UHMROE Genser Hoot» Resource Conte cr) Gender Health Resource Centre NEWS LETTER Serio) Pages 16 [erence Contributors: MHMR Staff: Students : Articles Kasturi Saikia Pratiksha Pal Dikshita Bhuyan Nidhi Nigam Shivani Arora Jasmeen Bawa Visuals : Kalpana Bindal Meenakshi Agrawal Sushma Pawar Sneha Gupta Mahak Gupta Poems : + Atul Gautam Jasmeen Bawa Diwanshu Sharma Nazia Zaidi Nimeeta Gakhar Shifa Arora Sakshi Kushwah Astha Mishra Deepika Shukla Editor : Nutan P Jain Saumitra ‘AZAD’ Lalitha Swathi Patron : S.D.Gupta Dear Readers, Greetings! A person is not just a human being any more but a human being with great potential. The concept of empowerment flows from power itself. Its justa road we take to reach where we want to go. ‘Are we clear where we want to go? Both women and men can be the most important catalysts for change but understanding about ‘empowerment seems superficial in general, in our context. It seems that ‘man like’ behavior is an aspiration of most of the ‘women around us. See the dressing styles of girls, more like boys, even shorter than the boys. What does it show? If we dress like boys, will the situation change? Many women have joined Police service. They also behave like men: rude and in-sensitive.To me, it seems that all of them want to become men or probably they worship ‘masculine’ behavior! traits. Why do girls or women do it this way? For the same reason that men do - because they can, we canalso do the same, weare no different than men. Women are provided with laws that equip them with rights equal to men. Women either do not understand the rights or again want to copy the men who usually are responsible for not following the laws and creating a more vulnerable society. There are many instances where women-friendly laws have been misused in the past, but courts and police have become sensitive to this and they are more careful now to check the genuineness of complaints before about taking adverse action. Laws do not give women undue power. Do we really want to become like men and show masculinity? Is it ‘empowering or as disempowering process? Let's introspect and think which path we are following.......till we meet through the next issue of the newsletter. Best wishJ aac Ordinary women in the remote islands of the Sundarbans voice their concerns using photo voice. Photo voice, a isual action - research technique being used for the first time in India has portrayed health situation of inhabitant: f the Indian Sundarbans - climatically vulnerable region of West Bengal. These discoveries are in the form of hhotographs which are being used as the evidence of complicated health services and the grievous conditions the| sidents live in. By photographing their daily lives and the hardships they face, women have portrayed thel -ommunity at copious levels. TThe photographs perceptibly portray malnutrition, livelihood issues, and lack of drinking water, sanitation and igiene. In addition, photographs taken by women of Sundarbans captured some traditional ways of making thel living. The images deal with day-to-day problems faced by people such as lack of basic infrastructure, proper ansport, poor accessibility to health care services, broken embankments, submerged pathways, and in some part: imply no roads. Inone of the photographs teenage mother cuddles a baby who was born witha low birth weightand the picture| reads "parents often tend to marry off their daughters at an early age to reduce the number of family members and as o| way to manage resource constraints". Photographs showing women standit causes uterine infections in them. in waist-high dirty and saline water for prawn seed collection, which Migration of men was seen from the island due to the uncertainties caused by depletion of agricultural lands| government ban on honey and prawn seed collection. Few pictures really stand out like an image showing a makeshift toilet built on a pond and an uncommon sigh ‘was also seen in another photograph where both humans and animals are bathing together in the pond. The| same water is also used for cooking. Poor health care services can be depicted from a picture where there is no alternative service provider excep a Rural Medical Practitioner for over 350 families in the village. People use Duli (makeshift palanquin) to transport the ailing people (pregnant women, sick children, poorly old) to the nearby health facility or the service provider. The absence of basic infrastructure portrayed in a photograph of an old man lying in a makeshift tent over bamboo structure ever since Alla, six years ago. A narrative accompanying the photograph "Despite repeated requests, help from government has not arrived yet". The photographs explore the gaps in health care system by showing some maladaptive traits. i ‘old woman photographed who isilland being treated at home. In the narrative accompanying the image she say: fe do not have any doctors in the vicinity, not even a quack. In case our children fall il, we, either take recourse to home| smedies or take them to a traditional healer”. The findings of Photovoice research forms an understanding of the dynamics of the community health system -xperienced in their daily lives by the perception of women in Sundarbans.Along with the understanding of thel jeterminants of health, an implicit outcome has seen in the form of the feeling of self-empowerment by the women.Priyanka Sharma, Vidya Bhushan Tripathi, and Matadin Sharma. 