A SUMMERY OF RIGHTS TO WOMEN IN INDIAN CONSTITUTION & LAWS
“A
SUMMERY OF RIGHTS TO WOMEN IN INDIAN
CONSTITUTION & LAWS”
Dr. Ashish
Shrivastava
( Professor of Law)
ABSTRACT:
The Indian law does
not reflect any of these new developments and continues to be limited
to narrow moral
considerations. The
conception of depravity
being limited to sexual
depravity, images
denigrating to women's
equal status, reinforcing sexism,
gender discrimination and misogyny are ignored by the legal regime. Sexually
explicit images are
interpreted as tending
to deprave and corrupt
persons and therefore
to be prohibited
but the sexist, gender discriminatory or misogynous messages
of other images
are not considered
as tending to deprave
or corrupt persons. The
sexism in non-
sexually explicit
representations remains untouched
by any penal
liability.
Even the
comparatively recent Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act
1986 has focused on the "depiction ... of the figure of a woman ... as to
have the effect of being indecent'.16
'Indecency' too, is guided closely by conceptions of morality. Its focus
on what is
explicitly indecent diverts
the attention from
derogatory messages as well as from other derogatory though not
explicitly indecent images of women.
Such derogatory messages
and images are
much more harmful
to women and responsible for increasing violence against women, but they
remain outside the purview of legislation.
KEYWORDS:
Women, Rights to Women, Constitution, Other laws for
women (I.P.C., Cr.P.C., Evidence, etc) etc.
INTRODUCTION:
Indian law states that women are legal citizen and
have the same rights as males. Because of the male dominated society, some
females still suffer greatly. Many women are malnourished and in poor health .
Even though they cook all the meals, they are only allowed to eat after the men
have finished. Many women work 16 hour days in the field (twice as many as the
men), yet still expected to do all of the domestic work.
There are many well-educated young women in India, but HOMELESS BIRD is the story of a young girl from a rural village. While there are laws in India saying that girls must be educated, the laws are often not obeyed.
There
are several laws in India for women to protect them as follows:
1. Constitutional
Provisions and Privileges
2.
Laws relating to women
3.
Laws
relating to working
4.
Laws
relating to marriage & divorce
5.
Laws
relating to maintenance
6.
Laws
relating to abortion
7.
Laws
relating to property, succession, inheritance, guardianship & adoption
8.
Offences
against women in Indian Penal Code
CONSTITUTIONAL
PROVISIONS AND PRIVILEGES:
The Constitution
of India not only grants equality to women but also empowers the State to adopt
measures of positive discrimination in favour of women for neutralizing the
cumulative socio economic, education and political disadvantages faced by
them. Fundamental Rights, among others,
ensure equality before the law and equal protection of law; prohibits
discrimination against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or
place of birth, and guarantee equality of opportunity to all citizens in
matters relating to employment. Articles
14, 15, 15(3), 16, 39(a), 39(b), 39(c) and 42 of the Constitution are of
specific importance in this regard.
(i) Equality before law for women (Article
14)
(ii) The State not to discriminate against
any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or
any of them (Article
15 (i))
(iii) The State to make any special
provision in favour of women and children (Article
15 (3))
(iv) Equality of opportunity for all
citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under
the State (Article
16)
(v) The State to direct its policy towards
securing for men and women equally the right to an adequate means of livelihood
(Article 39(a)); and equal pay for equal work for both men and women (Article
39(d))
(vi) To promote justice, on a basis of equal
opportunity and to provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or scheme or
in any other way to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not
denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities (Article
39 a)
(vii) The State to make provision for
securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief (Article
42)
(viii) The State to promote with special care
the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and
to protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation (Article
46)
(ix) The State to raise the level of
nutrition and the standard of living of its people (Article
47)
(x) To promote harmony and the spirit of
common brotherhood amongst all the people of India and to renounce practices
derogatory to the dignity of women (Article
51(A) (e))
(xi) Not less than one-third (including the
number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election
in every Panchayat to be reserved for women and such seats to be allotted by
rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat (Article
243 D(3))
(xii)
Not less than one- third of the total number of offices of Chairpersons in the
Panchayats at each level to be reserved for women (Article
243 D (4))
(ix) Not less than one-third (including the
number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election
in every Municipality to be reserved for women and such seats to be allotted by
rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality (Article
243 T (3))
(x) Reservation of offices of Chairpersons
in Municipalities for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in
such manner as the legislature of a State may by law provide (Article
243 T (4))
The Directive Principles of State
Policy are guidelines to the
central and state governments of India, to be kept in mind while framing laws
and policies. These provisions, contained in Part IV of the Constitution
of India,
are not enforceable by any court, but the principles laid down therein are
considered fundamental in the governance of the country, making it the duty of
the State to apply
these principles in making laws to establish a just society in the country.
