CHAPTER-I

1. INTROCUCTION

Women constitute almost 50% of the world’s population but India has shown
disproportionate sex ratio whereby female’s population has been comparatively lower than
males. As far as their social status is concerned, they are not treated as equal to men in all the
places. In the western societies, the women have got equal right and status with men in all
walks of life. But gender disabilities and discrimination are found in India even today. The
paradoxical situation has such that she was sometimes concerned as goddess and at other
times merely as slave1.

“Women empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, educational, gender
or economic strength of individuals and communities of women”.

Why we talk about women empowerment only and not men empowerment why women need
empowerment and not men? They are not in minority so as to require special treatment.
Biologically speaking also, it is a proven fact that female race is superior to male. Then the
question arise that why we debating the topic women empowerment.

“You can tell the condition of a Nation by looking at the status of its women”

- Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru

India is a very famous country known for its cultural heritage, traditions, civilization, religion
and geographical features from the ancient time. On the other hand, it is also popular as a
male chauvinistic nation. Women are given first priority in India however on the other hand
they were badly treated in the family and society. They were limited only for the household
chores or understand the responsibility of home and family members .They were kept totally
unaware of their rights and own development. People of India used to say this country as
“Bharat-Mata” however never realized the true meaning of it. Bharat-Mata means a mother
of every Indian whom we have to save and care always 2.

1
About UN Women [Online] http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/about-un women/
2
Women & Law in India (Introduction by Flavia Agnes), 2004 Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

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Women empowerment refers to increasing and improving the social the social, economic,
political and legal strength of the women, to ensure equal-right to women, and make them
confident to claim their rights, such as:

Freely live their life with sense of self-worth, respect and dignity.

• Have complete control of their life, both within and outside of their home and
workplace,
• To make their own choices and decisions,
• Have equal social status in the society,
• Have equal rights for social and economic justice,
• Have equal rights and social economic justice,
• Determine financial and economic choices,
• Get equal opportunity for education,
• Get equal employment opportunity without any gender bias,
• Get safe and comfortable working environment,
• Women have the rights to get their voices heard.

1:1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND-

From ancient to modern period, women condition- socially, politically and economically has
not remained same and it kept changing with times. In ancient India, women were having
equal status with men; in every Vedic period they were very educational and there are
references of women sages such as maitrayi in our ancient texts. But with the coming of
famous treaties of Manu i.e. Manu smriti, the status of women was0 relegated to a
subordinate position to men3.

All kinds of discrimination practise started to take from such as child marriage,
devadashiparatha, nagarvadhu system, sati paratha etc. women’s socio political rights were
curtailed and they were made fully dependent upon the male members of family their right to
education,

Right to work and right to decide for themselves were taken away.

3
Laws of MANU [online] http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm

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During medavial period the condition of women got worse with the advent of Muslim rules
in India; as also during the British period. But the British rules also brought western ideas
into the country.

A few entitled Indians such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy influenced by the modern concept of
freedom, liberty, equality and justice started to question the prevailing discriminatory practice
against women. Through his unrelenting efforts, the British were forced to abolish the ill-
practice of sati. Similarly several other social reformers such as Ishwar Chand Vidhyasagar,
Swami Vivekananda, AcharyaVinobaBhave etc. worked for the up-liftment of women in
India. For instance, the widow remarriage Act of 1856 was the result of Ishwar Chanda
Vidyasagar‟s movement foe improving the condition of women.

Indian national congress supported the first women‟s delegation which met the secretary of
state to demand women‟s political rights in 1917. The child marriage restraint act in 1929
was passed due to the efforts of Mahhommad Ali Jinna, Mahatma Gandhi called upon young
men to marry the child widows and urged people to boycott child marriages.

During freedom movement, almost all the leaders of the struggle were of the view that and all
types of discriminatory practices must stop, and for that to happen. It was though fit to
include would help eliminate age old exploitation custom and also such provision which
would help in empowering women socially economically and politically.

After independence in improvement in women’s position and status became further evident
when immediately after the independence, Indian women made their mark by becoming
Governors, Cabinet minister, and ambassadors. Several measures were taken by the
Government of India to assign equal status to women in the economic, political and social
fields. More avenues were opened to them to show their talents and have a sense of
participation in national activities 4.

The constitution of India pledges equality of status and opportunity to men and women. The
passage of several Acts by the parliament and the process of social change brought about by
industrialization and urbanization during the last few decades have done much for women’s
emancipation both legally, politically and socially. Now the members of the family are
individual before the lay, and the Constitution has guaranteed equal rights to women. Indian
women, like men, have the right to vote and right to be elected. Mrs .Indira Gandhi, the first

4
Women & Law in India (Introduction by Flavia Agnes), 2004 Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

3|P a ge
women prime minister of India, is the pride of India’s women folk. She served for fifteen
years and remained the undisputed leader of the most powerful party in India. She was
considered to be the most powerful women in contemporary world. Women can serve on
juries, and there are many women doctors, lawyers and even justice 5.

Constitutionally, they have equal rights. They have the rights to own, manage control their
own property. Today, a married women has the right to divorce; a widow can remarry.

The population of women is almost half of the total population of India. A country or a
community cannot be considered civilized where women are not honoured. Indian laws have
been made without discrimination against women. As a result Indian women enjoy high
position in our society. Women today occupy high ranking posts like I.A.S, I.F.S Indian
women are also in our Defence services.

The modern Indian women participate in various sports and games like football, hockey,
cricket, table tennis, lawn tennis and also in athletics. The contemporary Indian women
serves as M.P, M.L.A, Governors and ministers. Women recent times like Mother Teresa,
Indira Gandhi, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, M.S. Subhalakshmi, LataMangeshkar and the Ex
President of India Pratima Patil have achieved high fame.

Let’s now have a look at the darker side. Though the Indian law does not discriminate
between men and women, the status of women in our country today is practically far below
the status of men. Wife burning for failure to pay dowry as demanded also continues
unabated all over India. It is a matter of great shock that such cases are increasing every year.
In our country bride is burnt or murdered for non-payment of dowry. The literacy rate of
women is also lower than that of male person almost all over India. Though the status of
today’s women in India is high, the overall picture of women’s position in India is not
satisfactory.

5
Justice Krishna Iyer: Crimes Against Women- A Saga of Victimology sans Penology, 1993, Ashish Publishing
House, New Delhi

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1:2 POSITION OF WOMEN IN VEDIC ERA

a. Women in Pre-Vedic Period:

Historical studies and the scriptures indicate that Indian woman enjoyed a comparatively
high status during the early Vedic period (2000 B.C. to 1000 B.C.), surpassing
contemporary civilizations in ancient Greece and Rome. The Aryans, who were mostly
busy fighting wars, regarded woman as useful and productive members of society. The
condition of Vedic Woman was good. Woman also enjoyed religious status like that of
men, especially in Vedic initiation and studies. The Rig Veda provides ample evidence to
prove the concept of equality of woman with men as regards access and capacity to
acquire the highest knowledge, even the absolute knowledge. The Rig Veda had rendered
the highest social status to qualified woman of those days. But status of woman fell in the
later Vedic and Epic period. They were not at all treated equally with men or we can say
that they were not enjoying equal rights and privileges as compared to men 6.

Though the woman participated in each family ceremony with men but they only played a
role as a silent observer not an active participant. As per Manu, men always enjoy
unchallenged authority over their wives. Child marriages, Polygamy and Sati were
prevalent at that time. Still out of all these things woman at that time were respected by
the society. However, changes into the status of woman introduced in 15th century. Saints
and supporters of bhakti movement were expounded and spoken about equality of woman
with men. 7 During these period men were polygamous and widow burning was an
accepted norm. Arthashastra imposed more stigmas on woman as Kautilya dismissed
woman’s liberation. They were not free even to go elsewhere without husband’s
permission. They became worse off in the Gupta period. But in Vedic period position of
woman was not worse as that of today. Our history shows that woman in Vedic period
was also on strong footage as compare to men and therefore they were not subjected to
‘Female Foeticide’ and Infanticide or people never think about that. Though the overall
position of women was lower than men, yet on the whole the position of woman was
good. In the post Vedic period, woman started being discriminated on the ground of

6
Laws of MANU [online] http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm
7
http://www.importantindia.com/2954/status-of-woman-in-vedic-age/ Posted in Essays, Paragraphs and
Articles by VikashMehra

