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I am on a blog holiday, not voluntary rather an enforced one, as I don’t have net connection as yet. I was jolted out of this enforced hibernation when I came across a startling bit of news, a revelation of sorts. There I was ensconced in my favorite chair newspaper in hand and my morning cuppa beside me. The usual stuff, strikes, bombings, terrorist activities, killings and such cheerful news greeted me as my eyes scanned the day’s paper. All pretty normal. What a wonderful world we live in, I mused as I went from page to page little realizing what awaited me on page eleven. My jaw dropped in amazement. Disbelieving my eyes, I shook my head to clear it of whatever might inadvertently have been added to my morning cuppa though I must admit I made it myself. I read the bit of news a second time and then a third. It remained the same even after the third read. Hmm….
”Sexual harassment okay as it ensures humans breed, Russian judge rules” it said.
Now I bet you didn’t know that!! Frankly neither did I. What stupid idiots we are, the majority of us I mean. It takes someone special and gifted to come along and open our eyes. Makes me wonder what the heck those people all over the world think they are doing fighting sexual harassment??!! Endangering the human species is what they are doing, the ignoramuses!! Do they want humans to follow the dodo into extinction?? Foolish people!! Oh Lord forgive them their ignorance, they know not what they are doing. Just reading what the newspaper said next chilled me to the marrow.
“If we had no sexual harassment we would have no children,” the Judge ruled
Omigosh!! Imagine what catastrophe would have resulted from our collective ignorance if not for a learned and eminent Judge like him daring to point out facts of life to the lot of us!! Humans as a race would have disappeared off the face of the Earth. Phew what a scary prospect!
Hmmm…. On second thoughts, I wonder…. is it such a scary one??
When a young girl of 22 is locked out of her office for refusing to have intimate relations with her 47 year old boss and files a case against him, the Judge feels it is alright to throw the case out not due to lack of evidence but because he says, the employer had acted gallantly not criminally. Hmmm… It is not only time for you and me to redefine the word ‘gallant’ but also to understand and accept what a gracious act sexual harassment is. Employers are obliged says the learned Judge, to make passes at female staff, to ensure the survival of the human race. Can it get any nobler than that??
To read the whole news click here
Reposted from shail-mohan blogs @ sulekha.com
Shail's Nest 
:O :O :O
I am shocked!!!!!!!
It isn’t April 1st…why else?!!!
Vinita, well you might be shocked. I am as well.
Ganga, don’t you wish it were?? I guess that’s pretty ‘high’ hoping!!
You know what, Shail? Just like Ganga, I counted the months to see if it wasn’t April! and I still am rubbing my eyes, in spite of reading the news in full and double-checking the fact that the site is telegraph.co.uk.
Hmmm…we might have to redefine a lot of words – nobility, decency, chivalry, decorum…to state a few
Roopa, a sad state of affairs, isn’t it?! I caught the news in our edition of the Indian Express yesterday and then surfed the net to find more about it. Found quite a few forums discussing the news and some blogs on it as well apart from the news sites displaying it. This is absolutely crazy!!
Wow… We live in a funny little world… don’t we?? Tomorrow there might arise something like this ‘Killing/murdering is not a crime as it is helping the world reduce its population!!!’ DUH!!! No wonder these days I come across more crazy people around. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry reading this stuff… Well… I guess this world has already made me half crazy 😦
Bubbly, exactly!! One doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It would have been simply funny if not for the fact that it is true and is actually happening. So terribly sad!!
Good God!!!!
Good! God!!!!
Good God!
when i was in engg college ragging and sexual harassment almost crossed lines with each other…
if this rule were applicable then….
God! thanks a million for not being born in Russia!!!!
I forwarded that news to 10 of my irish/scottish female colleagues here….
there are some Russians too here… couldnt find their names anyway…
lemme wait how they are gonna react!!!!
ok…came back again… now my colleagues are thinking about one of our boss here who is famous for ‘this’ kind of behavior…
Swathi, I can understand you ‘Good God’ing. The news is indeed such as to have Us all go “GOOD GOD!!!!!!!” in one collective exclamation of utter shock!
