Books and Beyond with Bound
Welcome to India’s No. 1 book podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover the stories behind some of the best-written books of our time. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, and insecurities to publishing journeys. And how these books shape our lives and worldview today.
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Books and Beyond with Bound
8.11 Manasi Chaudhari: Are You Legally Protected, Or Just Hoping for the Best?
A pepper spray in your bag is smart, but knowing your legal rights as a female citizen of India might be what truly saves your case.
In this episode of Books & Beyond, lawyer and Pink Legal founder Manasi Chaudhari unpacks her debut book Legally Yours, a witty, no-nonsense guide that explains women’s legal rights in India through pop culture, quizzes, and relatable scenarios. From decoding consent in Kabir Singh to tips for protecting yourself in a live-in relationship, Manasi shares the why and how behind creating a book that feels like your friend with a law degree. They also get into the realities of the justice system, how knowledge can be your most powerful defence, and what makes laws work—or fail—in real life.
If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a stalking-turned-love-story in a Bollywood film, felt confused about filing an FIR, or just want to know what your rights really are (without Googling legalese), this episode will leave you feeling more informed, more aware, and way more equipped to speak up.
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‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.
Foreign Welcome to Books and Beyond. With bound I'm Tara Khandelwal and I'm Michelle d'cota, in this podcast, we talk to India's finest
Michelle D'costa:authors and uncover the stories behind the best written book
Tara Khandelwal:and dissect how these books shape our lives and worldviews today. So let's dive in. What do you do when you are in a public place and someone cat calls you? Or what do you do when your office is planning to fire someone who just had a baby I have with me here today. Mansi Chaudhary. She's the author of legally yours, a woman's guide to her legal rights, and the title says it all. She's transforming how women in India access and understand their legal rights. And I picked up this book because I wanted to discuss some of these topics and use this podcast also as an in into understanding how to deal with these very unfortunate everyday realities ranging all the way from harassment to domestic violence, cyber bullying, workplace laws, marriage and also, I didn't know India has 900 laws. But not to worry, because it's a very easy book to flip through. And honestly, when reading this book, it just brought so much more to light. How many things women have to keep in mind in India, and how much we go through. And I have with me, the author today. So let's get into it. Welcome. Mansi,
Manasi Chaudhari:Hi Tara, thank you so much. Excited to have this conversation with you, and thanks for the wonderful introduction.
Tara Khandelwal:So it was very interesting, because in the intro of the book, you said that you'd want to be writing this book for a while, but you had a catalyst, like we all have catalysts to get us to do the things we want to for a while, which was a car accident that actually had resulted in a very terrifying encounter with two men. So can you give our listeners a little more context into what happened about that with the complaint you file, and why was that the catalyst that made you want to write this book?
Manasi Chaudhari:So what happened is, I mean, I always had an idea, since I was in law school, that I want to do something for women where they understand their rights. And basically, I was driving home from work one day in my city, Hyderabad, and it was late at night, around 10pm and my car bumped into another car right in front, and it was the, you know, it was the tiniest bump ever. But immediately these two men, who are driving extremely rash, I mean, they would have almost, you know, hit me off the road if I hadn't swerved at the right time. So they got off the car, and then they started banging on my doors. They were in extreme rage. They started trying to open my door, and unluckily, it was locked. They broke my side view mirrors. They were showing me the middle finger, and, you know, they just went ballistic. I was very scared and shocked. I tried to reason with them. We got a traffic signal, so I tried to tell them that, let's go to the side, let's park to the side, and we can talk. But they were not ready to listen to anything. I quickly took out my phone and took a Num, a picture of the car's number plate. Now this picture helped me take all the next steps that I could and I could remember to take this picture, because, as a lawyer, your mind automatically starts thinking about, how do you gather proof and evidence? And that is why, even in this moment of crisis, I could, you know, take that