5|P a ge
 education and other rights. The ‘Child Marriage’, emphasis on physical chastity of
woman and their unquestioned obedience to husband lead’s to progressive deterioration
of their position. In the Smriti Sastras as well, as in Manu, it has been mentioned in
strongest terms that woman should be honored. But then again Manu has given absolute
rights to men to inflict corporeal punishment on her and discard her if she said anything
disgraceful to him. Thus, a contradiction in the rules of treatment to woman was there.
Manu’s system continued for long after the Mauryan period in the Indian society.
However, the upper class woman enjoyed freedom and were respected in society. Besides
these woman, a vast majority worked in the fields and homes. Their condition worsened
in the 20th century. 8

b. Position of woman in Vedic Age:

As we have studied position of woman in Pre-Rig Vedic period was very high. In later
Vedic period, the position enjoyed by woman in the early Vedic society, was not retained.
In Vedic society participation of wives was required in many rituals. Woman could select
their husband in an assembly called `SWAYAMWAR’ . But in most cases the woman
had to lead an unhappy married life. This was simply because their husbands were
allowed to have more than one wives and this was especially quite common among the
upper classes of the ancient Indian society. A widow was expected burn herself on the
funeral pyre of her husband. This would make her ‘Sati’31. Manu assigns to the Woman
of Vedic age, a position of dependence, not of subordination. In the work called
Amarkosh written in the Gupta era names of the teachers and professors are there and
they belonged to female sex. They were the authors of Vedic scripts and
‘mantras.9position of woman in Hindu Dharma: The roots of Hindu religion are in Aryan
society of patriarchal system. The family unit was large one, generally extending over
three generations and with the male off springs living together. The birth of a son was
especially welcomed in the Aryan family for the son’s presence was essential and one of
the important ceremonies. At the same time the position of woman was on the whole free.
Hindus considered that the man and woman represent the two aspects of one person.

8
Posted in Essays, Paragraphs and Articles by Karan Malhotra On August 21, 2014 cited at
http://www.importantindia.com/2954/status-of-woman-in-vedic-age/
9
2http://www.importantindia.com/2954/status-of-woman-in-vedic-age/last visited 15.06.2014 Posted in
History of Ancient India by Bharat Mehta

6|P a ge
 Scriptures says that Lord Shiva consists of a body of a two halves – one is of male and
other is of female and he is called ‘ARDHANARESHWAR’. Woman was considered
more powerful than man and treated as Goddess of ‘SHAKTI’. The society was governed
by certain established norms approved by DHARMASHASHTRA. The highest social
ends in ancient Indian society were four, Arth, Kaam and Moksha. In the area of
spirituality woman were not inferior to men. Yajunvalykya had imparted divine
knowledge of the most difficult nature to Maitrai and that she had not only been able to
comprehend the high philosophy but had also actually attained divine knowledge.

The traditions which brought the woman into slavery by fixing her duties to serve like
Dasi (servant); to feed like mother; give advice like Minister; and give conjugal sanction
like a Rambha of heaven. At the same time, woman is considered to be under the
protection of father during childhood; under the protection of husband during youth and
under the protection of son during old age. As the woman lost her property right she lost
independence and became lifelong dependent on male dominated society.

Therefore, the social, cultural and religious backbone of Indian society is based on
patriarchal structure which gives comprehensively secondary status to woman. Actually
this philosophy of patriarchal family based on principle that, family tree grows up with
male only, which makes man a valuable product of family, who needs special protection
and attention. Second important thing in this philosophy is marriage, in which woman are
given a subordinate status, having no right to say anything about their rights; body feeling
or we can say that, men are the whole and sole owner of soul of woman. Hence in this
way the derogation of social status of woman lead to ‘Female Feticide’

1:3 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT -

Standing in the era of human rights movement with the ambition to develop a better civil
society, the need for women empowerment is getting realized more than ever. It has widely
been admitted that improving that improving the status of women in the male dominated
society may solve several problems, such as meeting the basic needs of family, overall social
advancement and adding quality resources that may Bridge the gap between dimensions of
socio-cultural existence.

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However, it has been also provided with special importance that the process of women
empowerment can be initiated properly if adequate importance is given to women’s health. It
is due to the same reasons, not only medical health law for women needs to be implemented
in a strict manner but also health organization should function with more empathy while
addressing such sensitive issues10.

We should try to:

• To create a good image of every Indian in the eye of another country.

• To provide support from “women to women.”

• To encourage Government to make policies and laws to improve the status of women.

• To crate movement top prevent infanticide and foeticide.

• To create society with “gender equality.”

• To create a society which doesn’t refer to caste and religion.

• To build a network for women’s movement

• To build an awareness on violence and other critical issue on women.

• To provide awareness of women’s rights and law.

• To distribute creative and required material on women empowerment.

• To prevent the misuses of “women rights.”

―There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of the women is
improved; it is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing.‖

__ Swami Vivekanada

1:4 SIGNIFICANCE OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT -

Gender equality is a multi-facet concept which implies equality of opportunities in

economic as well as socio-political and legal aspects. Gender sensitivity is a bent of mind
which may come through socialization by family and other associations, educational

10
Laxmi Devi: Crime Atrocities and Violence against women and related laws and justice, 1998, Anmol
Publications Pvt. Ltd.

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institutions etc. Alternately, it may be the result of intellectual conviction developed at a later
stage through the acquisition of certain types of knowledge and gradual extension of one’s
other social values.

To curb down the menace of existing gender inequality many initiatives have been taken at
national as well as international level, but still a lot remains to be done to completely stamp
out the growing violation of women’s dignity. Gender justice remains a far cry all over the
world as has been highlighted by Human Development Report 1995 brought out by the
United Nations Development Programme. Though the world as a whole has moved closer to
gender equality over the past two decades, there is still no society where women fare as well
as men.

After making an analysis of persisting gender biasness, its causes, implications and the role
of national governments as well as of international agencies, the researcher realizes that
neither the Indian State nor the various sub systems of society had gone beyond the myth of
legal equality (which too remained rather hypothetical than real). Hence, the utter failures on
the part of policy makers, legislators, the educational system, the media and most other social
institutions to take effective measures to break the institutionalized subordination and
inequality of women has enchanted the researcher to study the aspect of Gender equality in
the light of Indian perspective. Thus, emphasis of the study is to propose some suggestions
that gender equality could not be an independent value but is intrinsically linked with
achievement of human equality and the abolition of all institutionalized inequalities. While
throwing light on the availability of various privileges and protection given to the women
folk under our supremalex and other laws, the implementation of these laws and highlighting
their weaknesses, the present research will pave the way for the acceptance of women honour
and dignity. In this way, this research will be a humble attempt of the researcher to serve the
society by disseminating the fact that equality of women is necessary not merely on the
ground of social justice but also as a basic condition for socio-economic and political
development of the nations.

1:5 POSITION OF WOMEN TODAY

The irony is that today, everybody talks about women empowerment but the crude reality is
that nobody is willing to take initiative for that as our society is a male dominated society
have framed all rules of our Indian society according to their own convenience, so they are in

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no way ready to sacrifice their special privileges as per the contemporary scenario is
concerned. According to Indian philosophy, women in every stage of life need to be
protected by someone and she owes her obligation towards her father in childhood, brother in
adolescent age, husband in youth and son in old age.

The notion behind this is good, but it is alarming that in implementation of the same notion,
the person who are supposed to take care of women, actually exploit them in one way or
other. The case of domestic violence, denial of good quality of food, clothes and education to
girl child is direct consequence of the above mentioned ill-practice of our society. In short,
women are the victims of a whole plethora of violence committed against them such as
torture, rape, molestation, battering, trafficking, forced marriage, dowry death and custodial
and so on.

Even though many initiatives have been taken by government such as integrated child
development scheme, integrated women empowerment programme and statutes such as
indecent representation of women Act, minimum wages Act, Equal remuneration Act, Pre-
natal Diagnostic Act, Maternal Benefit Act, but proved futile due to lack of implementation
skills, lack of monetary support etc.

A classic example in this regard is that of that of women reservation Bill for 33% reservation
for women in parliament and other legislative Assemblies, which despite a lot of hue and cry
and cacophony has not been introduced in Loksabha till today. Moreover, its passage in
Rajaysabha was also not so smooth as it was contemplated earlier 11.

Furthermore, if we turn the pages of history we will find that even 73rd and 74th
constitutional amendment to the Indian constitution in 1993, provides for reservation for
women in local bodies such as Panchayats and municipalities, but in reality it has not worked
as an effective to all because in Hindu succession act, 1956, there is provision for inheritance
of ancestral property for women, but in reality ancestral property is most of the time inherited
by male child only, keeping women still at the mercy of males and for away from the state
of empowerment.