LAWS RELATING TO WOMEN:
An Act to provide for the more
effective prevention of the commission of sati and its glorification and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Whereas sati or the burning or burying alive of widows or women is revolting to
the feelings of human nature and nowhere enjoined by any of the religions of
India as an imperative duty;
And whereas it is necessary to take more effective measure to
prevent the commission of sati and its glorification;
Be
it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-eighth Year of Republic of India
Criminal
Law Amendment Act (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom, the Republic of
Ireland, Canada, India and South Africa which amends the criminal law
(including both substantive and procedural aspects of that law). It tends to be
used for Acts that do not have a single cohesive subject matter.
The Bill
for an Act with this short title will have been known as a Criminal Law Amendment Bill during its passage through Parliament.
Law
Amendment Acts may be a generic name either for legislation
bearing that short title or for all legislation which amends the criminal law.
In the United Kingdom, it is a term of art.
The
payment of a dowry gift, often financial, has a long
history in many parts of the world. In India, the payment of a dowry was prohibited in
1961 under Indian civil law and subsequently by Sections 304B and 498A of the
Indian Penal Code were enacted to make it easier for the wife to seek redress
from potential harassment by the husband's family. Dowry laws have come under
criticism as they have been misused by women and their families.
In India,
there are civil laws, criminal laws and special legislative acts against the
tradition of Dowry. Someone accused of taking dowry is therefore subject to a
multiplicity of legal processes.
In India, prostitution (the exchange of sexual services
for money) is legal, but
a number of related activities, including soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, pimping and pandering, are crimes.
An Act to
provide in pursuance of the International Convention signed at New York on the
9th day of May,1950, for the prevention of immoral traffic.
Sexual
harassment is bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the
unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In most modern legal contexts, sexual
harassment is illegal. As defined by EEOC, "It is unlawful to harass a person (an
applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex." Harassment can include
"sexual harassment" or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual
favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.
Where laws
surrounding sexual harassment exist, they typically don’t prohibit simple
teasing, offhand comments, or minor isolated incidents. In the workplace,
harassment may be considered illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it
creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an
adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted, or when
the victim decides to quit the job).
The
harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a
co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client
or customer.
It
includes a range of behavior from mild transgressions to sexual abuse or sexual assault. Sexual harassment is a form of illegal employment
discrimination in many countries, and is a form
of abuse (sexual and psychological) and bullying. For many businesses and other
organizations, preventing sexual harassment, and defending employees from
sexual harassment charges, have become key goals of legal decision-making.
The Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act 2005 was brought
into force by the Indian
government from October 26, 2006. The Act was passed by the Parliament in August 2005 and assented to by
the President on 13 September 2005. As of
November 2007, it has been ratified by four of twenty-eight state governments
in India; namely Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. Of about 8,000 criminal cases registered all over India under this
act, Rajasthan had 3440 cases, Kerala had 1,028 cases, while Punjab had 172 cases registered.
LAWS RELATING TO WORKING WOMEN:
Equal
Remuneration Act, 1976 has been enacted to provide for the payment of equal
remuneration to men and women workers and also for the prevention of
discrimination, on the ground of sex, against women in the matter of
employment. As per the Act no employer is allowed to pay to any female
worker, employed by him in an establishment or employment, remuneration,
whether payable in cash or in kind, at rates less than the male counterpart for
same work or work of a similar nature. Remuneration has been defined
as the basic wage or salary, and any additional emoluments whatsoever payable,
either in cash or in kind, to a person employed in respect of employment or
work done in such employment, if the terms of the contract of employment,
express or implied, were fulfilled. Regarding recruitment, the act makes it
clear that no employer shall, while making recruitment for the same work or
work of a similar nature, or in any condition of service subsequent to
recruitment such as promotions, training or transfer, make any discrimination
against women except where the employment of women in such work is prohibited
or restricted by or under any law for the time being in force.
Prior
to the enactment of the Maternity Benefit Act, of 1961 there were in force
several central and State Maternity Benefit Acts in the country. But there was
no uniformity in their provisions for all women workers in the country.
It
is true that its object was achieved by the enactment of the Employees' State Insurance Act of 1948, which superseded the provisions of
several Maternity Benefit Acts. But the Employees' State Insurance Act did not cover all women workers in the
country.
The Maternity
Benefit Act of 1961 was therefore passed to provide uniform maternity benefit
for women workers in certain industries not covered by the Employees' State Insurance Act.
LAWS RELATING TO MARRIAGE & DIVORCE:
The main reason behind passing
the Special
Marriage Act, 1954 was
to provide a special form of marriage for the people of India and all Indian
nationals in foreign countries, irrespective of the religion or faith followed
by either party. The
Act originated from a piece of legislation proposed during the late 19th
century.
The Special Marriage Act, 1954 replaced the old Act III, 1872. The
new enactment has 3 major objectives:
1.
To provide a
special form of marriage in certain cases,
2.
to provide for
registration of certain marriages and,
3.
to provide for
divorce.
LAWS RELATING TO MAINTENANCE:
The provisions of section 125 of
Cr. P. C. are meant for the protection of children, parents and wives who do
not have sufficient means or money to support themselves and are neglected or
refused to be maintained. A ‘wife’ would include a woman who is divorced or has
taken divorce and has not remarried. The objective of the section is to compel
a man to perform his moral obligation which he owes to the society in respect
of his wife, children and parents so that they are not left destitute.