'A study has been conducted to assess the alcohol situation in urban sphere in the context of violence against women in both private and public spaces in Bhopal and Jabalpur of Madhya Pradesh. According to NFHS 3, the state| roctaimed to have the third highest (47.2%) reporting of violence against women (VAW) in India. Men's alcohol ise is believed to be one of the contributing factors toVAW. The NFHS3 found alcohol use by husbands to be one| f the five factors that independently contributes to the risk of experiencing physical or sexual violence. Women| whose husbands drink regularly and get drunk are more than twice as likely to experience sexual violence ever and rn than three times as likely to experience physical or emotional violence, compared with women who usbands do not drink atall. The objectives of the study were:(a) to understand the patterns of sale, purchase and consumption of alcohol at the community level; (b) to better understand the relationship between alcohol nsumption and VAW and (c) to make recommendations that may inform existing state alcohol pol aera mechanisms. Saheli Manish Kumar JJAN is a community based project to improve the status of adolescent girls and boys in a holistic manner in five locks of Murshidabad district of West Bengal implemented by CINI and supported by National Mission for !mpowerment of Women, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. IIHMR, Kolkata shouldered the responsibility of conducting baseline study for the project with twofold objectives: (i) to providel \seline data on indicators like early marriage, missing children, safe migration, access to service delivery points and| rious government schemes, availing services from different government facilities such as Anwesha (provii ‘Adolescent Friendly Health Services), ICTC, Health services, ICDS, Kanyashree, school attendance, adolescent: ticipation in different forums, initiatives taken by peer leaders, status of Drop In Centers,awareness of violence! id convergence with various departments;and (il) to access the Knowledge,Attitude and Practice of adolescent: yn reproductive and social health and rights including gender-The study adopted a mixed method approach tom 1e study objectives. In total there were 240 adolescent respondents out of which 80 were peer leaders and 160 ‘ers who were sampled randomly with equal representation of adolescent girls and boys. Qualitative sampling as done by following maximum variation principle for which interviews with various stakeholders like] jolescents, parents, community members, health service providers, ICDS workers and PRI members werel nducted. Survey findings suggested that compared to boys, the girls were more aware of anemia being the deficiency of iron in the body, and usage of sanitary latrine because open defecation was very common. Knowledge about modern| jethods of prevention of pregnancy was limited among this age group irrespective of their gender. The 3respondents were aware of the law against child marriage in India, however the name of the law was known to half f them. The prohibition of sex selective abortion was known more to the females than their male counterparts TThe issue of migration was very less understood by the adolescent respondents. Understanding of the differen facets of violence was not there among the adolescents in the study area. Sexual assault was generally not konsideredasa form of violence by the adolescents. There was strong gendered attitude from both male and female| xdolescent respondents. Traditional beliefs like absence of sons as indication of poor karma, or that only a son can) eas ancestors was held by high proportions of adolescents across categories. ECGS RTS TThe baseline study of EnSIGN project has two objectives. It shall provide benchmark figures of project progress, ‘enabling comparison of key indicators as the project progresses on ground. The baseline study is part of the levaluative research to test the EnSIGN pilot model. A successful demonstration of EnSIGN model of promotion of women empowerment and their nutritional status shall further be witnessed, the gender agenda in corporate| ;ocial responsibility initiatives. A well tested EnSIGN model shall provide the evidence for scaleup of initiatives that imultaneously empower women and advance their nutritional status in rural agricultural corporate supply chain} setups.A successful demonstration of the project (the baseline study being crucial to such evidence generation) \would be able to inspire models that hit at patriarchy in the predominant rural agricultural setup of India. Furthe kthe findings of the baseline study ill inform project strategies and identify thrust areas and issues that need to be| Focused on during the implementation of EnSIGN project. The adoption of both quantitative and qualitative methods enabled statistical quantification of the levels of anaemia| in the study population (women of small holder potato growers’ households) and the major socio- demographi \ctors associated with anaemia in such women. {t shall also enable presentation of socio- demographic differentials