It true that few women such as ChandaKochar, Meira Kumar, KiranBedi, Pratibha Devi
Singh Patil, have reached echelons of success in their life but we must understand that
success is their individual life due to their high standard of merit and hard work. These

11
Dr. V. N. Shukla: The Constitution of India, 2010, Eastern Book Company, Lucknow

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examples continue a miniscule percentage of total population of women in India. If women
were empowered, then why a highly talented IPS officer KiranBedi was not made
commissioner of Delhi police, despite unmatched career records? We can say empowerment
of women in India at a mass scale, not only few examples as mentioned above.

At last I conclude that women empowerment is totally a MYTH as their empowerment

require making women educationally and financially independent which has not been
achieved till today as women are marginalized in socially, economic and quality nutrition etc.
Due to all this very figure very law in Gender Equality Index and Gender Development
Index which is an unequivocal proof of empower less state of women in our country.

“Empowerment is the process of enhancing the capacity of individual or groups to make

choices and to transform those choices into desired action and outcomes. Empowered people
have freedom of choices and the decisions which effect them.”

―There is not a tool for development more effective than the empowerment of

women.‖

----Kofi Anna

In the path of empowering women the primary steps is to remove gender inequality. The
gender equality and women’s empowerment are so mingled that they are considered one and
the same thing. Many of the expert consider women empowerment and gender equality
require women’s empowerment and women’s empowerment require increase in gender
equality. Women empowerment and gender equality can only be achieved through gender
justice. Almost all the international organization have advocated in favor of women
empowerment for very long, the United Nations has been the pioneer among them 12.

12
Empowerment of Women the Most Effective Tool, Press Release by Secretary
General, United Nations [Online] http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sgsm
9738.doc.htm

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 CHAPTER-II

INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT TOWARD WOMAN

EMPOWERMENT

2:1 INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS OF INDIA AS TO WOMEN

EMPOERMENT -
India is a part to various international conventions and treaties which are committed to secure
equal rights of women. One of the most important among them is the convention on
elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW), ratified by India in
1993.

Other important instruments for women empowerment are:

• The Mexico plan of action (1975)

• The Nairobi forward looking strategies (1985)

• The Beijing declaration as well as the platform for action (1995)

And the outcome document adopted by the UNGA session on gender equality and
development & peace for the 21st century, titled “further actions and initiatives to implement
the Beijing declaration and the platform for action.” All these have been whole heartedly
endorsed by India for appropriate follow up.

These various national and international commitments, laws and policies not withstanding
women’s situation on the ground have, still not improved satisfactorily. Various problems
related to women are still subsisting; female infanticide is growing, dowry is still prevalent,
domestic violence against women is practiced; sexual harassment of workplace and other
heinous sex crimes against women are on the rise.

2:2 UN -WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT PRINCIPLE’S IN BRIEF 13–

1. Establish high level corporate leadership for gender equality.

13
Guidelines on Women's Empowerment by United Nations [Online]
http://www.un.org/popin/unfpa/taskforce/gui de/iatfwemp.gdl.html

12 | P a g e
2. Treat all women and men fairly at work respect and support human rights and
non-discrimination.
3. Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers.
4. Promote education, training and professional development for women.
5. Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practice that
empower women.
6. Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy.
7. Measures and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality.

Principle 1:
Leadership Promotes Gender Equality -
a. Affirm high level support and direct top-level policies for genderequality and human
rights.
b. Establish company-wide goals and targets for gender equality andinclude progress as a
factor in manager performance review.
c. Engage internal and external stoke holders in the development of company policies
programmes and implementation plans that advance equality.
d. Ensure that all policies are gender-sensitive identifying factors thatimpact women and
men different and that corporate culture advance equality and inclusion.

Principle 2:
Equal opportunity, inclusion and non-discrimination -
a. Pay equal remuneration, including benefits for work of equal value
and strive to pay a diving wage to all women and men.
b. Ensure that workplace policies and practise are free from gender-based discrimination.
c. Implement gender-sensitive recruitment and retention practice andproactively recruit and
appoint women to managerial and executive position and to the corporate board of directors.
d.Assure sufficient participation of women- 30% or greater-indecision-making and
governance at all levels and across all business areas.
e.After flexible work option, leave and re-entry opportunities toposition of equal pay and
status.

f. Support access to child and dependent care by providing services,resources and

information to women and men.

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Principle 3:
Health, safety and freedom from violence -
a.Taking into account differential into an women and men, providesafe working conditions
and protection from exposure to hazardous material and disclose potential risks, including
toreproducing health.

b. Establish a zero tolerance policy towards all forms of violence atwork, including verbal
and/or physical abuse and prevent sexual harassment.

c. Strive to after health insurance or other needed services- includingfor survivors of

domestic violence-and ensure equal access for all employees.

d. Respect women and men workers right to time off for medical careand counselling for
themselves and their dependents.

e. In consultation with employees, identify and address securityissues, including the safety of
women traveling to and from work and on company-related business.

f. Train security staff and manages to recognize sings of violenceagainst women and
understand laws and company policies on human trafficking, labour and sexual exploitation.

Principle 4:
Education and Training-
a. Invest in workplace policies and programme that open avenues forwomen at all levels and
encourage women to enter non-traditional job fields.

b. Ensure equal access to all company-supported education andtraining programmes,

including literacy classes, vocational and information technology training.
c. Provides equal opportunities formal and informal networking andmentoring.

d. Offer opportunities to promote the business case for women‟sempowerment and the
positive impact of inclusion for men as well as women.

Principle 5:
Enterprise development supply chain and marketing practise -
a. Expand business relationship with women-owned enterprise,including small businesses,
and women entrepreneurs.

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b.Support gender-sensitive solution to credit and lending barriers.
c.Ask business partners and peers to respect the company committedto advancing equality
and inclusion.
d. Respect the dignity of women in all marketing and other companymaterials.
e. Ensure that company produce, services and facilities are not usedfor human trafficking
and/or labour or sexual exploitation.

Principle 6:
Transparency, measuring and reporting -
a. Making public the company policies and implementation plan for
promoting gender equality.
b.Establish benchmarks that quantify inclusion of women at all levels.
c.Measures and report on progress both internally and externally, using datadisaggregated
by gender.
d.Incorporate gender markers into on-going reporting obligation.

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 CHAPTER-III
OFFENCE AGAINST WOMEN BODY :
OFFENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND LAWS WHICH
PREVENT THEM-
Although women may be victims of any of the gender crimes such as murder, robbery,
cheating etc only the crimes which are directed specifically against women various new
legislation have been brought and amendments have been made in existing laws with a view
to handle these crimes effectively. These are broadly classified under two categories.

3:1 THE CRIMES UNDER INDIAN PENAL CODE (IPC) :

i. Rape (section 376 IPC)

ii. Attempt to commit rape (section 376/511 IPC)

iii. Kidnapping & abduction of women (section 363, 364, 364A, 366 IPC)

iv. Dowry death (sec 304B IPC)

v. Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (section 354 IPC)

vi. Insult to the modesty of women (section 509 IPC)

vii. Cruelty by husband or his relatives(section 498AIPC)

viii. Importation of girl from foreign country (up to 21 year of age) (section

366BIPC)

3:2 The crime under the special law & local law (SLL):

Although all laws are not gender specific the previous of law affecting women significantly
have been reviewed periodically and amendments carried out to keep pace with emerging
requirements. The gender specific laws for which crime statistic are recorded throughout the
country are -

i. The dowry prohibition Act, 1961

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ii. The Independent representation of women (prohibition) Act, 1986

iii. The commission of sati prevention Act, 1987

iv. The protection of women from domestic violence Act, 2005

v. The immoral traffic (prevention) Act, 1956

vi. The Chhattisgarh TonahiPratadnaNivarana Act, 2005

Crime head-wise against (IPC) -

1. Rape -

Sexual offence as per section 375 to 377 of IPC talks about sexual offence as per
section 375 defined as Rape. This term is derived from the Latin term rapio, which
means seize14.

As per section 375 -

A man is said to commit “rape” who except in the case hereinafter excepted, has sexual
intercourse with women under circumstance.

In the case of Sakshi v .union of Indian15, Supreme Court held that this section only for the
natural intercourse for unnatural intercourse section 377 applied.

Essential ingredients of section 375:

There must be sexual intercourse with a women by a man;

Such sexual intercourse should be under only of the following circumstance;

Against her will;

Without her consent;

With consent obtained under fear of death or hurt;

With consent given under misconception of fact that the man is her husband;

Consent given by reason of unsoundness of mind, intoxication or under

14
J.P. Bhatnagar: Law Relating Women & their Rights, Second Edition 1999, Asoka Law House, New Delhi
15
1999 (6)SCC 591

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influence of any stupefying of unwholesome substance;

With women under 16 year of age with or without consent;

“A sexual intercourse with a girl below 16 year of age is on offence of rape; whether it was
with or without consent of the girl” 16

In case of Ramkripal v. state of M.P17, the sine qua non of the offence of rape is penetration
and not ejaculation.

