In the wake of the Kolkata rape and murder case, the West Bengal government has issued a 17-point guidelines for the safety of women workers at hospitals. However, one of the guidelines on minimising night shifts for women has drawn sharp criticism.
Regressive attitude towards women
One social organisation that works for womwn reacted strongly to this guideline and said it is based on the same regressive attitude towards women that the guidelines are apparently meant to fight.
Some others said why should women be removed from the workplace, or workforce, when the source of the violence is the workplace?
Another organisation that works for women said the guideline is short-sighted, regressive and damaging.
Guideline is against women’s rights
Social activists said that the government’s duty is to ensure that women should be able to work anywhere in the state safely and with dignity. They also added that doctors, nurses, Asha workers, gig workers, women need to work in different professions during the night. If their work hours are reduced, many women will lose their jobs and income, they felt.
Yet some others said that the guideline is against women’s rights.
Some others said that if the reduction in night shift is only for women doctors, then this guideline smacks of selective safety for a particular class of women.
Check list of measures announced for women’s safety
On August 18, the West Bengal government announced a slew of measures to ensure the safety of women in workplaces, particularly at state-run hospitals, where they have to work on night shifts, too, including designated retiring rooms and CCTV-monitored 'safe zones'.
Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, announced the measures on Saturday, amid continuing protests by doctors across the state against the alleged rape and murder of a medic at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Apart from hospitals and medical colleges, hostels and other places engaging women during night shifts will now come under the ambit of a flagship programme 'Rattirer Sathi – Helpers of the Night', comprising volunteers, he said.
The state government has also decided to develop a mobile application with alarm devices, which can be downloaded by women and used for communication with the respective local police stations in case of any emergency.
Besides, employees, both in state and private establishments, will be encouraged to form two-member women teams at night to keep each other updated about their activities, Bandyopadhyay said.
"We have also recommended maintaining the right ratio of male and female security staffers at workplaces," he said.
Bandyopadhyay said "breath analyser tests" will be carried out at medical colleges and hospitals in Kolkata and other districts.
Night police patrolling will also be put in place at all medical colleges, hospitals and women's hostels.
"Wherever possible, night duty may be avoided for women. We hope these measures are implemented at the earliest," he added.