action. Now, after this, I was very scared of my for my safety. I somehow managed to get home safe, and everything was fine, but I was furious because, you know, I couldn't believe that these men thought that they could just behave however they want and get away with it, right? Because that's not the way. And if I don't take any action against them, they're going to think that it's okay, they can do this again and they can get away with it. So even though my family was not very, you know, very comfortable with the idea of me filing a complaint, because obviously in Indian households, we do get scared, right, that what? What if there's a retaliation from the other side, and what if things get worse? But I thought that as a lawyer, if I don't do this, then I'm doing injustice to my profession as well, because, you know, that's the least I can do. So the next day, I wrote a police complaint. I went to the police station, and I was quite intimidated, because this was my first time walking into a police station, but because I knew my rights, and because I had studied about what the police should do, watch what are the next steps that they supposed to take? And I was aware about all these things. I was able to take that step of going to the police station, and I went from a very informed place. So they took my complaint quite seriously. And they immediately, you know, gave the gave a call to the the two people they found through the number plate, they found the license, they found the name, etc, and they call them to the police station on another day to, you know, talk and apologize. It's like, I mean, basically it was up to me, then what I would want to, whether I would want to pursue the complaint further or not, which I did not want to, because the point was to just make them realize that there are consequences. So this incident. Made me realize how scary it can be for any woman to walk into a police station, which is the first step to realizing your rights. And that is why I thought, you know, it's important to have this, you know, a resource which helps every woman to understand her rights, but from a very simplified point of
Tara Khandelwal:view, yeah, and this is already work that you're doing with your law firm at pink legal. But you know, this incident reminds me also of an incident that happened to me. So when I was first learning to drive, I there was a little bit of a bump or something with another car, which is again, full of these young boys, and they got really angry, and they said that we're coming to your house and we're going to meet your father and everything. So I said, Okay, come what is my father going to do? But I think these kind of incidents happen sort of to us all, and we just never end up doing anything about them like I think all of us have gone through so, you know, so many things. And I have to admit, I didn't, I didn't know some of the basics in your book. You know, even things like the sexual harassment laws are not gender neutral, they're after in a way that the victim is female, which I also found very interesting. And then you also said that a lot of these laws reek of colonial hangover. So can you give some examples of that?
Manasi Chaudhari:Sure. And first, I want to start off by saying that you know, don't feel bad that you did not know about these basic laws, because it's not your fault or anybody else's fault. It's the fault of the system, right? Because laws are so complicated that nobody can understand them unless you take a five year law degree. So don't worry about that at all. And about the colonial hangover CR Criminal Code, which was the Indian Penal Code, and, you know, lot of other laws. They were drafted by the British, which was meant for suiting them, as per, you know, what their idea of laws is. And today, if you see the BNS, which was just, you know, the IPC has now become the Bharatiya sanhita, and it's more or less the same IPC, but just the section numbers changed, and a few minor changes here and there, but we haven't majorly revolved the law. It's not kept up with the times, and the criminal law does not have enough provisions to, you know, keep up with new, new, emerging forms of crime, like cyber crime, cyber bullying, online threats, death and rape threats, because these are also very important forms of crime. It's as good as committing a crime because you're putting that person in the fear of real, you know, real threat to their safety and life, right? But there is no particular section dedicated to these because they are old laws. And similarly, we had section 377, which was, you know, which used to decrease, which was to criminalize homosexuality, which has now been read down by the Supreme Court. So until and unless there is either the Supreme Court intervenes and change the law, or there is a movement like Nirbhaya, you know, which really puts pressure on the government to the parliament to amend the laws. There has not been much change, and that is why most of the laws still reap of a colonial hangover.
