On 22nd April, Supreme Court said that participation of women in the workforce is constitutional entitlement. The above declaration came after a case of Himachal Pradesh, where a woman who is an assistant professor and her child is suffering from a genetic disease, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, and had undergone several surgeries. She asked Child Care Leave as her sanctioned leaves were already exhausted, but she denied because of non-adoption of the provision of child care leave — as provided under Rule 43-C of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 — by the state government.
After she approached the High Court but the State HC also said that the rule is not applicable in the state, later she moved to Supreme Court where the apex court had said
“Participation of women in the workforce is a matter not just of privilege but a constitutional entitlement protected by Article 15 of the Constitution. The state as a model employer cannot be oblivious to the special concerns which arise in the case of women who are part of the workforce,”
“The provision of child care leave to women sub-serves an important constitutional objective of ensuring that women are not deprived of their due participation as members of the workforce. Otherwise, in the absence of provision for child care leave, a mother may be constrained to leave the workforce,”
Currently, a commission has been formulated to look into the matter and woman had been given special leave.