In case of TukaRam v. state of Maharashtra18, the absence of mark of injury of

the victim goes long way to indicate that the alleged intercourse was a peaceful affair
and that the story of a stiff resistance having been put up by the girls is all false.

section 375(sexual intercourse without consent of victim). Hence, conviction and sentence of
accused under section 376, held, was justified. 19

To make out an offender under section 375, there need not be a completed act
of intercourse. If there is penetration, the accused can be held guilty of rape. 20
Non-rupture of hymen is not conclusive of the fact that there was no sexual
intercourse.21

Punishment for rape -

Whoever, except in the case provided for by sub-section (2) commits rape
shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not
be less than seven year but which may be for life or for term which may extend to ten
years and shall also be liable to fine unless the women raped is his own wife and is
not under twelve year of age, in which case, he shall be punished with imprisonment
of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with
both: Provided that the court may, for adequate and special reason to mentioned in

16
Harpalsingh v. state of H.P, 1981 Cri CJ.1
17
(2008) 1 SCC (cri 678)
18
1979 SCC (Cri) 381:
19
YedlaSrinivasRao v. state of A.P., (2007) 1 (Cri) 557.
20
GorakhDajiGhadge v. state of Maharashtra, 1980 cri LJ 1380 (Bom
21
P.W Khan v. State, AIR 1962 Cal 641

18 | P a g e
the judgement, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than seven
years22

Whoever,-

(a) Being a police officer commits rape -

i. With in the limits of the police station to which he is appointed;

ii. In the premises of any station house whether or not situated in the

police station to which he is appointed;

iii. On a women in his custody or in the custody of a police officer

subordinated to him;

(b) Being a public servant, takes advantage of his official position and

commits rape on a women in his custody as such public servant or in the custody of a
public servant subordinate to him;

(c) Being on the management or on the staff of a jail, remand home or other place of
custody establish by or under any law for the time being in force or of a women’s or
children’s institute takes advantage of his official and commits rape on any inmate of such
jail remand home, place or institution;

(d) Being on the management or on the staff of a hospital, takes advantage of his official
position and commits rape on a women in the hospital;

(e) Commits rape on a women knowing her to be pregnant;

(f) Commits rape when she is under twelve year of age,

(g) commits gang rape,

Shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be
less than ten year but which may be for life and shall also be liable to fine.
Provided that the court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the

22
Subs.by Act no.43 of 1983, sec.3

19 | P a g e
judgement, impose a sentence of imprisonment of either description for a term of less
than ten years.

In the case of Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan23,the supreme court made it clear

that the sexual harassment of working women amounts to violation of right of gender
equality and right of life and personal liberty. As a logical consequence it also
amounts to the violation of right to practice any profession, occupation or trade.

In the absences of the enacted law to provide for effective enforcement of the basic human
right of gender equality and guaranteed against sexual harassment and abuse, more
particularly against sexual harassment at work places. The Supreme Court lays down certain
guidelines to be observed at all work places or other institution until a legislation is enacted
for the purpose. The guidelines would be treated as the law declared by the Supreme Court
under Article 141.

The said guidelines are as follows:-

(1) It shall be the duty of the employer or other responsible person in work places or
other institution to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment
and to provide the procedures for the prosecution of acts of sexual harassment by
taking all steps required
(2) For this purpose sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually
determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as-
(a) Physical contact and advances;
(b) A demand or request for sexual favours;
(c) Showing pornography;
(d) Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of
sexual nature.
(3) Where any of these acts is committed in circumstances where under the victim of
such conduct have a reasonable apprehension that in relation to the victim’s
employment or work, whether she is drawing salary, honorarium a voluntary

23
AIR 1997 SC 3011;

20 | P a g e
 whether in Government, public or private enterprise, such conduct can be
humiliating and may constitute a health and safety problem.

(3) All employers or persons in charge of work places whether in public orprivate sector
should take appropriate steps to prevent sexual harassment. A few steps to be taken by them
have been mentioned in the guidelines.

(4) Where such conduct amounts to a specific offence under Indian penal code or under
any other law, the employer shall initiate appropriate action in accordance with law by
making a complaint with appropriate authority.

(5) Where such conduct amounts to misconduct in employment as defined by the relevant
service rules, appropriate disciplinary action should be initiated by the employer in
accordance with those rules.

(6) Whether or not such conduct constitute an offence under law or a breach of the
service rules, an appropriate complaint mechanism should be created in the employer’s
organisation for redress of the complaint made by the victim. Such complaint
mechanism should ensure time-bound treatment of complaint.

This compliant mechanism should be adequate to provide, where necessary, a complaints

committee, a special counsellor or other support service including the maintenance of
confidentially. The committee should be headed by a women and not less than a half of its
members should be women. It should also involve a third party either N.G.O. or other body
who is familiar with the issue of sexual harassment. The committee must make an annual
report to the Government department concerned of the complaints and action taken by them.

(7) Employees should be allowed to raise issues of sexual harassment at workers

meeting and in other appropriate forum and it should be affirmatively discussed in
Employer-Employee meetings.

(8) Awareness of the right of female employees in this regard should be created in
particular by prominently notifying the guidelines (and appropriate legislation when enacted
on the subject) in a suitable manner.

21 | P a g e
(9) Where sexual harassment occurs as a result of an act or omission by any third party or
outsider, the employer and person in charge will take all steps necessary and reasonable to
assist the affected person in terms of support and preventive action.

(10) The central/state Government are requested to consider adopting suitable

measures including legislation to ensure that the guidelines laid down by this order are also
observed by the in private sector.

(11) These guidelines will not prejudice any rights available under the protection of
Human Rights Act, 1993.

The Supreme Court has made it clear that these guidelines would be binding and enforceable
in law, until suitable legislation is enacted for the purpose.

In the case of Pradeep Kumar v. Union of India, 24 the court held that an proof of common
intention of the group of persons which would be of more than one, to commit the offence of
rape, actual act of rape by even one individual framing group, would fasten the guilt on
members of the groups, although he or they have not committed rape 9o99n the victim or
victims.

“Mere a case of a rape was alleged to have been committed on a child age about 4 to 5 year,
while dealing with such cases, a duty was cast on the court to have utmost sensitivity and it
was necessary to appreciate the evidence in its totality, keeping in a view the background of
the entire case, and not in isolation.”25

26
In the case of TulshidasKanolkar v. State of Goa, A mentally challenged girl
cannot legally give consent which would necessary involve understanding of the
effect of such consent. it has to be conscious and voluntary act. There is a gulf of
difference between consent and submission. Every consent involves a submission but
the converse does not follow and mere act of submission does not involve consent. An
act of helpless resignation in the face of inevitable compulsion, quiescence, non-
resistance or passive giving in, when the faculty is either clouded by fear or vitiated
by duress or impaired due to mental retardation or deficiency cannot be considered to
be consent as understood in law. For constituting and the moral effect of the act. A

24
(2005) 1 SCC (Cri) 46
25
Syed Pasha v. State of Karnataka,2004 Cri LJ 4123 (Kant
26
AIR 2004 SC 978 at 980: (2003) 8 SCC 590

22 | P a g e
girl whose mental faculties are undeveloped, cannot be said in law, to have suffered
sexual intercourse with consent.

2. Attempt to commit rape -

Attempt to commit rape has been added for the first time in this. A total
4,234 cases were reported under attempt to commit rape during 2014. Maximum
number of such cases were reported from west Bengal (1,656 cases) followed by
Bihar (484 cases) Rajasthan (373 cases) and U.P (324 cases). 27 It was stated by victim
that while she was alone in house, accused who was her neighbour came there and
took her to his house offering biscuits and raped her. After she raised cries, her
mother and prosecution 0witnesses came to the spot seeing them accused ran away.
Credibility of her evidence had remained unshaken in cross examination. Evidence of
other two witnesses had corroborated fully incident narrated by her and post-incident
events. Although it was stated by medical evidence that there was no positive signs of
rape but attempt to rape was not denied. Delay of two days in lodging F.I.R. was not
fatal as it was explained sufficiently. Conviction of accused for attempting rape was
proper as chain of events narrated by witnesses had clearly explained the post-incident
events in seriatim.

3. Kidnapping and abduction -

As per section 363 talks about punishment for kidnapping whoever kidnaps any
person from India or from lawful guardianship shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

In case of Chandrakala v. VipinMenon, 28 The Supreme Court declined to convict the father,
who was accused of kidnapping his minor daughter who was living with her maternal
grandfathe0r due to strained relationship between her presents, on the ground that0the
accused was the natural guardian of the child.