Tara Khandelwal:And I can imagine that it's especially problematic in something like cyber bullying. And actually really like that section in your book, because it is a fairly new thing in India, and I was honestly very scared to read about the, you know, voyeurism that happens, or this concept of sextortion. So, you know, what are these numbers on cybercrime right now in India? And what can women do if they're in this
Manasi Chaudhari:situation? So honestly, I think we won't be having, I mean, even if you do go to any study or survey, it won't reflect the real numbers, right? Because those are only the reported numbers. But we all know that most of these, you know, cyber crimes, they go unreported. So you know, it is quite rampant. I'm sure, if you sit with a group of five girlfriends, at least two out of five would have experienced some form of cyber crime or cyber bullying. Would have been a victim to that. And in the book also have given easy, actionable steps in day to day life for different types of cyber crimes. So there isn't a one size fits all approach, I would say, but depends on the type of cyber crime, for example, if it's something like trolling or something like, you know, somebody sending you explicit content in your DMS. So there are ways that you can handle this, from your phone itself, right, whether you block them, whether you take screenshots of the evidence, whether you report them, and you also report them with the platform. But if it is something like sextortion or something like threatening to leak your private photos and videos, which you would have shared with somebody with privacy and confidentiality, but now things have gone bad, and they're trying to use this against you. This requires more serious immediate action, like filing a police complaint, because this would you will not be able to handle just by, you know, making some changing some settings on your phone, right? So there. Be different approaches that you take for different kinds of cyber crime, and depending on the intensity of the issue, you can decide your approach. And I'm sure if you you know,
Tara Khandelwal:how do you file a police complaint?
Manasi Chaudhari:Okay, very interesting and very easy. So filing a police complaint is just like if you remember, if you know when in school, if somebody did something to you, you would go up to the teacher and tell her, right, that teacher, this is what has happened to me. You would go narrate the facts to her. So police complaint is also just that. It is a narration of the facts or and of the incident that has happened to you. But if you are filing it in the police station, obviously you will write it down, and then you will give it to the police, and they will make a note of it. You can also file a complaint online, so several police stations, or several cities, metropolitan cities now have an online mechanism through which you can register some of the police. You know, jurisdictions have apps, so they have their own app through which you can register. You can also give a phone call to the police station and tell them, and then they will tell you that, okay, you come down, or we will come to you and take your police complaint. But I would suggest the best way to do it is still to go to the police station, because that's the way you get the fastest traction. And you know, because you are right there in front of them. So they have to take your complaint, and they have to take action upon it, rather than something filed online, which they may see today or tomorrow or day after, right? So always, if possible, file a police complaint in the police
Tara Khandelwal:station. That's quite helpful. So wanted to know a little bit also about you. You know your background, and you know, because I know that you know, you have a full you're a full time lawyer, you have a law firm, you have a un recognized portal called Pink legal which, through which you educate women about their legal rights, and then you got this book deal. So I want to know, you know, how did you manage your time between doing all of this and then writing the book and then finally getting it published. What was your journey?
Manasi Chaudhari:I don't know this is very strange, but off late, many people have been asking me about, how did you manage your time, a question that I was never asked before as much so I think, I mean, I don't know, there's no specific formula or method that I use to or hack, you know, to manage my time or do multiple things is just that I feel that these are things that are very close to my heart. I'm passionate about them, whether it's my corporate work with my law firm, Newman, or whether it is my, you know, Portal, my pink legal which is, you know, the first platform for educating women about their legal rights. So this is both of these I'm very passionate about, and that is why it never feels like work and I'm able to take time out outside of my normal work hours, whether it's weekends or late nights, especially when I was writing the book. I was writing it alongside my studies. So I got the book offer while I was at while I just moved to Oxford for my masters. So while I was pursuing my course, towards the end of it, is when I started writing the book. So I would always try to take out time in pockets. So say, for example, I've blocked this weekend that I'm going to write this particular chapter. So I would focus on that, rather than looking at the entire book as a whole and getting overwhelmed. What about the publishing part of it? So the publishing part of it was an interesting journey. I so Ridhima, my editor at Harper, I think she knew about pink legal, and she discovered it, and she found it helpful, and she felt that it's important for women in India to have a book which explains all their rights in a simple way. And there is no book like that. So she reached out one day, I think she slid into my DMs on Instagram, if I remember correctly, or whether it was an email, and she reached out, and, you know, just floated the idea, and then we got talking, and I loved the idea as well, so I jumped on it, and that's how, you know, the book was born.
