On the eve of the brutal gangrape of Nirbhaya that shook the country, the DUTA calls upon all teachers to rededicate themselves to the cause of gender justice.
Not much appears to have changed in the last one year, except that victims of rape and sexual harassment are more willing to come forward and speak about their experiences.
Delhi University had instituted Ordinance XV(D) in 2004 to deal with sexual harassment at the workplace. However, as participants in a recently held DUTA Workshop on testified, the Ordinance is observed only in its violation in most colleges of DU.
The complete and willful failure of the University authorities to implement this Ordinance was recently brought home through the tragic self immolation by Pavitra Bhardwaj, former lab assistant of B.R.Ambedkar College. After the DUTA and DUCKU agitation, the accused Principal of the college was suspended, but neither has he been arrested nor has the Governing Body instituted an independent enquiry into the charges against him, in violation of the law.
Another instance of the continuing callousness of the University authorities is the refusal to suspend the former OSD of ARSD College, accused by the senior PA of continued harassment following her rejection of his demand for sexual favours. The accused was in fact rewarded by the University by selecting him on the panel for appointment as regular Principal! It was only after a sustained campaign by the DUTA and DUCKU that he did not make it in the final selection. However, the complainant’s harassment continues as she has still not been assigned any duties in the college. Shockingly, the University Apex Committee has still not started its enquiry, despite an FIR and chargesheet having been issued against the accused.
The paralysis and subversion of Ordinance XV(D) can have extremely dangerous consequences in a University where more than 4,500 teachers and about 5000 non-teaching employees are ad-hoc, and students extremely vulnerable, given the disproportionately high weightage for internal assessment of students under the FYUP.
Sexual Harassment, says the Delhi University Policy, is an act of power, and a consequence of unequal power relations. Today, a cloud of fear and repression hangs over Delhi University, a fertile ground for all kinds of exploitation, including sexual harassment. Teachers, students and employees must rededicate themselves to restoring the democratic culture of our University, without which the battle against sexual harassment is as good as lost.
| NANDITA NARAIN President, DUTA |
HARISH KHANNA Secretary, DUTA |
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