meeting in Geneva, to condemn the death penalty as a violation of fundamental human rights. "The figures released today are sadly only the tip of the iceberg. The true picture is hard to uncover as many countries continue to execute people secretly -- contravening United Nations standards calling for disclosure of information on capital punishment," said Amnesty International. A few countries accounted for the majority of executions carried out during 2004. China executed at least 3,400 people, but sources inside the country have estimated the number to be near 10,000. Iran executed at least 159, and Viet Nam at least 64. There were 59 executions in the USA, down from 65 in 2003. "Despite the worldwide trend towards abolition, these figures highlight the ongoing need for concerted action by the international community to consign the death penalty to history." "It is worrying that the vast majority of those executed in the world did not have fair trials. Many were convicted on the basis of ??™evidence??™ extracted under torture." In 2004, Ryan Matthews became the 115th prisoner in the USA since 1973 to be released from death row on the grounds of innocence. He had been sentenced to death in Louisiana in 1999 for a murder committed when he was 17 years old. His death sentence was overturned in April 2004 after an appeal judge found that the prosecution had suppressed evidence at the trial, and on the basis of DNA evidence that pointed to another person as being the murderer. While executions continued, the abolition of capital punishment advanced. Five countries abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 2004 - Bhutan, Greece, Samoa, Senegal and Turkey. At year end, 120 countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Several countries, while retaining the death penalty in law, observed moratoria on executions. A law on "the suspension of the application of the death penalty" was signed into force in July in Tajikistan, and in January this year President Aksar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan announced that a moratorium on executions, which had been in place since 1998, would be extended for another year. Other countries with moratoria on executions included Malawi and South Korea. Amnesty International welcomed the United States Supreme Court ruling in March this year declaring unconstitutional the use of the death penalty against child offenders -- people under 18 at the time of the crime. With this decision all countries have now formally rejected the application of the death penalty to child offenders. However, Amnesty International remains concerned that child offenders continued to be executed in a few other countries. Iran executed at least three child offenders in 2004, violating its obligations as party to international treaties which preclude the practice. China executed a young man despite concerns that he may have been a juvenile when he committed a capital crime. His execution was carried out while his lawyer and family were still petitioning the Supreme People's Court to review his case. Another child offender was executed in Iran in January this year. "It is high time the Commission affirms clearly that the imposition of the death penalty on those aged under 18 at the time of the commission of the offence is contrary to customary international law." Amnesty International also welcomed the decisions of several countries to adopt constitutional provisions precluding the death penalty. In a survey of constitutional measures released today, Amnesty International reported that Turkey prohibited the death penalty in its constitution in 2004, as did Belgium in February this year. Other countries with recently enacted constitutional prohibitions of the death penalty include Ireland and Turkmenistan. "These are important advances that the Commission should welcome and encourage. " "The case of Ryan Mathews and scores of others sentenced to death in the USA for crimes they did not commit demonstrate that no judicial system is infallible. However sophisticated the system, the death penalty will always carry with it the risk of lethal error" Amnesty International said. For a full copy of "The death penalty worldwide: developments in 2004", please see: http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maadmLrabfKjLbfEPEmbafpLUV/ For more information on Amnesty International's work against the death penalty, please see: http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maadmLrabfKhMbfEPEmbafpLUV/ View all documents on the death penalty http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maadmLrabfKhNbfEPEmbafpLUV/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Confederation of Human Rights Organizations (CHRO) 3, Rams' Cottage Ambalathumukku Pettah Thiruvananthapuram-695024 Kerala South India Ph.: 0471-2476262 www.humanrightsindia.com www.humanrightskerala.com |
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