National
- the hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/25/stories/2005082508031000.htm
Lok Sabha passes Domestic Violence Bill
Special Correspondent
| Legislation soon to deal with sexual harassment at work place |
Women to be protected from all forms of domestic violence, and harassment by family members
NEW DELHI: The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Bill, 2005 -- which seeks to protect women from all forms of domestic violence and check harassment and exploitation by family members or relatives -- was unanimously passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Winding up the discussion that ran into two days, the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Kanti Singh, said the Government would soon bring in legislation to deal with sexual harassment at the workplace and this would cover domestic help also.
She said this in response to a question on whether the Domestic Violence Bill would cover domestic help. Also, the Minister sought to allay fears that the Bill would disturb equations within the family. The Bill, she said, was aimed at empowering women and liberating them from the cycle of violence; not from any one individual. As for the selection of protection officers -- a point raised time and again -- she said great care would be taken in this exercise as they were crucial for the success of the legislation.
The discussion saw member after member lament the fact that while women were deified in the country, they continued to be subjugated in all walks of life. Another refrain pertained to implementation with members stating that the state of women was what it was not because of absence of adequate laws but due to poor implementation.
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"Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power.
It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality."
- Dr BR Ambedkar
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