Tara Khandelwal:That's really cool. I love it when editors also commission books. And you know, that's happening more and more. One thing I really liked in the book is how accessible you made it. So used a lot of pop culture examples. So you know, there are sections in the book called hashtag movie time and hashtag real to real where you use Bollywood movies to illustrate your point. So for example, in the first chapter, you use a very controversial movie, Kabir Singh as an example, and you ask whether Kabir kissing Preethi without her consent the very first time they meet is harassment or not. And then you also talk about the movie Ranjana, where they glorified stalking as romance. It's crazy how movies can also get it wrong. So what is your what was the idea behind including these sections, and what is your answer to these questions that you put out
Manasi Chaudhari:there? So the idea behind including these sections is because I personally, I draw. Lot of examples from movies, and I find them very interesting. They're a great reflection of society. And I think in India in general, we have a culture where we we really idolize what we see on screen, right? So that's why I thought it's important to bring in those examples, because people will be able to relate to that and then start thinking that whether this is actually a violation of legal rights. It also makes it interesting fun, because law is very heavy, and I wanted the book to be very easy to read, so it gives good breaks in the middle I feel my answer to this question. So for obviously, you know, technically, as a lawyer, if I have to speak, obviously it if you kiss somebody without their consent, it is sexual harassment right now that consent, and in the consent section, I've also spoken about how do you give consent or withdraw consent? It need not always be spoken as yes or no. It can also be expressed through body language, through gestures. It can be something that can be, you know, non verbal, right? Like you help the other person understand. So supposing, in the scene, pretty had given an indication that she was okay with it without expressly saying yes, then it would not be a violation. So these are, you know, situations that do happen in day to day life also, and it's something that we need to understand that it's not always yes or no. Sometimes it can be that you have to read between the lines and understand whether that person is actually okay with it or not. And yeah. And Ranjana, of course, not just Ranjana. Many movies we see, in fact, earlier, there was this trend right where they would show stalking as the ultimate way of professing your love, and then the hero, and by the end of the movie, she falls for you. And then that's how I think many stalkers were also born in India. I liked
Tara Khandelwal:how you were very comprehensive. You put sections that I would never even have thought of. So, for example, you have a whole section on live in relationships, which sort of something. You know, I have a lot of friends who are in them, but I didn't even know that there any laws around them. And you say the law is so vague, you say that you know the live in relationships are technically legal. So what does this mean? And you'd put some smart girls tips to protecting oneself when you're in a live in relationship. And I'll be honest with you, the way that things are structured in India, I've always been hesitant to get into this arrangement myself because of these reasons. So, yeah, can you tell our listeners a little bit more about this section?
Manasi Chaudhari:Yeah, I think live in relationships is very important today, because they are quite you know, it's a modern, contemporary way that people are exploring, right? If they choose not to get married or like a trial period to before you get married, and it's important for them, especially for women, to know their laws. Because I have seen many women of slightly older generations who have been in living relationships for many years, almost like a decade or two. I've also given this example in the book, and you know, they have been in living relationships. They've had children out of the living relationship, but because it was not made official, and because there were certain other factors, one day, the man just got up and left, and this woman was, you know, just suddenly, overnight, she was without an income, without a protected home, and with the, you know, mother of two children, with no understanding of how she is supposed to take care of herself and her children going forward this, apart from, of course, the emotional, you know, heartbreak and the, you know, the mental trauma that she would have faced, right? So, because the law, there is no specific law in India about living relationships. It comes from supreme court judgments, and the judgments are limited to declaring that okay, it is legal, it is valid if you qualify certain XYZ factors, which is that you have to be adults, consenting you not none of you should be already married, etc, right? But what about beyond that? Now, once you are in a living relationship, what are your rights as a woman or as a partner, you know, towards, say, property or towards security in the relationship, towards, if you have children, out of the living relationship. So it's important for women to know this and to get into a living relationship when they while they secure themselves. So if the law does not secure you, or if the law does not protect you, explicitly, if there are loopholes, be aware about those loopholes and understand, how can you work around them, and how can you secure yourself without needing the law to protect you when it doesn't exist. So that is why I put in the Smart Girls Guide, so that every woman can make