27
Cheema Rama Rao v. State of A.P., 2004 Cri LJ 4719 (AP)

28
14 jan. 19093 SCC (6)

23 | P a g e
As per section 360 talks about kidnapping from India and section 361 talks
about kidnapping from lawful guardianship .In State of Haryana v.Raja Ram, 29 In this
case the prosecutrix was young girl of 14 years. She became friendly with a person
called jai narain, age 32, who was a frequent visitor. When jai narain was forbidden
by prosecutrix’s father from coming home, he sent massage through a Raja Ram. She
was constantly persuaded to leave the house and come with Jai Narain, who would
keep her in a lot of material comfort. One night, the prosecutrix arranged to meet jai
narian in his house and went to meet him where she was seduced by Jai Narain.

Held: It was held that Jai Narian was liable under section 376 for rape and Raja Ram under
section 366.

In case of Varadarajan v. State of Madras, 30 A minor girl, who had left the
protection of her father knowing and capacity to know the full import of what she was
doing voluntarily joined the accused .the Supreme Court observed that there is
distinction between taking and allowing a minor to accompany a person. In the
present case the accused was held not to have taken her away from the keeping of her
lawful guardian. Something more has to be shown, that is some kind of inducement
held out by the accused person or an active participation by him in the formation of
the intention of the minor to leave the house of the guardian is necessary.

As per 364 talks about punishment, it means this section provides that
kidnapping or abducting in order to murder, it means whoever kidnaps or abduct any
person may be murdered or may be so disposed of as to be put in danger of being murdered,
shall be punished with imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may
extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

In T.D Vandgama v. State of Gujrarat,31 The accused was charged for

kidnapping a minor girl mohini, below 15 years of age from the lawful guardianship
of her father under section 361, Indian penal code. It was proved that accused had an
earlier stage solicited or induced mohini to leave her father‟s protection by conveying
or indicating and encouraging suggestion that he would give her shelter. Holding the

29
1973 Cri LJ 0651: AIR 1973 SC 819: 1973 1 SCC 544

30
A.I.R. 1965 S.C. 942
31
AIR 1973 S.C 2313

24 | P a g e
accused liable for kidnapping the Supreme Court held that the mere circumstance that
his act was not the immediate cause of her leaving her parental home or guardian‟s
custody would constitute no valid defence and would not absolve him from the
offence of kidnapping.

Illustration: A kidnaps Z from India, intending or knowing it to be likely that Z may be

sacrificed to an Idol. A has committed offence in this section.

So, this section apply if a person has been abduct with intention that he be murdered.
InUpendraNath v. Emperor32 the actual murder of the person is not required. It is sufficient
that there was abduction with intent to murder.

As per section 366 kidnapping, abducting or inducing women or inducing women to compel
her marriage, etc. -

Whoever kidnaps or abducts any woman with intent she may be compelled, or
knowing it to be likely that she will be compelled, to marry any person against her
will, or in order that she may be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse, or knowing it
to be likely that she will be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and
shall also be liable to fine; and whoever, by means of criminal intimidation as defined
in this code or of abuse of authority or any other method of compulsion, induce any
woman to go from any place with intent that she may be, or knowing that it is likely
she will be, forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person shall be
punished as aforesaid.

In Sant Ram, 33 the mother-in-law deceitfully induced her widow daughter-in-

law under 16 years of age, to go from one place to another and then handed her over
to M to N with the intention that she might be compelled to marry against her will. It
was held that she along with M and N was guilty of an offence under this section.

32
AIR 1940 Cal. 561
33
(1929) 11 Lah. 178

25 | P a g e
In Gopichand fattumal, 34 it was held that where a girl is kidnapped by a person
from lawful guardianship and another person takes the girl for illicit intercourse, the
latter person cannot be convicted under this section. Wherean abducted women had
voluntarily lived with the accused for two months before seduction as his wife and
whom the accused intended to marry, no offence under this section was held to have
been committed.35

As per section 366A protection of minor girl -whoever, by any means

whatsoever, induces any minor girl under the age of eighteen years to go from any
place or to do any act with intent that such girl may be, or knowing that it is likely that
she will be, forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person shall be
punishable with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable
to fine.

In Manjappa v. State of Karnataka, 36 on 03-04-1997, Hanuman Thappa father

of victim lodged a complaint alleging that his daughter Shilpa, aged about 13 years
was kidnapped by the appellants on 24-1-1997 at about 11 a.m. from his house and
they had taken her to Bombay with an intention to have illicit intercourse and
thereafter had sold the victim to Shanta at Bombay for the purpose of prostitution and
for immoral purposes.

As per section 369 kidnapping or abducting child under ten years with intent to steal from its
person - whoever kidnaps or abducts any child under the age of ten year with the intention of
taking dishonestly any movable property from the person of such child, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and
shall also be liable to fine.

4. Dowry death –

(a) Where a death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs
otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is
shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband
or any relatives of her husband for, or in connection with any demand for dowry, such death

34
A.I.R 1961Bom. 282
35
Bhajan Das, A.I.R 1924 Lah. 218
36
22 (2010) IV Cri L.J. 4729 (S.C.).

26 | P a g e
shall be called “dowry death”, and such husband or relatives shall be deemed to have caused
her death.

Explanation - For the purpose of this sub section, “dowry” shall have the same meaning as in
section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961).

(b) Whoever commits dowry shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall
not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.

In KameshPanjiyar v. State of bihar 37 the Supreme Court observed that the marriages are
made in heavens is an adage. A bride leaves the parental home for the matrimonial home,
leaving behind sweet memories there with a hope that, she will see a new world full of love
in her groom‟s house. She leaves behind not only her memories, but also her surname, Gotra
and maidenhood. Alas! The alarming rise in the number if cases involving harassment to the
newly wed girls for dowry shatters the dreams. In-laws are characterised to be out-laws for
perpetrating terrorisam which destroy the matrimonial home. The terrorist is dowry, and it is
spreading tentacles in every possible direction.

In order to attract application of section 304-B of I.P.C, the essential ingredients are as
follows:

i. The death of a woman should be caused by burns or bodily injury or otherwise than
under normal circumstances.

ii. Such death should have occurred within seven years of her marriage.

iii. She must have been subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any
relative of her husband.

iv. Such crueltyor harassment should be for in connection with demand of dowry.

v. Such cruelty or harassment is shown to have been meted out to the woman soon
before her death.

In Mustafa ShahbodalShaikh v. State of Maharastra,38 deceased died in

matrimonial home within 7 months of marriage. Accused husband and his parents
alone were in house at time fine of incident. There was clear evidence of grandfather

37
232005 Cri L.J. 1418 (S.C.).
38
(2012) IV Cri L.J., 4763 (S.C.).

27 | P a g e
and parents of deceased that 5 days prior to death she narrated torture meted out to her
on account of dowry demand. Condition of soon before death is satisfied as death was
just 7 months after marriage. It was explained in this case that soon before means
interval between cruelty and death should not be much. It was pleaded that accused
was young and the only earning member of family and so sentence should be reduced
but it was held that it cannot be a ground to reduce sentence below minimum
prescribed.

In Durga Prasad and Another v. State of M.P.,39 accused was alleged to have
driven his wife to commit suicide by subjecting her to cruelty. He was prosecuted for
demanding dowry and committing cruelty and harassment in connection with dowry
demand. Setting aside the judgement of High Court convicting the appellant/accused
the Supreme Court held cruelty or harassment soon before death must be proved in
relation to demand of dowry.

In this case except bald statement made by mother and brother of deceased no
other evidence was adduced by prosecution to prove such demand and harassment for
demand of dowry by the accused. The prosecution has thus failed to satisfy the
requirements of section 304-B, IPC and section 113-B of Evidence Act. Therefore the
accused was acquitted.

It was observed in Raja Lal v. State of Jharkhand, 40that the expression soon
before death occurring in section 304-B I.P.C is an elastic term. It can refer to a
period either immediately before death of deceased or within a few days or few weeks before
death. What is relevant is there should be a perceptible nexus between death of
deceased and dowry related harassment or cruelty inflicted on the women concerned.

DOWRY DEATH AND CRUELTY - REVERSAL ORDER-

In Anil Kumar Gupta v. State of U.P.,41 the appellant husband of deceased

along with his family members was charged for dowry death and cruelty. Deceased
died because of poisoning. There was no evidence to prove any demand for dowry.

39
(2010) 3 Cri L.J. 3419 (S.C.).
40
(2007) 3 Cri L.J. 3262 (S.C.).