in the study population. Qualitative fieldwork among women participants shall enable contextualization of thel {quantitative information.Apart from providing insights into socio-demographic differentials, qualitative data shall snable identification of factors operative at the household and community levels that facilitate/ hinder women’ yealth promoting behavior, access to resources, participation in the work force, among other issues. Qualitative} fieldwork with other stakeholders in the government, NGO and communities will help understand the socio- litical environment in which EnSIGN operates. ts for reasons of gaining a holistic understanding of gender and iene in the specific context of women in small holder potato growers’ households that the mixed method: approach has been suggested for the baseline study.Pps ue \Women experience higher burden of visual impairments given their longer life expectancy and poor access to| health care services. In fact, two-third of world's blind population is female. India alone contributes 22 percent of ally impaired population and every one out of three cataracts occurs in India West Bengal reported! second highest share of people diagnosed with cataract,and Sundarbans, the geo-climatically vulnerable region has) reported a higher burden of cataract compared to state average. Along with gender and age, epidemiological) studies have identified exposure to sun light, indoor smoke, cigarette smoking, severe diarrhea and malnutrition, lower socioeconomic status, lower education and occupation as risk factors for developing cataract or other visual| impairments. Biologically there is no reason to have gender differential pattern in blindness or any other visual| impairments. Gender dynamics plays an important role in control over resources and decision making regarding| health seeking behavior and access to health care. Speculation suggests that gender dynamics play an important) role in control over resources and decision making regarding health seeking behavior and access to health care! ith limited access to resources, time, lesser mobility,absence of formal social protection and low perceived value| of her own illness, women delay her treatment seeking. Therefore it is required to explore how gender role brings) differentials in eye health care seeking in the local context. world's ‘Most importantly , in context of Sundarbans, how gender along with other social determinants of health like age, household type, gender of the head of the household, geographical location, employment status, marital status, sex| of the child/children interact and influence the health seeking behavior, is needed to be explored to get a) ‘comprehensive picture of health system related to care-Therefore,a proposal is developed and submitted. o ‘The Rajasthan Prevention of Witch Hunting Bll 2015 was introduced in the Rajasthan State Assembly on 31st ‘March, 2015. I passed, Rajasthan will become the Sth state to have all Of such kind. Earlier the States of Bihar, “Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa have passed the law. In Rajasthan women’s groups have been demanding that ‘such a law be passed since year 2000 and after much discussion the frst draft was presented by the State ‘Women's Commission as early as 2005 to the Government of Rajasthan. Then in 2011 /2012 a comprehensive bill called the Rajasthan Prevention of Atrocities on Women bill was drafted by the WCD, GOR which had witch hunting a one of the punishable atrocities. After the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 coming into force, many of the ‘sections ofthe Rajasthan bill had been taken care off. Therefore the Ministry of Home Affairs in due course asked the GORtopass the witch huntingbill as a separate bil. L GOOD NEWS! Waiting tbe implemented seriously inletterand spr...Dene MSU RSS aS a the case study on AFHS in the provincial state of West Bengal in India shall be a critical appraisal of gender| sensitiveness of the said intervention using the human rights approach .Itis based on the fundamental premise that, human rights are universal and nondiscriminatory.All rights holders in the present context ie.adolescent boys and) rls in West Bengal state of India are entitled to receive services from AFHS conforming to the nine human rights| principles viz., non-discrimination, availability, accessibility, acceptability, quality of health services, informed| decision-making about own health, privacy and confidentiality, participation in health policy and service decision, and transparency and accountability. No socio-demographic identity or affliation (e.g. age, place of residence, imarital status,caste,religion or tribal affiliation, disability, HIV affected or otherwise) can disadvantage and/or debar| adolescent boys and girls in the state from receiving and benefitting from the services of AFHS.The duty bearers are| obliged towards this end.The purpose of the case study will be to hold forth, the extent and the manner in which) ender rights have been realized in policy and practice of AFHS intervention in the state of West Bengal in India The| inine human rights principles shall underpin the study through the stages of tool drafting, data collection, analysis of primary and secondary data,and report