that choice, she can understand, and then she can get into a relationship protecting herself. What are some of the tips? Some of the tips are obviously that you know number one is you have to know what you're getting into, right? And that there is no unlike marriage, where you have divorce, which you know for which you have to go to court, and therefore you have certain security in a marriage, in a living relationship today you are in a relationship tomorrow, either one of you can. Just decide to walk out, and there is no security, and there is no law that will come to stop that or protect you from that breakup. So, number one, know the kind of nature of living relationships. Number two, secure yourself financially, of course, because you know whether you are earning or whether you are dependent on your partner, you have to make sure that you have certain because unlike a divorce, where a marriage is over, the court will decide, based on the circumstances, which spouse will get alimony, which spouse will get maintenance, how will the assets and properties be divided in a living relationship? There is nothing. There is no court. It is based on whatever the understanding between the parties is. So because you don't have the security. Make sure that either, if you are earning, then you have your you know you are in control of your finances. You have enough set aside for your emergency fund and for anything else, right, for your investments, lifestyle, et cetera. And if you are financially dependent on your health, on your living partner, make sure that there is something in your name, whether it is, it can be in the form of a FD, or it can be in the form of, if you both are living in a house for a long time, then if you own the house, both of your names, or, you know, if it's a lease, then both of your names should be on the lease so that tomorrow, you know, one cannot just get up and throw you out. Um, so small things like this, which can help you feel more secure. Then number three is, obviously, this is a very long term thing, but you know, property and inheritance. So in marriage, once you are married, each spouse automatically becomes the heir to the other spouse, right? So in case something happens, one of the spouses passes away, the property goes to, I mean, the wife or the husband will be one of the heirs. But in a living relationship, there is no law like that, so it is a gray area. So to make sure that you know your living partner is, you know is an air, you can have simple things like a will or add them to your bank account or add them to your policies as a nominee or an air. And these small tips can help you to secure yourself in a living
Tara Khandelwal:relationship. That makes sense, because it doesn't afford all the legalities of marriage, basically, so you have to work around that. I also was very surprised by, you know, some, and I'm always surprised by some of the laws in India that still need to change, like, for example, the whole marital rape not being illegal in India. Find that so ridiculous. But one thing I love is that you don't need anyone except your doctor's permission to get an abortion, especially with the way that the things in the West are going. So what, according to you, are some laws in India that still
Manasi Chaudhari:need to change. I think obviously marital rape would be number one on the list, because that's, again, a colonial hangover. The British came, they enacted this law. They went to their country, and it doesn't exist anymore there, but we are still carrying forward that legacy of, you know, marital rape, not being raped, and it has been questioned in the courts, but they haven't taken action against it, and they haven't really taken any substantial point number two, I think where the laws really need to change or catch up with the times is when it comes to cyber bullying and harassment. So as I was mentioning earlier, you know, death and rape threats have become extremely commonplace, and it's almost like when you give, you know, regular galleys earlier, that would be a way of expressing your anger at somebody, and today's become death and rape threats, to the extent that even you know Virat Kohli is new, like small toddler girl was given rape threats when he lost a match. So it's gone to a new level of disgusting, and because there is no law about this, which specifically takes quick action against anybody who even says that, you know, dares to say that I will do so and so, or, you know, explicit people are just going around, giving, distributing these as if they're sweets, right? So this is something where the Lord really needs to step in and take stringent, immediate action, track the person's IP, block them immediately, because nowadays, you have to sign up on social media accounts through verification. You can't just make a random account, so it's easier to track them. And you know, so this is another law, which I think really needs to change. Yeah, these two would be the top on my list. Of course, there are many others, but I'll not go into all of them. Yeah,