41
(2011) 2 Cri L.J. 2131 (S.C.).

28 | P a g e
Letters written by deceased to appellant husband showed cordial relations between
them. Deceased was intact admitted to hospital by appellant himself. It was held that
conviction of appellant only because he and deceased weretogether on fateful night,
and by presuming that accused being an employee of medical company had special
knowledge of poisons and he administered poison was improper. Further no finding
was recorded by appellant court that trial court‟s finding was perverse. Therefore
reversal of order of acquittal by appellant court was held improper.

In MekaRamaswamy v. Dasen Mohan, 42 it was held by the Supreme Court that if the wife
dies within four months of marriage and there is absences of demand of dowry as well as ill-
treatment, the husband and his family cannot be held liable under section 304-B, Indian Penal
Code.

In Harjit Singh v. State of Punjab, 43 wife of accused died due to poisoning

within 7 years of marriage. There was no evidence showing that deceased was
subjected to cruelty or harassment by the appellant-husband or any of his relatives for
or in connection two days before incident. Harassment soon before death thus stands
proved. The defence plea that death was due to accident was not supported by any
evidence.Therefore it was held untenable. More so when it was raised for first time in
time appeal. Therefore conviction of accused husband under section 304-B was

In Pawan Kumar v. State of Haryana, 44 the deceased, the wife of the appellant
with any demand of dowry within the meaning of section 498-A, appellant cannot be
convicted either under section 304-B or section 306, IPC. It was further pointed out that
presumption arising either under section 304-B, IPC or section 113-B of Evidence Act could
not be invoke against appellant.

In Sharad v .State of Maharastra,45 deceased put herself on fire within two and half years of
marriage. Evidence of uncle and others witness that she complained about dowry harassment
by husband died of burn injuries within seven years of marriage. The wife committed suicide
because of mental cruelty and maltreatment at the hands of her husband on account of non-

42
A.I.R 1998 S.C. 774.

4329
2006 Cri.L.J. 554 (S.C.).
44
AIR 1998 S.C. 958
45
(2011) 2 Cri.L.J.2170 (S.C.).

29 | P a g e
fulfilment of dowry demands. The Supreme Court held the appellant liable for causing dowry
death section 304-B and section 498-A as well as for abetting suicide under section 306,
Indian penal code as because of his treatment the wife had committed suicide.

(1) Assault on woman with intend to outrage her modesty-

Whoever assault or uses criminal force to any women, intending to outrage of

knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or
with both.

The essential ingredients of section 354, IPC are:

i. That the assault must be on a woman;

ii. That the accused must have used criminal force on her;

iii. That the criminal force must have been used on the women intending

thereby to outrage her modesty.

It was held in Ram Kripal s/o. ShyamLalCharmakar v. State M.P,46that the test to determine
whether modesty of a woman has been outraged is whether action of offender is such as
could be perceived as one which is capable of shocking sense of decency of a woman.

It was held in RajuPandurangMahale v. State of maharastra,47 that what

constitute an outrage to female modesty is nowhere defined. The essence of a
woman‟s modesty is her sex. The capable intention of the accused is the crux of the matter.
The reaction of the woman is a very relevant, but its absence is not always
decisive. Modesty in section 354 is an attribute associated with female human beings
as a class. It is a virtue which attaches to a female owing to her sex the act of pulling a
women, removing her saree, coupled with a request for sexual intercourse, such as
would be an outraged, modesty of a women; and knowledge, that modesty is likely to
be outraged, is sufficient to constitute the offence without a deliberate intention of

46
2007 II Cri L.J. 2302 (S.C.).
47
2004 Cri L.J. 1441 (S.C.).

30 | P a g e
having such outrage alone for its object. The ultimate test for ascertaining whether
modesty has been outraged is whether the action of offender is such as could be
perceived as one which is capable of shocking the sense of decency of a woman.

The essential ingredients of the offence under section 354 of IPC are as under:

i. That the person assaulted must be a woman;

ii. That the accused must have used criminal force on her;

iii. That the criminal force must have been used in the woman intending

thereby to outrage her modesty.

Intention is not the sole criteria of the offence punishable under section 354 of
IPC and it can be committed by a person assaulting or using criminal force to any
women.

In Pandurang Sitaram Bhagwat v. State of Maharastra,48 the appellant was a

constable in state reserve police. One DilipPhadtare was his monthly tenant in one of
the rooms of his house, quarrels used to take place between DilipPhadtare and his
wife Alka, the appellant has ask Dilip to vacant the premises and he was also
searching some other premises. One day appellant entered into the tenanted premises
and he thereupon allegedly entered into the room, closed the door and outraged her
modesty by embracing her from back side and touched her breasts. At the time Dilip
came back and found Alka abusing the appellant. On his questioning as to what
happened, he was assaulted by fists and kicks. The other three accused was also
allegedly came there and assaulted both of them. The appellant and other three
persons were tried foe commission of offences under section 354,323,504 and 506
read with section 34 of Indian Penal Code. Accused was convicted under section 354 and all
others accused was acquitted. The appellant failed to get any relief from the High Court and
hence this appeal was filed before Supreme Court.

Supreme Court held that the admitted animosity between the parties. The background of the
case vis-à-vis continuous animosity between the complainant and her husband, on the one

48
2005 Cri L.J. 880 (S.C.).

31 | P a g e
hand as also and the appellant and his tenants could not have been lost sight of by learned
trial judge. it would not be safe to rely on a part of their statements as prosecution witnesses.

(c) Insult to the modesty of a woman -

Whoever intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any gesture
or sound or exhibits any objects, intending that such word and sound shall be heard or that
woman or intrudes upon the privacy of imprisonment for a term which may be extend to one
year or with fine or with both.

(d) Cruelty by husband or his relatives -

Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman subjects such woman
to cruelty, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years
and shall also be liable to fine.

In Inder Raj Malik v. Sumita Malik, 49it was held that where it is alleged by the complainant
that she was being continuously threatened that her son would be taken away unless she met
the demands of the accused by way of compelling her parents to dell their property, such
threats come, within the purview of section 498-A . the word „cruelty‟ is defined in the
explanation which inter alia says that harassment of a woman with a view to coerce her or
any related persons to meet any unlawful demand for any property or any valuable security is
cruelty.

In Virendra Bhatt v. State,50 it was held that where the suicide had taken place
within seven years of the marriage and the convincing evidence had come on record
that the deceased wife was subjected to cruelty at the hands of the accused husband, a
presumption that it was the accused who abetted the commission of suicide by his wife could
be drawn and thus, the conviction for offences under section 306 and 498-
A was proper.

In Vadde Rama Rao v. State of A.P., 51 the accused V. Rama Rao had gone
with his wife to the house if his father-in-law for demanding additional dowry. Father-
in-law showed his inability to meet the demand. Thereafter husband was coming back
and his wife voluntarily followed him. At the bus stand the accused went out for

49
351986 Cri. L.J. 1510 (Del.).
50
1990 Cri L.J. 1666 (A.P.).
51
1991 Cri.L.J. 639 (Cal)

32 | P a g e
urinal and after return he found the deceased missing. He went even to his father-in-
law‟s house to inquire whether the deceased wife came back since she was missing.
He made search with father-in-law and his relatives. Eventually her dead body was
found in a well. Accused was held guilty under clause (b) of section 498-A, IPC.

It was held in SankarParasad Shaw v. State,52 that mere demand of dowry

may not be an offence under section 4 of the dowry prohibition act, 1961 but it is an
offence under section 498-A IPC. For an offence under the dowry prohibition act
dowry should either be given or agreed to be given but section 498-A covers even
mere demand for dowry as it covered by sub-clauses (b) of explanation to that section.

2. Importation of a girl from foreign country (up to 21 year of age):-

Whoever imports into [India] from any country outside India or from the state of Jammu
Kashmir any girl under age of twenty one year with intent that she may be or knowing it to be
likely that she will be, forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person, shall be
punishable with imprisonment which extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.

Ingredients-

i. The girl must be imported into from places outside India including

Jammu and Kashmir.

ii. The age of the girl imported must be below 21 years.

iii. The girls must be imported with the intent that they may be, or

knowing it be likely that they will be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another
person.

52
1990 Cri L.J. 1346 (M.P.).

33 | P a g e
 CHAPTER-IV

THE CRIME UNDER SPECIAL AND LOCAL LAW’s:

4.1. Dowry Prohibition Act -

This act may called the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961,

It extends to the whole India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

It shall may come into force on such date as in the central Government may by notification in
the official Gazette, appoint.

