Women should not be forced to work in night shifts and companies should, as far as possible, avoid women on the night shift, a committee of legislators has proposed in Karnataka. The proposal has triggered a barrage of protests from activists and civil society, who have called it regressive and argued that if accepted, it will shrink the space for women at workplaces. Critics have already pointed out that the new law allowing women 26 weeks of maternity leave can work as a disincentive to employing women.