Tara Khandelwal:one thing I liked also about the book, I found interesting is the food for thought sections, because you not only look at the laws very practically, but as I mentioned before, the book is written like a friend. So you have these food for thoughts, you have tips, you have quizzes, and the food for thought are some very thought provoking questions to readers, which kind of makes one think about the biases that already exist in India. So on the one hand, you know for women, we have all these laws that are in place to protect us, but these laws are not getting enacted because of the patriarchal norms that we are living under. So for example, you had given a situation where. One of your clients was being harassed by a 70 year old man, but her family did not want her to do anything about it. Because of this is that, though you know all of those things, and I was actually I found it very interesting some of the questions, because I think even I have sort of been privy to some of them. You know, you ask, Why are women the only ones who change their surnames after marriage. If it's actually about feeling more like a part of the family, then the husband should also take the wife's name. And I completely agree, because even when I got married and I was registering my certificate, the first question everybody asked me was, Oh, are you going to change your name? How come you're not changing your name, which I found really funny. And you know, there's also this part in the money matters chapter where you ask, isn't it highly patriarchal that once a girl gets married, she's considered belonging to another family and not her parents legal heir? I think these are such pertinent questions that you've included. I
Manasi Chaudhari:didn't want legally, yours to just be a book about understanding the laws like a textbook, but something that readers can actually engage with and see how laws are playing a role in our day to day lives, right, whether it is your surname or money illegal heirs or even something as simple as maternity break and, you know, workplace. So yeah, there are many aspects of life where laws have an interplay, and I wanted readers to really start thinking about
Tara Khandelwal:it. So how did the structure of the book come to you? Obviously, you know, you have these different sections where you cover different topics, like domestic violence, cyber bullying, but these kind of things that we just mentioned, the quizzes, you know, the tips, the food for thought sections, the Bollywood sections. How did all of that come together. How did you gamify the book? Almost feels like it's so accessible and it's gamified in a way to make us understand what our legal rights and how to enact
Manasi Chaudhari:them. I love that. I love the idea that it's gamified because, you know, yeah, it puts a different perspective to the book. So I went about initially identifying what are the broad areas, you know, in which women need to understand their rights. So whether it's at home, starts from domestic violence or family matters, you know, like marriage, divorce, alimony or money matters was another important thing, because I think it's very important for women to be financially independent and also understand what the inheritance rights are. Then there is the entire workplace section, where you know you have sexual harassment at workplace, or other related laws like maternity break and equal pay. Then there's reproductive rights, where you have abortion, adoption, surrogacy, you know, different areas so and of course, then you have your sexual harassment and then cyber bullying. So I went about first mapping what are the various buckets under which women need to understand their rights. And then within each bucket, what are the various topics, and how do I break it up to make it more easy and easily, easily readable. Then, of course, comes your legal remedies, because it's not important and enough to just understand what the law says, until and unless you know what action you can take, and how can you stand up for yourself? So there comes your, you know, police complaints and your information about courts. What can you expect? How much? How do you go to a lawyer? What piece can you expect? Because these are very practical questions that anyone would get right. Say you want to file a case, you would obviously want to know, where can I file where can I find a good lawyer? How much will it cost me? How much time will it take me? So I just tried to get into the mind and shoes of any regular, ordinary woman who would want to stand up for her rights, who has probably faced something in her life, or who just wants to understand what her rights are so that she can be aware and vigilant. You know, some of my female friends and family members have also been very helpful in helping me understand what are the pain points that women face, and how do I address those? And of course, the inputs of Ridhima, my editor, they were invaluable, because she also worked along with me to kind of, you know, build a structure to tell me where I can add more, explain more. Because she's also somebody who genuinely wanted to understand these rights. And she had her own journey along with the book, where she read many of these chapters, and for the first time, she was also exposed to that kind of in depth, you know, knowledge about rights in various areas, right? So she, herself, was a great candidate to tell me that. Okay, can you explain this more? Can you, you know, go more into details in this chapter, etc?
Tara Khandelwal:So I want to come back to, you know, this point about that we have a lot of laws in our favor, clearly for women, but that's just on paper and in real life. You know, they're barely ever executed or they can be manipulated. And you also give an example in the book where you talk about a case where a senior lawyer you were working with was arguing a case for a rape accused producer, and he was trying to get. This producer out on bail, and internally, you had a hunch of the producer was guilty, but the lawyer was so skilled that he managed to convince the court that he didn't do any that this producer hadn't done anything wrong. And when you asked this lawyer if he felt guilty defending this producer, he just smiled. So I want to know what you do in moments like these when you feel, you know, helpless, and how can you convince your readers to also keep faith in the system?