4.1.1 Penalty for giving or taking dowry -

If any person after the commencement of this act, give or takes or abets the
giving or taking of dowry, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which
shall not be less than five years, and with fine which shall not be less than fifteen
thousand rupees or the amount of the value of such dowry, whichever is more.

4.1.2 Penalty for demanding dowry -

If any person demands, directly or indirectly, from the parents or other and relatives or
guardian of bride or bridegroom, as the case may be, any dowry he shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be shall than six months, but which may extend to
ten thousand to ten thousand rupees.

In BalasahebAnnappaWaghmare v. The State of Maharastra,53 the demands made by

petitioner from the date of the function held to celebrate the 7thmonth pregnancy and
onwards cannot be styled as a demand in connection with marriage. They were demands
having no nexus with the marriage and were made after marriage. They started from the
function held by father of deceased- wife to celebrate the 7th month pregnancy of her. Hence

53
1997 Cri. L.J3746

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the conviction of the petitioner for the offence under section 304B, IPC is unsustainable in
law.

In case of State Himachal Pradesh v. Nikku Ram,54 the property or the valuble
security need not be as a consideration for marriage, as was required to be under the
unamended definition. This apart, the addition of the words, “any time” before the
expression “after the marriage” would clearly show that even if the demand is long
after the marriage the same could constitute dowry, if other requirements of the
section are satisfied.

In Pawan Kumar and others v. State of Haryana, 55 the evidence of prosecution

witnesses arevery clear. That after few days of the marriage, there was demand of
scooter and fridge, which when not being met lead to repetitive taunts and
maltreatment. Such demands cannot be said to be not in connection with the marriage
and in the circumstances of the case constitutes to be a case falling within the
definition of „dowry‟ under section 2 of 1961 Act and section 304B IPC.

In S.Gopal Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh, 56 marriage in this context would

include a proposed marriage also more particularly where the non-fulfilment of the
“demand of dowry” leads to the ugly consequence of the marriage not taking place at
all.

4.1.3 Ban on advertisement - if any person-

(a) Offers, through any advertisement in any newspaper, periodical,

journal or through any other media, any share in his property or of any
money or both as a share in any business or other interest as
consider for the marriage of his son or daughter or any other
relatives;

(b) Prints or publish or circulate any advertisement referred to in

clause (a),

54
1997 AIR (SC) 67
55
1998 Cri. L.J. 1144
56
1996 Cri L.J. 3237 (SC)

35 | P a g e
He shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six month,
but which may extend to five year, or with fine which may extend to fifteen thousand rupees,

Provided that the court may, for adequate and special reasons to be recorded in
the judgement, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than six months.

4.2. The indecent representation of women (Prohibition Act, 1986)-

It extends to the whole of India, except the Sate of Jammu and Kashmir.

It shall come into force on such date as the central Government may, by notification in the
official Gazette, appoint.

4.2.1 Section 3- prohibition of advertisement containing indecent

representation of women -

No person shall publish, or cause to be published or arrange or take part in the publication or
exhibition of any advertisement which contains indecent representation of women in any
form.

In P.K. Somanath v. State of Kerala, 57the magazine contains photograph of a

lady as centre-spread. Lower portion of one of her thighs and cleavage are exposed.
Facial expression is not at all provocative. The lady has properly covered her nudity.
This photograph has not got the effect of arousing sexual feeling in an ordinary
humans being. Nor has it got the effect of depraving or corrupting the minds of those
who are open to influence and into whose hands the magazine is likely to fall.

The impugned publication contains photographs of ladies on certain pages. In those

photographs the models are seen with dress which can be described as an apology for
a dress. The pose, the facial expression and lay out are certainly objectionable and
provocative. Those pictures, prima facie, come within the mischief of the provisions
contained in the Act. Therefore, it cannot be held that the impugned publication is not
offending the provisions of the Act. Prosecution cannot be quashed.

57
1990 Cri. L.J. 542

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4.2.2 Section 6- Penalty -

Any person who contravenes the provisions of section 3 or section 4 shall be

punishable on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term
which may extend to two years, and with fine which may extend to two thousand

rupees, and in the event of a second or term of not less than ten thousand rupees but which
may extend to one lakh rupees.

4.3. The protection of women from domestic violence Act, 2005 -

For the purposes of this Act, any Act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent
shall constitute domestic violence in case it-

(a) Harms or injures or endanger the health, safety life, limb or wellbeing, whether
mental or physical of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical
abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse;

(b) Harass, harm injuries or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce
her or any other person related to her to meet any
unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable
security;

(c) Has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any
conduct mentioned in clause (a) clause (b);

(d) Otherwise injuries or cause harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved
person.

4.3.1 Powers and duties of protection officers:-

(1) Any person who has reason to believe that an Act of domestic violence has been, or is
being or likely to be committed, may give information about it to the concerned protection
officer.

(2) No liability, civil or criminal, shall be incurred by any person for giving in good faith
of information for the purpose of sub-section(1).

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4.3.2 Duties of police officers, service providers and Magistrate -

(a) Of her right to make an application of obtaining a relief by way of a

protection order an order for monetary relief, a custody order, a residence
order, a compensation order or more than one such order under this Act.

(b) Availability of service of service provider.

(c) Of the availability of service or the protection officer.

(d) Of her right to free legal services under the Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987.

(e) Of her right to file a complaint under section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (45 of
1860), wherever relevant.

Provided that nothing shall be constructed in any manner as to relieve a police officer from
his duty to proceed in accordance with law upon receipt of information as to the commission
of a cognizable offence.

4.4. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 -

This Act may be called “The Immoral Traffic (Prevention)” Act, 1956. It extends to the
whole India.

This section shall come into force at once; and the remaining provision of this Act shall come
into force on such date as the central Government may, be notification in the official Gazette,
appoint.

4.4.1 Section 2 Definitions:

“brothel” includes any house, room, conveyance or place or any portion of any
house, room, conveyance or place, which is used for purposes [of sexual exploitation
or abuse for the gain of another person or for the mutual gain of two or more
prostitutes];

4.4.2 Section 3 Punishment for keeping brothel or allowing premises to be used as a brothel:

(1) Any person who keeps or manages, or acts or assists in the keeping or management of
a brothel shall be punishable on first conviction with rigorous imprisonment for a term of not

38 | P a g e
less than one year and not more than three years and also with fine which may extend to two
thousand rupees and in the event at a second or subsequent conviction, with rigorous
imprisonment for a term of not less than two years and not more than five years and also with
fine which may extend to two thousand rupee

(2) Any person who, -

(a) Being the tenant, lessee, occupier or person in charge of any

premises, uses, or knowingly allows any other person to use, such premises or any part
thereof as a brothel,

(b) Being the owner, lessor or landlord of any premises or the agent of such owner, lessor
or landlord, lets the same or any thereof with
knowledge that the same or any part thereof is intended to be used as a
brothel, or is wilfully a part to the use of such premises or any part
thereof as a brothel, Shall be punishable on first conviction with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to two years and with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees and
in the event of a second or subsequent conviction, will rigorous imprisonment for a term
which may extend to five years and also with fine.

4.4.3 Section 4 Punishment foe living on the earning of prostitution -

(1) Any person over the age of eighteen years who knowingly lives,

wholly or in part, on the earnings of the prostitution of [any other person] shall be punishable
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend
to one thousand rupees, or with both [and where such earning relate to the prostitution of
child or a minor], shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than
seven year.

(2) where any person over the age of eighteen year is proved -

(a) To be living with, or to be habitually in the company of a prostitute;

(b) To have exercised control, direction or influence over the movements of a prostitute
in a such manner as to show that such person is aiding abetting or compelling her for
prostitution;

39 | P a g e
(c) To be acting as a tout or pimp on behalf of a prostitute,

It shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved. That such person is

knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution of another within the meaning of sub-
section (1).

4.5. The commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987:

This Act may be called the commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987.

It extends to the whole India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

It shall come into force in a state on such date as the central Government may by
notification in the official Gazette appoint, and different dates may be appointed for
different states58.

