Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has recently issued a new circular in Uttar Pradesh to ensure the safety of women in the workplace. According to the circular, no company can force a woman to work after 6 pm and before 8 am.
A social media user posted claiming “New rule of Yogi! No girl will go out for any work from 7 pm to 6 am. Awesome rules!” amid the new rules brought by the Uttar Pradesh government.
Debunked Source
https://www.facebook.com/VihaanMalik.FB/posts/1273958569797934
Fact Check
In order to investigate the claim, we searched for keywords “Women workers in Uttar Pradesh won’t work after 7 pm” and found a notification from Uttar Pradesh Government. According to the notification issued by Uttar Pradesh’s government, all the factories that have women employees are ordered to provide them free food by the employer between 7 pm to 6 am, it also asks employers to not terminate the women employees if they deny working from 7 pm to 6 am, if the women want to work during these hours the company/ factory shall be bound to have their written consent as a proof.
Indian mainstream media also reported the orders by UP Government specifying that no organization can force a woman to work after 6 pm and before 8 am. If a female employee wishes to volunteer, she must give her written consent and in that case the company will have to take responsibility for the travel, food and security of the female employee.
Source
https://theprint.in/india/women-workers-in-up-wont-work-after-7-pm-govt/975174/
Rating
Partially False/ Misinformation
Conclusion
Our research confirmed that the new law did not ban women for working after 7 pm, instead the new law secures women rights against forced labor without consent and to provide additional benefits mentioned in the notification. The notification released by Uttar Pradesh government clarifies that no female worker shall be bound to work without her written consent before 6 am and after 7 pm. The authorities will also have to provide free transportation, food, and sufficient supervision in case of working during the aforementioned hours.
ABCDE Framework-Based Analysis
| Actor | Independent accounts on social media are involved in spreading misinformation. |
| Behavior | Posts are circulated claiming that women are banned from working after 7 pm in Uttar Pradesh. |
| Content | Social Media posts. |
| Degree | The content is being spread to create distress among working women. Targeted audience of the post is working class of women. A point from the official notification is twisted and shared with baseless claims. |
| Effect | Fake post regrading restricting working hours for women employees has created distress among working women. It made them feel insecure about their safety and incite fear by restraining their freedom of mobility and choosing work hours. |