Legally Yours: Every Woman’s Guide to her Legal Rights
By Manasi Chaudhari
HarperCollins

What would you do if someone threatened to leak your private photos? Or harassed you at work? Is your live-in relationship legally valid? What are your inheritance rights as a woman? Should you sign a prenuptial agreement? Do you know how to protect yourself when your rights are violated?

Indian laws can seem confusing and intimidating. ‘Legally Yours’ makes them simple and accessible.

Written by Manasi Chaudhari, an award-winning lawyer and the founder of Pink Legal, a UN Women-recognized platform for women’s rights, this book is the ultimate guide for women of any age to understand, own and assert their rights.

Packed with real-life examples and practical advice, Legally Yours explains complicated laws in straightforward language and provides actionable legal remedies. From reproductive rights, domestic abuse, workplace harassment, and marriage and divorce to cyber safety and property disputes, this book equips you with the knowledge to take control of your life and stand up for yourself with confidence! Because knowing your rights isn’t just empowering—it’s transformative.

Chaudhari says, “In my career as a lawyer I've come across several cases where women in distress were not even aware of their rights or the fact that they could take legal action against their abuser. Hence, they continued suffering in silence. I want every woman in India to know her legal rights, because only when she is aware of her rights can she stand up for them. Knowledge is the first step towards empowerment.  Don't wait until it is too late to take action. If you are going through something, nip it in the bud by standing up for your rights and taking action. When it comes to justice, prevention is better than cure.”

Here is an excerpt from the book:

Law against Sexual Harassment at the Workplace

The good news is that India has a law dedicated to prevent and address sexual harassment of women at the workplace. It is called the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, popularly known as the POSH Act.

You must spend some time and effort familiarizing yourself with the Act, to ensure you know your rights. Let us now delve into it.

[...]

As discussed earlier, sexual harassment need not always happen in an obvious ‘violent physical assault’ way. It can be the smallest things, which we as women are often taught to brush off as casual.

Here are a few everyday examples of what can count as harassment at the workplace:

1. Any non-consensual touching, such as inappropriate hugs, unwelcome touching of the body or brushing against someone in a sexual manner.

2. Making sexually explicit remarks.

3. Sharing adult/sexual jokes.

4. Engaging in explicit conversations about someone’s personal life, body or appearance.

5. Repeatedly asking a colleague out on dates, despite their refusal or discomfort.

6. Persistently flirting with a co-worker, sending unsolicited romantic or explicit messages or gifts, or creating an uncomfortable and intrusive atmosphere.

7. Sharing sexually explicit images, videos or written content through electronic means, or displaying them within the workplace.

8. Sending unwanted sexual messages or explicit content through emails, chat platforms, or social media channels related to work.

[…]

Sexual Harassment in the Remote Working Model

In the times of work from home, the POSH Act must go beyond the office. Now, your desk at home, sometimes even your bed, becomes the place from where you work, right?

Does that mean your bed is your workplace? No. But the POSH Act will extend to all interactions done for the purpose of work, such as emails, WhatsApp, phone calls and Zoom calls.

Here are a few everyday examples:
1. Sending inappropriate messages (with sexual innuendos) late at night or beyond working hours.

2. Forcing female employees to be on video calls, in one-on-one settings, when they are not comfortable.

3. Asking female employees to adjust the camera to reveal more than their faces.

4. Sending sexual images, links, jokes or messages via any communication medium (WhatsApp, email, SMS, etc.). This applies to forwarded messages and those sent on a group chat.

Again, context and comfort are the key elements. Two colleagues who are friends and share a sexual joke or picture with no objection from either, is different from a male boss sending a sexually suggestive joke to female colleagues.

[…]

How Can You Make a Difference?

While you cannot change the attitude of the lakhs of organizations in the country, here’s what you can do on a personal level:

1. Ask questions: When joining a company, always ask about POSH compliance and what steps they take to ensure a harassment-free environment.

2. Build your bargaining power: Make yourself so skilled and irreplaceable that you hold strong bargaining power vis-à-vis your employer. This will give you the leverage to ask for, or initiate, positive changes in the workplace, like efforts for gender equality. It is a proven fact that when empathetic women rise to the top, they take other women with them by introducing welfare and equality initiatives.

3. Build collective bargaining power: Ten voices are always stronger than a single voice. Build a support system and community of women (and other allies) in your organization. If you can’t do it within your company, look beyond. There are several women’s networking platforms emerging today. Take advantage of this and find your voice!

4. Support other women in your organization: It can be difficult for a woman to speak up against sexual harassment at work, for fear of losing her job or having her colleagues blame her. Your support can make all the difference between the victim choosing to suffer in silence and filing a complaint.

Remember, small steps have a big impact. Similarly, each time a woman asks her interviewer about POSH implementation, she sends out the message that this is important for her to join the organization. The more we start asking these questions, the louder and clearer our message becomes!

#WomenEmpoweringWomen

Also, it is important that we, as women, stand together and help each other. Silence is also a conscious choice; it means you stand with the perpetrator by choosing not to stand up for the victim. And we cannot expect others to take a stand for us if we don’t do the same.

Finally, just like before taking an insurance policy you ask the agent about the cover, how to claim, who all does it cover, etc., when you join an organization, do your research and find out what the organization’s policies are like.

Checklist for When You Join an Organization

* Do they have an anti-sexual harassment policy? If yes, what all does it cover?

* Have they constituted an ICC as required by the POSH Act?

* How do you access the HR? Are they friendly and approachable?

* What is the gender ratio? How many female employees work in the organization?

* How many women do you see in leadership positions?

* Finally, and this is something you cannot explain but only feel, do a vibe check!

POINTS TO REMEMBER
1. Any place that you go to for work will be considered your workplace. This can be your office desk, canteen, office transport and video conference calls.

2. Every organization with more than ten employees (irrespective of gender) needs to have a POSH committee.

3. What matters is what the victim felt, not what the harasser meant. For example, if the harasser cracks an adult joke that makes you uncomfortable, what matters is that you felt uneasy, not whether he meant to harass you or was trying to be funny.

4. All POSH proceedings must be kept completely confidential.

5. A POSH complaint can be initiated parallel to a police complaint. You should file a police complaint if it is a serious case of sexual harassment.

[The excerpt reproduced here with the permission of the publishers.]