Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) has strongly condemned a shocking incident at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) in Rohtak, Haryana, where women sanitation workers were allegedly forced by their supervisors to provide “photographs of their private parts and sanitary pads” as proof that they were menstruating.
The workers, most of whom belong to Dalit communities, said they were threatened with dismissal when they refused, and two women, under extreme pressure, were compelled to comply with the degrading demand.
In a press release issued on Monday, DASAM described the act as a “dehumanising and grotesque violation” of women’s dignity, bodily autonomy, and privacy.
The incident reportedly occurred on 26 October 2025, when the sanitation workers were cleaning the university’s sports complex ahead of Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh’s scheduled visit.
The two male supervisors, Vitender and Vinod Hooda, along with Assistant Registrar Shyam Sunder, allegedly coerced the women to work despite them saying they were in pain due to menstruation.
DASAM said the act amounted to both sexual harassment and caste-based humiliation, calling it a “gross abuse of authority and obscene intrusion into the most intimate aspects of women’s lives.”
The organisation said it exposed “the deeply entrenched casteist and patriarchal control” that governs India’s informal and contractual labour systems.
The group welcomed the registration of an FIR against the two supervisors and the assistant registrar under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for sexual harassment, intimidation, and outraging the modesty of women. However, it asserted that mere suspension of the accused was not sufficient, stressing that justice required a transparent, independent, and time-bound investigation.
DASAM’s statement said the MDU case revealed not only individual misconduct but institutional complicity, reflecting how caste and gender hierarchies collude to dehumanise Dalit women workers.
It pointed out that thousands of Dalit women employed as sanitation workers in universities and public institutions face daily indignities, wage theft, and harassment without job security or grievance mechanisms.
The organisation noted that the accused had violated several constitutional rights, including Articles 14, 15, 17, 19(1)(g), and 21, and committed criminal offences under Sections 73, 77, and 124 of the BNS (corresponding to Sections 354A, 354, and 506 of the IPC), as well as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the POSH Act, 2013, and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.
DASAM called upon the Haryana government, the National Commission for Women, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and the University Grants Commission (UGC) to intervene decisively.
It demanded the immediate dismissal and prosecution of all officials involved and sought a court-monitored, independent investigation to prevent institutional cover-up or retaliation.
The organisation urged that the affected women be provided job security, protection from intimidation, trauma counselling, psychological support, and fair monetary compensation.
It also demanded the establishment of a fully functional Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at MDU with representation from women sanitation workers and Dalit rights advocates, as well as the introduction of humane menstrual leave policies that respect privacy and prohibit any form of intrusive verification.
DASAM said the incident underscored the urgent need for systemic reform to end the exploitative contractual labour system that perpetuates vulnerability and caste-based discrimination.
It called for the regularisation of sanitation workers with permanent status, fair wages, insurance, provident fund, and safe working conditions, along with a statewide audit of workplace environments and an independent oversight mechanism to monitor caste- and gender-based harassment cases.
“The women of MDU have shown extraordinary courage in asserting their rights and humanity,” DASAM said. “It is now the moral and constitutional duty of the State, judiciary, and society to ensure that their suffering leads to transformative change, not silence or token reform.”
Courtesy : Maktoob Media
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