writing. This is supported by WHO Headquarters. Feminism has mostly been a women's perspective. It has been about the fight for girls getting the same access to education as boys, women being ble to exercise the same rights - political,social or economic as their male counterparts. Throughout history, feminism has been associated with the ladvocacy of women's rights in society. The ‘Three Waves! of feminism, starting sometime during the late 19th century and extending up to the ‘20th century, trace the evolution of the demand for women's equality through the years.The FirstWave of feminism formally began in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted the Seneca Falls Declaration defining political strategies and ideologies. It was brought bout by a change in the society due to industrialization and the practice of, liberal, socialist politics. The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the (United States Constitution, which granted women the right to vote in the United States in 1920, is one of the greatest achievements of this movement. The Second Wave of Feminism (1960s - 1980s) focused on cultural inequalities and the role of women in the society while the Third (1990s-2000s) was a continuation of the Second Wave, with a focus nits perceived failures. eS TER | ola al THE MIRROR Take a look into the mirror, and tell me what you see; Do you like the person, that is looking back at thee? Do you see true tenderness, in this persons eyes? (Or do you dread the things you see, under cover of disguise? For mirrors they will not lie, or cover up the truth; Regardless of your race, your gender or your youth. So take a look into the mirror and tell me what you see. Is the person in the mirror, all you wish to be? ‘Atul Gautam, Jasmeen Bawa, ‘MBA HM-19In the early days, feminism was more about directing focus on the acceptance of females as human beings capable of thinking, feeling and of perception. Women were expected to stay at home and be in the background whilst men) rere at the forefront, tackling issues relating to politics, economics science and the like. Women were not allowed| to have a say, even in matters relating to their own body or ‘them’, as individuals. The transition of women from being perceived as mere shadows of men, dilapidated and disregarded, into individuals of thought and a ‘voice’ ‘contributing to change in the course of history, has been due to the collective efforts | Labyrinths and Mascara:A Goodbye song ‘of various feminist movements and the influence of strong, capable women | Amidst that dark impossible existence I welcomed shots of elation With words so loud, [Today,feminismis describedas the beliefthat | and spirits so high.. men and women should have equal rights and | | sang to let it out... pportunities.The focus is now more onthe | The nostalgia, the pain and the shadows of the past. jwoman herself, as an individual. Much has | suddenly; the phone rang- been done and achieved through the ages - | He had called! jwomen have been given voting rights: | How I wish he didn't! maternity leave has been made mandatory in | {¢ was his last day in town ithe workplace, across many countries of the | Melancholy entered my sinking soul world; daughters have been granted equal | | picked up my favorite red sweater inheritance on execution of will. put some mascara on... and started walking towards him... The road to his place seemed long and bleak. Those flashlights seemed comforting and warm as they caressed the strings of that old dusted guitar The fury of a black cat instantly possessed me... Those amber eyes scanned my chameleon soul.Alone ‘On July 2014,EmmaWatson was appointedas | conight, alone with this sagacious animal, | struggled to the UN goodwill ambassador to serve as an | reach his abode. advocate for the 'He for She’ campaign, an | Bidding goodbyes has never been easy initiative towards promoting gender equality. | Those things crush you down the spine But | composed myself and embraced him warmly. Gathering courage, | grasped all the innocuous present, the bitter sweet memories We both smiled and ran back to the Labyrinths of Chirvoyance. Friendship illuminated everything around and liberated my soul. Goodbyes are not that bad, after all! Dr. Nimeeta Gakhar themselves. But in this entire debate of women being projected as the lesser privileged of the two,| had overlooked the fact that men may also have been affected in the process. ‘As | watched her deliver her speech at the UN Headquarters in New York, | was surprised by her initiative of appealing to the men to work towards achieving gender equality, not just women alone. She talked about the importance of involving men and boys towards this campaign of achieving ender equality and went to the extent of ‘extending a formal invitation to the men to. join in this movement.