Odisha EIC Office Wants All Female Staff To Leave Office By 5:30 PM. Umm Sexist Much?

Odisha EIC Office Wants All Female Staff To Leave Office By 5:30 PM. Umm Sexist Much?

No matter how much progress we’ve made towards balancing out the disparity between the sexes—be it through government initiatives—we’re a long way from achieving self-realisation or conscious efforts as an individual to not indulge in any form of gender based discrimination. And we say this after witnessing how narrow minded the mentality of people still is in this society. Case in point – the order issued by the office of Engineer-in-chief (Civil), Odisha asking all women employees under the establishment to leave office before sunset.

Turns out, the the Office of Engineer-in-Chief in Odisha has laid out an order that demands women to leave the office premises latest by 5:30 pm. It says, “All lady officials or staff are hereby requested to leave office by 5:30 PM positively on all the working days. They are also requested to work sincerely during office hours and ensure that there shall not be any pending work on their seats.”

And while at first glance it may seem like this was a decision taken in good faith for the women and their safety, it’s implication was no better than people asking women to wear longer skirts or not go out late at night, putting the onus on the victim and not the perpetrators. We weren’t the only ones to not appreciate the circular either, for there were several people who ended up questioning the seriousness of the organisation with regard to building gender equality. Or lack there of.

Also Read : Study Shows More Women Scout, Do Background Checks When Job Hunting, Than Men. Blame It On Gender Disparity!

Elaborating on the matter, Goutam Kumar Pal, the Superintending Engineer (P&D) said, “They should wrap up all their work latest by 5:30 PM and leave the office. What would happen as a consequence of this is they will not face any issues at workplace or encounter any problems when they are on way to home, as there is a possibility of troubles emerging if they return late.” He further went on to say, “It is for their good. There is nothing to worry about. The decision has been taken as a preventive measure to ensure their safety.”

Meanwhile women are dealing with mixed feelings, as one of the Odisha EIC employees shared, “Perhaps, this decision seems good as well as bad. Bad because, if all of us leave by 5:30, work will remain pending. Next day if we begin from where we had left, it will eventually double our workload. So it is better to finish all work before leaving. Sir hasn’t told us to leave the desk without completing work, which means we have to finish the job before 5:30 PM.”

A social activist on the other hand said while criticizing the move, “Is this how Odisha is implementing Naveen Patnaik government’s ‘Maa Ku Samman’ call? The order asking women to leave office by 5:30 smacks of gender bias, ensure safety by ensuring equality. Men and women, both are given top responsibilities in the State, then why are such rules being imposed?”

Women and child rights activist, Rutuparna Mohanty also showed her dissent towards the action and said, “They (the government) cannot stop atrocities, so they will try to impose restrictions on women to live freely. This is the mindset. If women are stopped to work beyond 5:30 in the evening, then there is naturally something wrong with the system which is treating women as second class citizens.”

Can’t say we don’t agree with them. If there need to be measures taken, the Odisha EIC office needs to be respectful enough to consider the sentiments of both men and women, and asking women to leave their work at 5:30  is certainly not the solution.

Also Read : Bhumi Pednekar Wants Gender Pay Gap In Pay Scales To Reduce. We Think It’s About Time Bollywood Listens

Sadhika Sehgal

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