(Samaj Weekly)
A case study of Institutions rising to protect a woman’s autonomy and providing a safe work environment
We are glad to inform about the transfer of Sheena Choudhary, a Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow with Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, GOI, Coordinated by the GOR, Skill & Livelihood mission. She will now be posted in Udaipur, bringing an end to a month long ordeal of asserting her autonomy against a forced marriage, challenging a false FIR of her abduction and undue harassment by the Dholpur police, leading to her being displaced from her workplace in Dholpur.
It maybe recalled that Sheena Choudhary aged 26 years had left Dholpur on the 20th of November, as she did not wish to be forced into marriage by her family. She sought shelter in the office of Anhad, an NGO in Delhi and had contacted the Delhi State Women’s Commission, Delhi Police and NFIW a national women’s organisation, the PUCL seeking their intervention with her parents. On the 24th the Dholpur police, came with some of her family members and forcibly took her away from near the office of Anhad to Dholpur. Members of Anhad and the PUCL, tried their best with senior officials of the Rajasthan police, that if her statements were important then she be brought back to Delhi and her statements taken in Delhi, but were not heard.
Finally, Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad moved the Delhi High Court, on the 25th November, who addressed the matter with urgency and in its order on the 25th itself said that ” We are perplexed to note that even though Sheena Choudhary was not the named accused, she has been taken into custody by the Rajasthan police, statedly against her will” and asked for her production the next day in the court. After hearing Sheena at length on the 26th November, the court ordered the Home Department of Rajasthan to enquire into the role of Dholpur police and to take appropriate and expeditious action, if the allegations were found true. They also ordered the DCW to counsel the parents and intervene between the parents and Sheena. Sheena was allowed to go where she wished.
After what happened with Sheena in Dholpur, she lost the confidence of working in that district and also felt that she was insecure there. She wrote to the IIM Bangalore, the Ministry of Skill Development. and Entrepreneurship, GOI requesting transfer. The District Collector Dholpur and RSLDC, GOR, brought centre stage the security concerns of Sheena and the issue of a safe work space, and were in agreement that her request for transfer was legitimate and recommended it. The IIM Bangalore and the Ministry too agreed to her legitimate request hat and she finally received her transfer orders for Udaipur.
It is interesting to see how even 2 decades since the millennium, highly educated women are forced into marriages. However, democratic Institutions whether the Delhi High Court or the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, GOI, the IIM Bangalore or the District Collector of Dholpur and the Rajasthan Skill and Livelihood Development Corporation all worked in tandem in the interest of Sheena a working woman, protecting her autonomy and providing her a safe work environment by giving her a new workplace. Without this kind of support women may never find it easy to challenge feudal attitudes.
The opening up of the home spaces by members of Anhad and the PUCL, so that Sheena could stay peacefully and be safe, strengthened her resolve to preserve her autonomy and freedom.
We wish to thank all those who supported us throughout this period. We celebrate Sheena Choudhary’s courage. We sincerely hope that Home department, Rajasthan will pursue the enquiry as directed by Delhi High Court so no girl/ women is treated in this fashion ever again.
Shabnam Hashmi
Kavita Srivastava
Dec 19, 2020
New Delhi, Jaipur
