A political controversy broke out in Kerala after multiple allegations of sexual harassment emerged against Youth Congress leader and Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil. Though more women are speaking out, some with proof of what transpired, and some without it, the entire row once again puts focus on the lack of adequate mechanisms to address complaints of sexual harassment within political parties.
Being a male-dominated workforce, women in politics are often at the receiving end of the skewed gender power dynamics in parties. Yet, many of India’s major political parties remain outside the ambit of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, known as the POSH Act, 12 years after the law came into force.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the All India Professional Congress (AIPC), a wing of the Indian National Congress (INC), are the only exceptions.
According to the CPI(M)’s website, an Internal Committee (IC) was constituted shortly after the gazette notification of the POSH Act in 2013, and the party reconstitutes it every three years. The current IC chairperson is CPI(M) Central Committee member K Hemalata, while Advocate Kriti Singh serves as the external member.
AIPC chairperson Praveen Chakravarthy said that they have a detailed POSH process and an IC. He added that the IC has processed complaints when they surfaced. Though the AIPC has an efficient IC, its parent organisation, the INC, like many of the other leading political parties, has shied away from ensuring a safe working space for women members.
Multiple litigations have come up before courts with regard to the implementation of the POSH Act in political parties. In 2022, the Kerala High Court ruled that political parties are not under any compulsion to implement POSH, citing the absence of an employer-employee relationship between members.
In a latest development, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court presided over by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, on August 1, refused to entertain a writ petition requesting the judiciary's intervention to implement the POSH Act in political parties. The court said that it is the domain of the Parliament and policymakers. “There must be not less than 25-30 MPs who are women. Ask them to present a private bill,” the CJI commented.
In the background of the surfacing allegations against Rahul Mamkootathil, TNM spoke to a few women leaders to understand their perspectives on bringing political parties under the purview of the POSH Act.
‘ICs are welcome’
Sneha RV, Youth Congress Kerala State General Secretary, is of the view that there are enough avenues within the Congress to address complaints.
“We have mechanisms to address complaints at various levels, including mandalam, block, district, and state. Complaints will be mailed to the Youth Congress president, who will then direct to constitute an inquiry committee. This time, the allegations were against the president himself [Rahul] and the complaint was sent to the national committee,” said Sneha.
While she welcomed any move to set up ICs within political parties, she said that she has never felt women lack options to file complaints within the INC. Sneha also added that she has never had discussions with her colleagues about the implementation of the POSH Act in political parties.
Senior Congress leader and former MLA from Kerala, Shanimol Usman, cited Rahul Mamkootathil’s resignation as Youth Congress President hours after the allegation surfaced, as proof of an active remedial mechanism within the Congress party.
She said that the party leadership took action against Rahul within 24 hours. "I don't want to politicise the issue. However, parties like the CPI(M) tend to protect those accused of sexual harassment. We don't justify such acts," she added.
She, however, did not elaborate on her opinion on setting up ICs, due to time constraints.
Speaking to TNM, CPI(M) leader CS Sujatha, said that political parties must have ICs, which is why the CPI(M) has one. “If we receive any harassment complaint, we conduct a proper investigation against the accused and take appropriate action. We have a formal system,” she added.
PK Sreemathi, former Kerala Minister for Health and Family Welfare, and senior CPI(M) leader, said that the party has had an IC in the past three years. “The IC came after many women politicians demanded it. Now, any CPI(M) member can file a complaint with the IC, and they will conduct a proper inquiry and take suitable action,” she said.
She further said that although politics is not a profession and political parties are not employers, politics gives a platform for both women and men to work together, and that circumstances may lead to exploitation.
“We know that almost all of the organisations are either led by men or have men in prominent positions. So, women may face difficulties to lodge a complaint. Therefore, an IC gives a space for women. So, in my view, all parties where men and women work together should consider forming an IC,” she added.
Employer-employee relationship
Most political parties hang on to the justification of a lack of 'employer-employee' relationship in parties as a reason not to comply with the POSH Act.
A similar confusion arose in the Malayalam film industry when the Women in Cinema Collective, an organisation of women actors and technicians, moved court for the constitution of ICs.
Various film bodies argued that there was no employer-employee relationship on a film set and thus, POSH was not applicable. However, the Kerala High Court on March 17, 2022, observed that an employer-employee relationship existed between the actors and their respective production units, forcing film sets to implement the POSH Act.
Women in politics undergo multiple battles to survive in the male-dominated sector. Though 50% seats are reserved for women in local bodies, they still struggle to get tickets in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
As of now, all of Kerala’s incumbent MPs are men, and only 11 of the 140 MLAs in the Assembly are women. In such a landscape, where climbing the political ladder is already a daunting challenge, speaking out against sexual crimes can often jeopardise women’s careers. This highlights the urgent need for independent ICs within political parties and for transparency in how they function.