Manasi Chaudhari:So yeah, this was quite a quite early in my career. I was exposed to this, so it was quite an eye opener on how the legal system can be abused by skilled lawyers who are using their talent or to, you know, represent their client, which is their job, but it's just that the client may happen to be on the wrong side of the law, right? So I would advise listeners to number one see knowing your legal rights is like health insurance. So even in any kind of a medical issue, it's always best to take action as soon as it arises, you diagnose it, and then you start taking action and steps, rather than allowing it to grow bigger and bigger and bigger. When it becomes, you know, the remedy becomes even more challenging, right? So, in the same way, I would advise all readers to the minute there you know that there is some kind of a legal issue cropping up, take action as soon as possible and try to nip it in the bud, because the stitch in time saves nine, as they say, so it's faster to do that. Number one, so you know timely action, and action at the as soon as possible is important. Number two, while you have cases like this, you also have cases where, you know, women have been given justice, not just women, but the right person deserving has been given justice. So there are several examples of that as well. Even in our day to day lives, we've just seen that recently, the Supreme Court has declared maternity right as a constitutional right, which elevates it to a very high level, and not just a legal right. So that way, you know, we do have a lot of judgments in courts coming out in favor of women, which I've also given examples of in the book, to make sure that, you know, nobody feels kind of a disillusion, that what all cynical, that there is no point of even approaching the legal system because it's not going to help me. Okay, so don't lose heart because it happened this. See, abuse of system happens in every space of life, not just law. So don't take that example as a as an example of the entire legal system. And number three, always know what you are. Kind of just prepare yourself, you know, know what you are going in for. And I've given enough examples of this in the book as well that what kind of costs can you expect? What kind of timelines can you expect so that you are mentally prepared and you can you know it doesn't come as a shock to you, because you will already be dealing with the burden of whatever it is that happened, and you don't need this additional uncertainty in your life. So have that plan for you and always weigh the costs and you know the pros and cons of both sides of the table, and take that action which is best suited for your circumstances.
Tara Khandelwal:I definitely think the book provides so much knowledge, and knowledge is power. As a reader, I felt a lot more empowered going through your book and know that, you know, in all of these different situations, at least there's some sort of a guide book to which I can turn to because, you know, put things on the internet or even chat GPT, just so much jargon that it is so hard to wade through that. And I think the conversational and the accessible tone was really, really missing. So I think your book plugs that gap very well. I really like the workplace harassment section as well, because we've all seen the metoo movement happen, and some men were convicted, but so many others just got away. And then you talk about the Porsche act, and I like the way that you define what is your workplace, which is not just your desk, but also the recreation space and even the office transport, which I honestly did not know. This you've put also a table where you describe, you know, the difference between a friendly comment and an unfriendly comment, which, again, I found very, very helpful, because these are things you know one doesn't know. So for example, you said friendly is somebody saying you have a great smile, but unfriendly is someone saying, I love your lips. So can you tell our listeners what other examples like this? There are there?