( friar ae (ees gortoer) \ am aries erred zara ax Beer) foe @ BE aust B afte ae ae Bara 11 ot # gat at H apreft fore arr erere archi fere sifdar B BE get aeren wearet) er aaa Samet rea By fie Zaft wt Heer) a aTehe ... PH TH AAT Ee Sa Ie ga Cea a agar ae wet zetii fren fier at wt arg aivett adh wt aacr) ax are ....... eared ar aac afte a af ah & yor at - att ava RAP send 1 siccore 3 Prem ai ator Be Rar ar a gerd, Rorerest ger Reman arch at war Serer zraer aher—atar H warer ere H ete Be gar ar rem) Ba 2 Pts Reser, saree Pere B ata ay arched . sean HAY TH BACT ad aor ger al oft a eras) oof HM ch BE me we a2 B der agora ® wed af rere 8S at Berar BS ahh ae a weet rend eare, er ait ert ar GUmeTeET SerET a wach omg gore) aren ar a at ae epO! Bact ger Bakker AA AL nan nnn TAO FY SAAT a & aaron & BF areren arate & are were che a mere erst Poaatt awe srcft arora ce site & Ree en ot ver cee aoear Sent wed ae aren eat HY toe Bd ger orar at der aa area ... zara) a 2c aor sighs Rea wal & ar sian ara aét &, erect &, ah preemer 2 ear & ad zaot adh 31 fise weit wed azoois seer? wed sereBt sikora ae B1 aga 3 ah, mar 3, ah oh ara a wren 3) fer saw wer Belt we 3? saat @ worn, zarena, Bar, ze, wae, eae) wet a saret efeaar 31 mai ara Prevere wt Rare arore ahr wh wack ares grater & gar oma 3 ga we a a, exferare) act arranr ~ sruar wag az adh carne) ae awez agar- eat act gor sre are scenes Her 8, Hh wen BH, Hh snact at ewer BH, A FE gor sir wa area enn 2 BEAT \ ore Frat, MBA HM-19Between the two sexes, society perceives men to be| the stronger of the two, both mentally and physically There are some popular notions that lend support to] such claims - men never cry; males are able to control their emotions better;men do work which is physically more challenging and the likes. Ce ECR GCA S () Riccar ceo ok Cal CeO COC: icin Cia cil} PCM icscs otek idl ees Oe) SRA ree ROC o£ co be aa ak Ole RAG iCra sony COUR GMs lA SiO In this entire scramble of ensuring that women be| bestowed with all the equal opportunities to uplift he! stance in the society, are we being unfair to the men of our society? Is it time to look beyond the needs of the| ‘women as hers alone, and involve men so that there| exists a balance in equality’ between the two? Woman today has a mind of her own. She refuses to 4 wi “© accept the set norms of the society as they stand and! continuously strives towards evaluating them to make| way for change.As such, now is the time for men to step] up and lend support to combat more pressing issues lating to gender stereotyping in order to promote gender equality. ‘Only then, can there ever exist an equilibrium between the rights pertaining to both men and women giving way to| p situation where society does not dictate what is 'male’ and what is ‘female’ - we do. Only then, can men and| women break free from the traditional definitions of gender roles and carve out a new niche for themselves - to} \striveand to be free. ike most girls, she also drew a home from hich smoke whirled out of chimney, a oman in triangular skirt with her husband and two children. That was a blue print for life but few years down the line she realised jot everything works outlike wax crayons. here is a man in the picture but she never eached let's-make-babies stage. It was too late to realise that because of her -xpensively shod feet in the careerist camp, the egg timer had run dry. She didn’t dump itherers because she blamed herself for not a a strategist; she wasn't able to reach the core of what it means to be a woman.For er it became an impalpable inacknowledged sadness, as she couldn't in feature net ALA ea 3h aneft gerars, MBA Hu.19 BT HOT BT Pera era er ere & af, Fer aft gar sruch ihe Ht aah eet a) ae god tn at a, eee Per care arr ere wa at Rar anv, a gor ae) sree aie gemsitoh ati age at oTah af & gaan slike mf? a, BS at cbt Sarai Ht 2 arora Ben? wat aren at ee, eit gard aah ge & eer aest ar Barer ave Rear at 3 oft a attr fis Bd ae OTA a geht sr et & ach & eg ar BeIeM ? er arererer feree sera BF at fas H, at Fer are forever sree ST BY FA)1 the pronatalist cultural demands became ing evil. jer regretful in laws forced her to indulge into pilgrimages, fasting, feeding the black jogs, and got her beaten by peacock ithers and her literate soul surrendered efore all this with an expectation of king the cradle. But nothing worked;she jenseda contemplation of her exile. 1e man who treasured her as his soul was ow just bestowing a favour on her. nother woman had superseded her, his lare was like gravity pulling her head down f shame as she was not able to meet the bvious obligation. That house turned intoa wve and she, a hollow body. She felt the society's silence, his estrangement & familial isplacement contributing to a sense of lienation and isolation surrounding ildlessness. From the mistress of the jouse, she became dirt that had to be leanedas soonas possible. he prayed to god to lift her from this dirty ley. Night became day, day became night, other day blazed until another night sme. She finally lost the courage to fight yainst the killer waves of humiliation. .ccepting her biological failures she moved way, hoping for a new light but inknowingly, he and the in-law had become er identity and alone she was a taboo. She ad lost herself he venom of infertility gradually bwebbed her. She looked up into the sky, the giant was smiling down at her, his face ippearing and disappearing like a mist. At last he had come, it was heaven. She jologised to her personal and social wners and alas asked "Why did you forget hat ifl'm nota mother,am la human?” timatum filled arguments, medical procedures, miscarriages, mourning... it lacked a degree of drama. Ironically] his gave them the right to pluck the hope