I suppose every office has its candidate for ‘this’ sort of behavior. But justifying it legally is what is unbelievable! :O
OH MY GOD!!! was my first and utmost reaction to the Judge’s justification of the issue at hand. What kind of philosophy is that?! It is very biased. Why would anyone in his intelligent mind could give such statements??? Only the word “harassment” itself gives already a negative impact. Then why it would be given “honor” so to speak??? I just can’t put down my raised eyebrows! This is UNBELIEVABLE!
Richette, precisely how most of us reacted to the news of the ruling by the Judge!! Indeed, it is totally UNBELIEVABLE!!
I dont know what to say…though sexual harassment is everywhere, it is unbelievable to realise there is a society which approves it…
Last week when i was at dubai, i saw a women on the road shouting at a person driving a four wheel drive..my friend who was accompanying said this is a common problem here…if any woman is alone, they openly ask to join them…
i am thinking about the Judge’s wife…(if he has one STILL…)
what will be(would have been) she enduring…
Sunder, yeah what is unbelievable is sexual harassment being given legal endorsement! Thanks for stopping by.
Swathi, I wonder if he has one!! 😛 She is sure to have run away long back!!
Yesterday i happenned to see an article in RD august issue about sexual harassment in India…most of them are from law enforcing department….We are no better than russians…Men ( we ) are Men only be it russians or Indians…
Sunder, I expect no better from Indian men. After all I am a woman and I should know it better. Sexual harassment is all pervading. But giving legal sanction to it is the issue at hand. Men will be men, no doubt about it. Thats the way it should be and women will be women too. But I don’t think ‘sexual harassment’ of this sort is part of being a man, perhaps only part of some men who are under the mistaken impression that this is what being a man is all about.
I worked in Central Asia for two years, alongside some Russians. Rape jokes are very common in Russian folklore and most of them seem to be about how women complain about rape but actually like being raped/molested. Apart from that, Russians are sneaky, cunning and live in a dog-eat-dog world (not unlike North Indians), so unless we have a neutral translation of the judge’s remarks and the details of this case, it is hard to judge really. It might turn out to be yet another case of ‘he says, she says’ bunkum.
Welcome to Shail’s Nest, Atheist Indian. Oh believe me, the translation (of the exact words) is definitely not mine. My post is only about what was all over the news. Well, still I fail to see where the ‘bunkum’ comes in when it is clearly stated that a woman was locked out of her office for refusing sexual favors to the boss. That fact surely does not get lost in translation? Or the fact that someone (a judge) thinks it is not a big deal?
I am not implying that you mistranslated. I am saying that it is possible the Anglo news agencies who reported this case were not being completely honest about the translation since it is not beyond media agencies to mistranslate issues or twist facts out of context to demonise an individual, group or nation.
I googled the news and from what I read, it does seem ultra far-fetched that a judge in a civilised country like Russia would pass such a judgement if the claims were true. The ‘locked out of the office’ part is an allegation that is made into a case, not a fact. It may be true or it may just be an attempt to get back at the boss for something.
If I turned up drunk for work in the morning and got suspended as a result, would my allegation that I am being racially/ethnically discriminated become a ‘fact’ if the news reports it so?
I don’t think your example stands. If you turned up drunk, got suspended and alleged that your dismissal was racially motivated, either the judge says your assumption is wrong or he says you are right depending on how the facts turn out in the case. But he would never be expected to say, “racial discrimination is part and parcel of society, so grin and bear it”.
But of course we come back to how the Russian language got translated. Back to square one. 🙂
Just to clarify: It IS possible that the judge based his judgement on personal grounds, he might have been on good terms with the accused or have a personal vendetta against women in general. However, it is unlikely, because a judgement like that is a VERY bad move for his career and personal reputation.
I thought such things happened only in India and it’s neighbours. 😦
I thought such things happened only in India and its neighbours. 😦