Manasi Chaudhari:Yeah. So there's a fine line right between being friendly and between overstepping and coming off, as, you know, sexual harassment. So yeah, the example you gave, or somebody, you know, complimenting, say, somebody compliments you about your outfit, that, hey, I really love the outfit that you're wearing. Whereas, you know, someone saying that, Oh, you're looking very sexy in this. Or this is really body hugging. It's showing you. Or verbs or or someone asking you about your sex life or private life, which is absolutely a no go, and you will be shocked at how common these are in office settings where people are not aware or are not sensitized enough. There are even instances where you know you have zoom calls, right, and if it's a one on one call between a male superior a female subordinate, having her insisting that she switch on her camera, or, you know, insisting that she adjust the angle, or trying to, you know, call her late at night, or calling a, you know, female subordinate to your office in very, very suspicious kind of circumstances, right? When the rest of the office people have left, or it's kind of like late at night. So these are all things which they a male superior has called a female subordinate to their office at 2pm in the afternoon. It's fine, even if it's just a one on one, but the same thing, if it happens at 839, when everybody else has gone home kind of creates a suspicious setting if there is an intention of sexual harassment. So it can often be, you know, the same situation, but different circumstances can change it into sexual harassment if somebody has that intention. Okay,
Tara Khandelwal:that makes sense. I definitely do think that you know, the fact that sexual harassment laws are gendered is also a problem, even though, because they always assumed the female is a victim. But the numbers show you know that, especially for little boys and things like that, there's a lot of stuff that goes on, which I think even boys need protection on
Manasi Chaudhari:young boys are definitely protected against sexual harassment under the pop so which is, you know, protection of children against sexual offenses act. So I have referenced that in my book in a couple of places. So yeah, young boys are protected. Young girls and women are protected. The only category that's not protected is men, like grown up men, adult men, and even, yeah, I think that is the category that is missing. But yet, the laws are always that for poxo, it can be the perpetrator, can be anybody. It can be a man or a woman. And for sexual harassment, it is always a man to women. Okay,
Tara Khandelwal:now we come to the last section, which is a rapid fire round. So I'll be asking you a bunch of questions, and you can reply in one word or one sentence, the first step every woman should take in a crisis situation gather evidence, super important, one or two things about the justice system that everyone should absolutely know.
Manasi Chaudhari:It is slow, but it can work towards the end, so just hang in there and have patience. Difference between fir and police complaint. Police complaint is what you narrate. Fir is when the police does preliminary investigation based on your complaint and then registers a report so a police complaint can be taken back, and if I are Once registered, you have to go to court to get it canceled. The best legal case portrayal in a movie, according to you, this is a tough one. Actually, there was an excellent South Indian movie called port. It's a Telugu movie. I'm sure it will be remade in Bollywood soon, and it is an excellent portrayal of actually, over here, there is a young teenage couple who love each other, and then the girl's parents find out, and then they file a false rape case against the boy. So, you know, they have really portrayed how the dynamics work. And ultimately, of course, it's a movie, justice does prevail. So I would recommend everyone to watch this movie.
Tara Khandelwal:Actually, that's also another topic that's very interesting. You know, because these false cases that are being registered and some women also abusing that law. Obviously, that number is very, very tiny, but this movie sounds quite interesting. Books, apart from yours that you think listeners should read to know more about the legal system,
Manasi Chaudhari:about the legal system, this is very tricky. Honestly, I have not read any book about the they're all quite complex, or they are very, very academic. So I'm yet to come across a book like a fun, easy to read book about the legal system. That's why let me know. Yeah,
Tara Khandelwal:and your favorite books that you've read in the last year?
Manasi Chaudhari:I love certain African authors. I may be bad at pronouncing their names. My sister the serial killer, is one of my favorite books. Then I even love a lot of Sophie Kinsella. I love her books. They are really fun to read. So I usually read very light read books. Another book that I read, it's a self help book. It's called happiness Express. It's by two Art of Living Masters. So I found that quite helpful, very easy, like, you know, it just makes things very, very easy to understand. On how do you live your life? So, yeah, these three books I would I really enjoyed, and what's next for you. What's next? I never plan my I never plan things in life. I let life happen to me. So let's see what life has in plan next.
Tara Khandelwal:Hey, that's wonderful. Thank you so much for this chat. It was very interesting. I certainly learned a lot, and I hope that anyone who's listening in has also gained some insights that could help them in the future. And definitely, the book is a very easy read. You don't have to read it in one go. You can always flip through it. So
Manasi Chaudhari:thank you. Thank you, Tara, this was wonderful.
Tara Khandelwal:Hope you enjoyed this episode of Books and Beyond with
Michelle D'costa:bound. This podcast is created by bound, a company that helps you grow through stories. Find us at bound India on all social media platforms.
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