of sympathy from her: Seeking for his hand to save her from withdrawal he discovered his misogynistic views for her He slammed shot the heavy door on her:The sorrow of not living up) erat - sitet ar meat By) erat - other or aezon & ~ cw ster eae or afer ech mee Per erarer B ener err IIa) serch wera 2 adh at geht By ene Bor ae oer aT BRS vat ther wr ara 8, wejeor mramrca ah ves iter attzor wh eral, error ctor de erect Bt aRonter ae fear or aera ga 83 oud wench ah, ged ore adh one? gar a ot arae aar aed a, gad arate onc? wat gant ware Ht acter & Bt sitet wt eof at stot H aosd a aifter a ort 8? zat zh waco ae Red daa, wRar, aera tt garg toe aif wet BH aiferer a ondt 2 aeat srt are at we sina B Pr, srr eh we ah or er a gu eer Re ona &P & zara a en 31 ot aaact ware, cen, wergaya, erat atet ona a we Berar aro & site ae sar eal onat ar wes B, Rerar srg, MBA HM-19(Pema ne enicy "Gender involves differences in power, both power to and power over". Gender is not static or immutable. Gender| equality and women's empowerment are two sides of the same coin. Both have multiple dimensions that together| yield a wide variety of indicators. Over the past| decade, gender equality and women| ‘empowerment have been explicitly recognized as| key not only to the health of nations, but also to| social and economic development.A fundamental] icator of gender inequality in India, and arguably,one of the most powerful,is a preference| for a son so strong that it is manifested as limiting] the birth and survival of a girl. As per the latest| census in the year 201, the female sex ratio in| India is 940 per 1000 males and female child sex| ratio is 944 girls per every 1000 boys of the same| age group. Females are under-represented among births and| ‘over-represented among birth sex ratios at birth| decline with wealth, suggesting that sex selection| of births is more common among wealthier than| poorer households. Ultrasound tests are being widely used for sex selection, with sex selection being more evident for the| wealthiest women than for women in the other wealth quintiles. + Sex ratio of al last births and last births of sterilized women show clearly that couples typically stop having} children once they have the desired number of sons. Ifthe situation remains the same the time is not far when India will also suffer problems like migration of male for! ‘marriage, missing females and an increase in illegal activities. PTrerict atn nL "A Girl is far more responsible for her molestation than a Boy” -when stop. Psychology, one key to| ‘comprehend human nature of explanation to this issue. Perception of human psychology on this issue is mainly| determined by the biological makeup, present and past environment as well as individual experiences and our own| ‘thinking pattern which governs our behaviour. Ifa girl appears in the court to testify against her attackers she was to face candid acquisition that made her} believe that she was far more responsible Three basic cause of victim blaming psychology for molestation are: - showing powerangerihyper-masculinity - objectification of women and “meager amount of systemic and societal support.(— Burning Candle...My Woman ) My candle stands steady, its lames struggles this breezy weather, melting and burning its body and soul....Fighting. Soft and tender, sober and calm persistent look of soothing charm ray of hope, in the darkest night in many a life that it lights. On birthdays or on deaths my candle stands abreast ‘on cakes and stands, graves and tanks this light, shouldn't we thank! Whichever shape you want whatever colour was put on responsibilities expected my candle always accomplished. Fire and heat are not easy to deal melting my wax, the pain | feel my candle asks them to live her life it's not that fun when you blow off. Candle,"Do you see the woman in me? Her efforts to keep joy and peace the agony that she goes through Are you one of the few." So strong I stand to throw light like pain that she bears as mother or wife Needed always in that darkness to fight this world and its harshness. it's easy to break me”, candle. "Like a woman's heart you may handle why your demands become her duty when you never bothered whether your woman was happy?” My candle never speaks, it melts down Slowly that flame snuffs out That darkness sets in again Life jitters in a frozen frame. ‘Oh! Did that remind you of someone? Serving, protecting and letting you have all the fun Speaking less feeling in hell or heaven Yes! That burning candle...my woman. Deepika Shukla, MBA HM 19 The above published poemis originally a work of Ms. Deepika Shukla, MBA 19th batch and was wrongly x S 12Women are mere instruments, when claim to power is thwarted, men believe that they have right to express their] frustration and anger by forcefully asserting their dominance in a violent molestation act. More to add to this mixture of traditional and religious projection of being called "women" that to a proper woman in society further| ‘worsens the situation.To our readers we would like to ask a question "whether the length of fabric on women’s body is the measure of her character?" The answer to this is definitely NO, however, still people in our society| believe that there was definitely something wrong with that particular