Work’ was supposed to be our emancipation: I speak for a generation of women who believed that ‘being employed’ offered economic security to women and a greater say in the man’s world. We were brought up by women, who ingrained ambition is us, believing economic freedom was the door that opened the room to ‘equality’.

We thought economic empowerment will give us the agency to raise our voice, determine our actions, and be independent. Work hard, prove your mettle, give your blood and sweat to the organisation, and you get the place at the table. The RG Kar incident reminded us we were living in a fool’s paradise.

Women all over the country, from villages to cities, from film studios to corporate offices, wondered if a doctor ‘on duty’, in one the busiest hospitals, could be raped and murdered in the most gruesome way possible, is any one of us safe? Or are we left to the whims of perpetrators who may have any reason for using sexual violence against us: from our clothes, to what we think, to what we have raised our voice against.

The RG Kar rape and murder case, has triggered continuous protests from the civil society in the last 25 days. In one of the most spontaneous of citizen protests, the whole of Bengal, and parts of India are on the streets, demanding speedy and proper justice for the young doctor brutalised and murdered on the night of August 8-9.

The ‘Reclaim the night’ protest on August 14 and continued protests from citizens is a protest both against the sexual violence women continue to face, as well as the rampant corruption in public offices and misuse of power. The incident, the discourses surrounding it, and the protests thereafter raise some pertinent questions about women, their safety and voice at the workplace.

Low work participation

First, the lapses in workplace security brought to forefront by this case show that the dismal female labour participation ratio in India is not an accident. In a country, where sexual violence is still seen as a women’s fault, violence at workplace largely goes unreported unless taking a gruesome form as it did with this case.

India has one of lowest female labour participation rates in the world. Female labour participation is India in 2023 stood at 33 per cent, as against the world average of 49 per cent according to World Bank data. With only a third of women at ‘workplaces’, we are tapping a third of our potential.

The conditions of work remain difficult for most women workers across the nation, without access to basic facilities. Do we make enough efforts to make the workplaces compatible to women: with access to clean washrooms, secure resting places, and regular, safe transport facilities?

Needless to say, the solution is not to curtail the working hours for women, that is going to lead to further forms of discrimination, in addition to the ‘maternity penalty’ women already face.

Second, the voice of the women at the workplace is for long the unheard and subjugated one, especially when they speak up against injustice.

Women whistle-blowers, research shows, face more retaliation than men. Retaliation in form of sexual harassment and violence is perhaps the one that shocks women most and forces them into silence.

Women who speak up against any malpractice or highlight problems in the workplace are often termed as ‘problematic’ and tarnishing the ‘reputation’ of the organisation.

It is a time-tested ploy that forced women into silence over ages: from families to organisations, the burden of preserving the ‘honour’ and ‘reputation’ seems to be of the woman who raises her voice against the problem, not the perpetrators.

‘Reputation’ issue

Is the ‘reputation’ of family, organisation, city, state, country over and above the laws of the land or universal ethical considerations?

This misplaced sense of ‘reputation’ is a deeply entrenched and patriarchal problem. Public offices are vulnerable to corruption, and unless women whistle-blowers are accorded the protection and support power in terms of special bodies designated to help, we cannot rule out corruption from public offices.

Today, as we continue to join candle light marches seeking justice in the RG Kar incident, let us light the lamp in the corners of our homes and offices. From our house helps to CEOs, board members to homemakers, do they have enough voice in our homes and organisations?

Especially in our workplaces, are women protected from subjugation and harassment, and or blamed and silenced when they raise issues, however, trivial or large? The first step to welcoming more women in our workplaces comes from making their voice heard.

The writer is an academician who has spent a decade at work. Views are personal.