Mahila Congress Seeks Concrete Safety Measures for Women on Night Shifts: Khalap Warns Against Token Empowerment
PANAJI: Raising serious concerns over the recent state government notification allowing women to work night shifts, Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress President Dr. Pratiksha Khalap has demanded robust safety mechanisms to ensure that women’s empowerment does not become a hollow promise. She stressed that without guaranteed protection, informed consent may become a coercive tool, and called upon the government to clarify how it plans to enforce safety measures like secure transport and CCTV surveillance for women working from 7pm to 6am in shops and establishments.
On June 23, the state government issued a notification which permits women to work from 7pm to 6am in shops and establishments.
While welcoming the notification as it promotes gender equality, President of Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress Dr. Pratiksha Khalap said that women empowerment without safety provisions amounts to exploitation of women.
“As per the notification, women who take up night duty from 7pm to 6am should be done with informed consent. But what is the assurance that this is not a forced and coerced consent as women are in need of jobs. We want an assurance from the government as to what systems and mechanisms are in place so that companies don’t misuse this rule,” she said.
On the issue of transportation of women employees, Dr. Khalap said, “Who will provide this safe transportation service? The government will not make this provision, and the government should inform the public whether they will do it or not. If the companies or business owners are going to do it then how are they going to do it? Will they deduct the amount for the service from the woman’s salary or will the government offer a subsidy on this? To ensure the transportation is safe, we want a GPS tracking service for the vehicles, and there should be a security staff in the vehicle with the woman employee while they are travelling,” the President of Mahila Congress said.
Emphasising women’s safety, she said that CCTVs are mandatory at the workplace as per the notification. “But where are the CCTVs once the woman steps out of the workplace? There is a lack of adequate streetlights and CCTV infrastructure in place. So the government should ensure these facilities are in place. Also, most of the women who work the night shift are employed at casinos, hotels, and hospitals. Hence, there is a need to ensure a secure and healthy working condition. Considering the prevailing law and order situation, women fear moving out of their homes at night. There should be night patrolling by Pink Force, especially in high risk areas where hospitals, casinos, and hotels are located,” she said.
Dr. Khalap also said that women should be employed in groups at the workplace, and not by themselves.
“Women should be made aware of their rights. There should be whistleblower protection for women in cases where there is harassment at the workplace. There should also be a helpline number for women security or an app for those who are in distress. There should also be a compliance committee so that all this is implemented and there should be a 6-month audit at the workplaces of those companies along with random checks,” she added.
Adv Lavinia Da Costa, state General Secretary, Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress, said that, “The main concern is the risk factor as women have to take risk. What safety provisions are in place for women? Adequate safe and secure transport facilities must be provided to women workers to pick and drop them at her residence. Safety measures are a must, and the role of drivers is important. We want to know when these aspects will be implemented,” she said.
Eslinda Gonsalves, Mahila Block President of Panaji was also present.
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