women. Yet another ingredient to this poisonous soup is lack of education about gender and its related emotions, result in woefully underdeveloped| regulatory mechanism essential for personal and societal development Having open and frank conversation over the discussed issue is the need of hour. Being an integral| part of society, everyone has certain duties which| sihe should follow;stop telling the gir! that her life is over that her victimhood is shame for her.Attitude| of shame imitates guilt, shame and dis-honour| belong to "convict". As nation we really need to| improve our understanding of physical relationship between male and female. Our notion to this issue is immature and unhealthy.A healthy and safe society] can be created, parenting plays a major role in| upbringing of young and adolescent gir! and boy, it has to undergo sea change, children learn by how| their mothers and sisters are treated at home. - Howto fight back:Encourage young boys and men to express emotions and unravel hypermasculanity. - Pushback against women objectification. . Encourage bystanders. ‘We can eradicate molestation for the betterment of society. Responsibility to erase this problem lies in the hands of each one of us:as a student,as a parent, through media, working persons.Alll we need to recognize the urgency| and the importance of change. Laws don't change the culture but change in culture can definitely pave the way for| reformed laws.Social struggles like this are not won in court rooms but in hearts and minds of people we live with. Time to Ponder:Arrangements of Chromosome should not decide our Life "As women, we must stand up for our self, We must stand up for each other, ‘And we must stand up for justice forall’.- Michelle Obama ‘Think for a moment of a nurse and an orthopedic surgeon. Picture of a female and male respectively would come before you Thisis reflection of ‘our thoughts concerning gender bias. This discrimination in our ‘thoughts is the biggest battle around the world in today's era.We all come to this beautiful world as humans but our socially constructed roles and responsibilities shape us into men and women.This is the time to take a pause from this hide and seek and ponder "Have we, as women, not restricted our minds in| chains of gender bias?” Weas women do not discriminate among our children and] we proudly tell our relatives "She is our son". But did we ever say "He is our daughter?” We as women do not} discriminate among our children just think, Do we? Weas women do not discriminate among our children but| when our daughter gets married we give her expensive car) gifts. Do we give these gifts to our sons also? Just think!! We as women when blessed with one daughter, eagerly) wish next the newborn be son. But if we are blessed with a son do we really wish fora daughter? ‘Why do we encourage our daughters to behave politely and our boysare excused for their boisterous behavior. ‘Whyall the 'karmas' after death of an individual should be made by son not from daughter.Just think. ‘This isa harsh reality that gender bias has grabbed each and every part of society.Alll our claims regarding gender| equality are slipping through the cracks. Irony lies in fact that we live in a society where mythical goddesses are| 'worshipped while real women are ill treated, When rough weather does not choose men over women, Sun does| not spread its sunshine more to men then why should we? | believe, we should win the war within self before blaming others We should accept that men and women are two| sides of the coin;one soul of human beingiis enveloped in two types of physical entities. Let's pledge now to our self not to be biased, ever, at all. Gender related Workplace Issues Gender differences involve both physical and emotional factors. They are essentially the characteristics that influence male and female behavior in the workplace. These influences may stem from psychological factors, such as upbringing, or physical factors, such as an employee's capability to perform the job responsibilities. Differences may also stem from gender stereotypes related to| men and women. For instance, a stereotypical assessment is that women belong in home while men are to work and provide support Stereotypes often lead to Gender-based discrimination in the workplace. Gender is the difference between men and women as perceived by the society. Men are conventionally shown in an active role in a society whereas women are portrayed more as a cosmetic element. Gender-based issues at work place have| recently become an important topic of discussion in labor market. One of the most prevalent issues is Gender- ‘based discrimination where men are given more preference than women for the work done. There are also other} Gender-based issues which arise at various points in life; for instance marginalization and segmentation of the| ‘occupational structure in favor of men, etc. Such issues also highlight the rolls of women in social context as well as| iin professional terms. ics‘The idea is to give equal opportunities to women to be professionally well-qualified and get them a place inn organization, {treating them at par with men, giving them equal opportunities to ‘work and to show their talent. Women should also be ensured ‘about their safety