The National Commission for Women (NCW) has issued a show-cause notice to a Guwahati-based satellite news channel for allegedly forcing a journalist to resign because she was pregnant.
The NCW on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the “insensitive attitude” of Prag News for sacking Ranjita Rabha, who had put in 14 years with the news channel.
“Of all the rights of women, one is of motherhood. However, a recent incident from Assam exposes the double-standards of organisations towards its pregnant employees,” the NCW statement said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Reports said Ms. Rabha was told to quit in mid-May as her pregnancy “restricted her agility” that the channel required of its journalists.
The NCW said it was “deeply perturbed” by the violation of provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and asked the news channel to send feedback on the incident at the earliest.
The Indian Journalists Union and the Network of Women in Media-India had earlier criticised the sacking of Ms. Rabha as “inhuman and gender-biased” when journalists like her have been covering the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
ADVERTISEMENT