A young IAS officer in Madhya Pradesh has taken to Facebook to express her anguish on the problems she faced while combating sexual harassment.
"I can only pray that no woman is born in this country... Idiots are lined up at every step," said trainee bureaucrat Riju Bafna, in a Facebook post on Saturday that went viral. She later toned it down.
Bafna's troubles began last week when she filed a sexual harassment case against a member of the state's human rights commission for sending her obscene messages.
The harasser was removed from his position after she complained, but then the IAS officer posted in Seoni district encountered other hassles.
On Saturday when she went to the court of the first class judicial magistrate to get her statement recorded, a lawyer was standing next to her.
When she requested that the lawyer and others present leave the courtroom, he allegedly began shouting at her.
"How dare you suggest me to leave, I am an advocate here. You might be an officer in your office but not in the court," he allegedly said before leaving.
Bafna said that when she tried to explain this to the magistrate he told her: " You are young, which is why you have such expectations. You would get to know the system and courts with time and get done away with such demands.”
{{/usCountry}}Bafna said that when she tried to explain this to the magistrate he told her: " You are young, which is why you have such expectations. You would get to know the system and courts with time and get done away with such demands.”
{{/usCountry}}Bafna then filed a representation seeking action against the magistrate and the lawyer, and posted it on her FB account.
On Monday, she edited her comment saying, "I wrote that line in the spur of moment and I regret blaming the country for the fault of individuals."
Bafna did not mention whom her representation was addressed to. When HT contacted her, she refused to comment.