at a work place. Many legal issues stem from men land women being treated differently at the workplace. Several employment and labor laws govern gender-based discrimination land prohibit workplace practices that treat a particular person unfavorably because of gender. Employers must also provide special accommodations for gender specific issues, such as pregnancy and nursing. Men and women perceive information differently, which could lead to feelings of exclusion or allegations of] harassment or sex discrimination. Sexual harassment at work place is an unwanted sexual conduct ina workplace] ithe forms of which are diverse and numerous. It is usually defined as discrimination against women which denies| ithe right to work ina healthy and rewarding atmosphere. It can have cumulative effects on the entire organization. When it becomes very unpleasant for a worker, she is likely to seek alternative employment. Therefore itis in the interest of employer that the working environment ensures that workers are treated with dignity. ‘Thus the employers of the organization must focus upon encouraging equality in employment and increasing the| participation of women manager and business entrepreneurs. They must give importance to both men and| ‘women. There should be no difference in their pay scales, fa ies provided to them and| ‘opportunities given to them,etc. LX treo Malai tad Day by day there is an increasing trend of working women in both formal and informal sectors. It means men and women are working together other than a few sectors or organizations where exclusively women or men wor! fell have the right to work in an environment thats respectful and the responsibility to treat everyone at work ith considerationA respectful workplace: Is inclusive, Values diversity, Clearly communicates expectations around behaviour, Promotes employee health and safety, Provides resources and training to resolve disputes, Strives for improvement,and Has open channels of communication. Why people are disrespectful ? Personality Traits Motives + Insecure + Power & Control + Depressed + "Pump self up" + Lack of empathy + Self-righteousness + Clueless/lack of insight + Be left alone + Paranoia + Confidence + Self-loathing +_Besseen in spotligh 15iow can you contribute toa respectful workplace culture? Be open to ideas and accept different experiences and points of view. Notto blame, threaten or name call even when youare hurt. Take training on conflict resolution. Practice inclusivity -try to make sure that individuals or groups aren't excluded in any way. Support co-workers who are being harassed, discriminated against or treated disrespectfully. Try and make connections with co-workers who are different from you (age, gender, sexuality, race, culture faith, disability, etc.) Educate yourself about diversity without expecting people different from you to assume that task he SystemsThinking Approach he approach of systems thinking is fundamentally different from that of traditional forms of analysis. Traditional alysis focuses on separating the individual pieces of sexual harassment;in fact the word "analysis" actually come: from the root meaning, "to break into constituent parts". Systems? thinking in contrast, focuses on how the, intecedents and concomitants of harassment interacts with the process of harassment-to produce unacceptable yehavior -which is a part of workplace sexual harassment .This means that instead of isolating smaller and smalle jarts of the system being studied, systems' thinking works by expanding its view to take into account larger ant larger number of interactions as an issue being studied. This results in sometimes strikingly different cnn than those generated by traditional forms of analysis, especially when what is being studied is a wicked social roblem like workplace sexual harassment. Research Study on Real versus Imagined Gender Harassment {exual harassment studies that use hypothetical situations and retrospective surveys may overestimate the degre to which victims actually confront their harassers. The result is that immediate emotional reactions are littl inderstood and victims are often taken to task for non-confrontational behavior. To address this neglect, we jescribe our experimental investigation of immediate reactions to sexually harassing questions encounter luring a realistic job interview. Behavioral and emotional responses are compared to those inn imagined harassin interview. Results indicate that interviewees who are actually harassed react very differently than those who on) imagine their responses. For example, imagined victims anticipate feeling angry but actual targets report being fraid. Anticipated behavior also did not match with actual behavior. Implications of these discrepancies for rerceptions of “correct” ways to respond to harassment are examined (Woodricka,.A. and LaFrance, M. (2001) ‘eal Versus Imagined Gender Harassment. Journal of Social Issues, 57: 15-30. doi: 10.11 | 1/0022-4537.00199 For any query, suggestions or contributions please contact : Coordinator, GHRC INSTITUTE OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT RESEARCH |, Prabhu Dayal Marg, Sanganer Airport, Jaipur - 302029 India Ph.: +91-141-3924700. Email - ghre@ithmr.edu.in. URL: http:/wwwaihmredu.in 6