Women & Workplace harrasment

Workplace harassment isn’t just a tale of the corporate world or the bustling streets of metro cities—it’s happening in places most people wouldn’t expect. In today’s story, I am talking about an incident from the quiet, slow-paced town of Bilaspur, in the Chemistry Department of a government college. A story of emotional damage and harassment is playing out, unseen and unaddressed.

My mother is a highly respected senior faculty member at Science College. She has earned the love and admiration of her students and colleagues over the years—not by force or manipulation, but by simply being who she is: genuine, kind-hearted, and professional. She doesn’t need to shout to command respect, nor does she resort to bribing people with homemade food to gain likability. Her work speaks for itself. But to some, that very authenticity is a threat.

For years, a junior colleague has harboured insecurities that, instead of being confronted, were projected onto my mother. This junior, seeing the natural admiration my mother received, chose not to work on her own self-worth but instead launched a quiet campaign of jealousy and imitation. She copied everything—my mother’s clothes, her hairstyle—and still couldn’t grasp why students saw through the charade. They even joked about how 'junior madam' was trying so hard to be 'senior madam.'

But imitation soon gave way to something much darker. One day, out of nowhere, this junior screamed at my mother in front of colleagues and students alike—an unwarranted outburst towards someone who wasn’t even speaking to her. My mother, stunned and humiliated, was left shattered.

The most painful part? No one came to her defence. Not a single colleague spoke up against this blatant act of disrespect. Why? Because this junior colleague has mastered the art of manipulation—not through her work, but through her kitchen. Yes, the same people who ignored my mother’s humiliation were the ones eagerly accepting home-cooked meals from the junior, as though a plate of food was worth more than professional integrity.

This is what we’re dealing with even in small-town workplaces. No, it’s not the skyscrapers of Mumbai or the boardrooms of Delhi where these stories unfold. It’s here, in Bilaspur, where professional spaces become breeding grounds for jealousy, insecurity, and petty power plays. Where women, instead of lifting each other up, tear each other down.

My mother, who should be respected as a senior colleague, is being gaslit into silence. “Oh, that’s just how she talks,” they say, brushing off the junior’s shouting. “She doesn’t mean anything by it.” But there’s a vast difference between assertive communication and blatant disrespect. There’s a way to speak your thoughts, and there’s being uncivilized. There are boundaries in a professional setting that must be respected.

Yet, when my mother tries to speak about the emotional toll this has taken on her—when she talks about the depression she’s fallen into as a result—she’s met with dismissal. “Don’t make a fuss,” they say. “It’s just how things are.” But why should anyone have to accept this? Why should harassment, in any form, be tolerated—whether in big cities or small towns, whether in multinational companies or local government institutions?

This isn’t just a personal story. It’s a wake-up call. Workplace harassment can happen anywhere, and it can leave deep scars—emotional and psychological. We talk about women’s empowerment in India, but where is that empowerment when one woman is allowed to degrade another without consequence?

Justice isn’t about ignoring someone’s bad behavior because they feed you. It’s about standing up for what’s right, regardless of the favors being exchanged. And it’s about creating workplaces where every woman—whether she’s young and insecure, or senior and seasoned—feels safe, valued, and respected.

This is my plea for justice for my mother, and it’s a plea for every woman who has been forced to suffer in silence because others found it more convenient to turn a blind eye.

We need to start talking about these stories. We need to start holding people accountable. And we need to remember that empowerment isn’t just a word we throw around—it’s a responsibility to stand up for what’s right, no matter how small or big the town.