Inability to maintain oneself is essential to claim maintenance.
Although right
to maintenance forms a part of the personal law, but in order to protect women
and children and provide a swift and cheap remedy against neglect and refusal
to maintain, a secular safeguard irrespective of personal laws of the parties
was necessary. With this intention Sec. 125 was inserted in the Cr.PC.
Courts have in several judgments that remedy u/s 125 and Sec.
24 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 are independent and not relevant to each other.
There is no conflict between the two provisions. A person may sue for
maintenance under s.125 of Cr.P.C. If a person has already obtained maintenance
order under his or her personal law, the magistrate while fixing the amount of
maintenance may take that into consideration while fixing the quantum of
maintenance under the Code.
LAWS RELATING TO ABORTION:
- Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Regulation & Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Act, 2001
- Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Regulation & Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Act, 2002
LAWS RELATING TO PROPERTY, SUCCESSION, INHERITANCE, GUARDIANSHIP
& ADOPTION:
LAWS RELATING TO CHARITABLE HOMES
& ORPHANAGES:
OTHER LAWS:
OFFENCES AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIAN PENAL CODE:
§ Assault
or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty
§ Causing
death of quick unborn child by act amounting to culpable homicide
§ Causing
miscarriage or miscarriage without the woman's consent
§ Concealment
of birth by secret disposal of dead body
§ Concealment
of former marriage
§ Death
caused by act done with intent to cause miscarriage
§ Dowry
death
§ Enticing,
detaining or taking away with criminal intent a married woman
§ Fraudulent
marriage ceremony without lawful marriage
§ Importation
of girl from foreign country
- Intercourse by man with his wife during
separationIntercourse by a member of management or staff of a hospital
with any woman in that hospital
§ Intercourse
by public servant with a woman in his custody
§ Intercourse
by superintendent of jail, remand home, etc
§ Kidnapping,
abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage
§ Preventing
a child from being born alive or causing its death after birth
§ Rape (Also
see here)
§ Selling
minor for purpose of prostitution
SPECIAL
INITIATIVES FOR WOMEN:
§ National Commission for Women
§ For Women in Local Self -Government
§ National Plan of Action for the Girl Child
(1991-2000)
§
National
Policy for the Empowerment of Women, 2001
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVE
THE POSITION OF WOMEN:
1.
Economic independence
The bottom-line to women's status
in India (or elsewhere in the world) is the level of economic independence.
2.
Internalization of
conceptions of freedom and dignity
3.
Education
4.
Equal opportunity law
5.
Enforcement of law and order
6.
Join politics and lead India
7.
Etc.
CONCLUSION:
Woman can be said as
the God’s complete creation. She is the symbol of independence, love, caring,
gentleness and intensity- both in love and in hate. Women are emotionally
stronger than man.
Undoubtedly women endure
much more pain than men do. No men do go through even half the pain a woman
goes through during labor. Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto and Indira Gandhi
have shown that women can rule a country even better than men… and maybe even
the world!
However, women have not
been treated nicely by men all throughout time. They have been denied their
rights, their opportunities. It is very common happening on a daily basis in
offices, sports, factories, schools and entertainment. So we see there are many
laws with women but they are not sufficient/proper to protect ,improve her
condition because here need to change the thinking of society . Society can
play main/ strong role to improve her status in society . Society made by both
men and women .We know that half of men in society is women .So women role is strong in our society but
why she depressed ,weaker, poor, uneducated, uncivilized . It is the field of
search and survey so research should be do.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
§ Article 'The humblest
woman must be our temple: Mother India' Written by Dr Sabhlok
- Hosken, Fran P., 'Towards a
Definition of Women's Rights' inHuman Rights Quarterly, Vol. 3, No.
2. (May, 1981), pp. 1–10.
- Lockwood, Bert B. (ed.), Women's
Rights: A "Human Rights Quarterly" Reader (Johns Hopkins University
Press, 2006), ISBN
978-0-8018-8374-3
§ Rebecca Chan Chung, Deborah Chung
and Cecilia Ng Wong, "Piloted to Serve", 2012
- Gerhard, Ute (2001). Debating women’s equality: toward a feminist
theory of law from a European perspective. Rutgers University Press.
p. 33. ISBN 978-0-8135-2905-9.
- Blundell, Sue (1995). Women in ancient Greece, Volume 1995, Part 2. Harvard University Press.
p. 114.ISBN 978-0-674-95473-1.
- Gerhard, Ute (2001). Debating women’s equality: toward a feminist theory of law from a European perspective. Rutgers University Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8135-2905-9.
- Gender Analysis of Indian Penal Code by Ved Kumari. P. 139-160. In Engendering Law: Essays in Honour of Lotika Sakar edited by Amita Dhanda and Archana Parashar. Lucknow: Eastern Book Company, 34, Lalbagh, Lucknow - 1. 1999.
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