4.5.1 Definition -

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

(a) “Code” means the code of criminal procedure 1973 (“2 of 1974)

(b) “Glorification” in relation to sati, whether such sati, was committed before or after
the commencement of this Act, includes, among other things

i. The observance of any ceremony or the taking out of a procession in connection with
the commission of sati;

ii. The supporting justifying or propagating the practice of sati in any manner;

iii. The arranging of any function to eulogise the person who has committed sati,

iv. The creation of a trust, or the collection of funds, or the construction of a temple or
other structure or the carrying on of any form of worship or the performance of any ceremony
thereat, with a view to perpetuate the honour of, or to preserve the memory of a person who
has committed sati;

58
J.P. Bhatnagar: Law Relating Women & their Rights, Second Edition 1999, Asoka Law House, New Delhi

40 | P a g e
(c) “Sati” means the burning or buying alive of

i. Any widow along with the body of her deceased husband or any other relatives or
with any article, object or thing associated with the husband or such relative,

ii. Any women along with the body of any of her relatives, irrespective of whether such
burning or buying is claimed to be voluntary on the part of the widow or the women or
otherwise,

(d) “Special Court” means a specially constitutional court under section

(e) Temple includes any building or other structure whether roofed or not, constructed or
made to preserve the memory of a person in respect of whom sati has been committed or used
or intended to be used for the carrying on any form of worship or for the carrying on any
form of worship or for the observance of any ceremony in connection with such commission,

4.5.2. Punishment for offences relating to sati:

(a) Attempt to commit sati -

Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860),

whoever attempts to commit sati and does any Act towards such commission shall be
also be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or
with fine with both;

Provide that the special court trying an offence under the section shall, before
convicting any person, take into consideration the consideration the circumstance
leading to the commission of the offence, the act committed, the state of mind of the
person charged of the offence at the time of the commission of the act and shall other
relevant factors59.

(b) Abetment of sati:

1. Notwithstanding any contained in the IPC (45 of 1860), if any person

commits sati, whoever abets the commission of such sati, either directly or indirectly, shall
be punishable with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.

59
Justice Krishna Iyer: Crimes Against Women- A Saga of Victimology sans Penology, 1993, Ashish Publishing
House, New Delhi

41 | P a g e
2. If any person attempts to commit sati, whoever abets such attempt either directly or
indirectly shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation for the purposes of this section, any of the following acts, or the like shall also be
deemed to be an abetment, namely:

(a) Any inducement to a widow or women to get her or buried alive along with the body
of her deceased husband or with any other relative
irrespective of whether she is in a fit state of mind or is labouring under a

state of intoxication or stupefaction or other cause impending the exercise of her free will;

(b) Making a widow or women believe that the commission of sati would result in some
spiritual benefit to her or her deceased husband or relative, or general wellbeing of the
family;

(c) Encouraging a widow or woman to remain fixed in her resolve to commit satiand
thus instigating her to commit sati;

(d) Participation in any procession in connection with the commission of sati or aiding
the widow or women in her decision to commit sati by taking her
along with the body of her deceased husband or relative to cremation or burial
ground.

(e) Being present at the place where at the place sati is committed as an active participant
to such commission or to any ceremony connected with it;

(f) Preventing or abstracting the widow or women from saving herself from beingburnt
or buried alive;

(g) Abstracting or interfering with, the police in the discharge of its duties of taking any
steps to prevent the commission of sati;

4.5.3 Punishment for Glorification of Sati -

Whoever does any act for the glorification of sati shall be punished with imprisonment for a
term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven year and with the
fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but which may extend to thirty
thousand rupees.

42 | P a g e
4.6. The Chhattisgarh TonahiPratadnaNivarna Act, 2005 -

Received the assent of the Governor on the 26th September, 2005 assent first
published in the Chhattisgarh Rajpatra (Asadharan), dated the 30th September, 2005.

4.6.1 Preamble-

Be it enacted by the Chhattisgarh legislature in the fifty-sixty year of the republic of the India
as follows

4.6.2 Section 1 -

Short title, extent and commencement:

(1) This Act may be called the Chhattisgarh Tonahi PratadnaNivarna

Adhiniyam, 2005.

(2) It extends to the whole State of Chhattisgarh.

(3) It shall come into force from the date of its publication in the

official Gazette.

4.6.3 Section 2 -

Definitions:

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires.

(1) “Tonahi” means person indicated by any person or person that he will harm or
possesses power to harm or thereby he intends to harm any other person or person or society
or animal or living things by black magic, whether known as Dayan Tonaha or by any other
names;

(2) “Identifier” means person who indicates any person as Tonahi or induces other person
to indicate or by his deed, words, gesture or behaviour helps to indicate or knowingly does
anything so, thereby on the basis of such indication that person may be harmed or
apprehended to be harmed or his honour may be adversely affected.

(3) “Ojha” may he be known by any other name whatsoever, means person who claims to
possess power to control, cure, treat Tonahi or any person or any animal or living things

43 | P a g e
alleged to be affected by Tonahi and make him powerless, by Jharphock, Totka, Tantra-
Mantra or by any means.

(4) “Damage” includes physical, mental and economic harm and harm to reputation;

(5) “Code” means the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No.of 1974).

4.6.4 Section 4 - Punishment for identifying Tonahi:

Whoever identifies any person as tonahi by any means shall be punished with rigorous
imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 year and also with fine.

4.6.5 Section 5 - punishment for harassment:

Whoever causes physical or mental harassment or damage to any person identify by him or
any person as Tonahi shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which
may extend to 5 year and also with fine.

4.6.6. Section 6 - Punishment for alleged curing:

Whoever does any Act of Jhar-Phook, Totka, use of Tantra-Mantra or

anything as Ojha upon any person indicate as a Tonahi or any other person or animal
or living thing alleged to be affected by such Tonahi, unless any claim of treatment or
control shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 5 year
and also with fine.

4.6.7. Section 7 -

Whoever claims to have power to have any person to harm any person or animal or living
thing by black magic, evil eye or by any other means and publicizes it and tries to disturb the
public tranquillity or peace or cause annoyance or harms other shall be punished with
rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and also with fine.

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4.6.8. Section 8 - Punishment for attempt to commit offence:

Whoever attempts to commit any offence punishable under this Act or to

cause such offence to be committed and in such attempt does any Act towards the
commission of the offence shall be punished with the punishment provide for the
offence.

4.6.9 Section 9- Trial of offences under this Act:

Every offence under this Act shall be trial by the judicial magistrate first class.

4.6.10 Section 10- Offences to be cognizable and non-bailable

Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974)

(a) Every offence punishable under this Act shall be cognizable and non-bailable;

(b) No person accused of an offence punishable under this Act shall be released on bail or
on his own bond unless the Public Prosecutor
has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such
release.

4.6.11. Section 12 - Matters to be taken into consideration for fixing fine:

Where a sentence of fine imposed under section 4,5 and 6, the court in fixing the amount if
the fine shall take into consideration the physical and mental damage caused to victim
including any cost of treatment.

5.6.12 Section 13 - Order for compensation:

When a court imposes sentence of fine, the court shall when passing judgement, order
the whole or part of the fine recovered to be awarded as compensation to the victim.

4.6.13 Section 14 - Bar of Jurisdiction:

No civil court shall entertain any or proceeding against decision made or order passed by any
officer or authority under this Act or any made there under.

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4.6.14 Section 15 - Protection of action taken in good faith:

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the state Government or any
officer of the state Government or any function or exercising any power or discharging any
function or performing done in good faith or intended to be done under this Act or any rule
made there under.

4.6.15 Section 16 - Power to make rule:

The state Government may, by notification make the rules to carry out the provision of this
Act.

Every rule made under this Act by the state Government shall be laid, as soon as may be after
it is made, before the state legislature.

4.6.16.Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986:

Sections 292, 293 and 294 of the Indian Penal Code,1860 deal with the law relating to
obscenity. None of the provisions of the Indian Penal Code have any special reference
to the indecent representation of women and perhaps due to this lacuna a tendency
has started to represent women in a very indecent manner. To deal with such a
situation the Indecent Representation of Women Bill,1986 was introduced in the
Rajya Sabha on 20th August 1986 to prohibit indecent representation of women
through advertisement or in publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other
manner. The Bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament and was assented by
the President on 23rd December, 1986

Section 4 of the Act45 prohibits publication, selling, hire, distribution,

production, circulation etc. of books, pamphlet, paper, slide film, writing, drawing
etc., containing indecent representation of women. It makes an exception in the
following cases:

(a) Publication for the public good in the interest of art, science, literature etc.

46 | P a g e
(b) Anything protected by the Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act,
1958.

(c) Any film to which Cinematograph Act, 1952 is applicable.

In Section 5 the power to enter and search is provided. Section 6 provides

penalty for imprisonment up to two years and fine up to rupees two thousand, on first
conviction. On subsequent conviction, minimum imprisonment for six months and
maximum five years and fine up to one lakh but not less than ten thousand has been
provided. Section 3 provides for the advertisements containing indecent
representationofwomen.

Section 9 protects the action taken by any officer of Central and State Government in good
faith, for the purpose of this Act. Section 10 gives the rulemaking power to the Central
Government.

4.6.17. The Information Technology Act, 2000:

With the advent of revolution in the information technology, there arose a tremendous
possibility of transboundary free flow of obscene and pornographic material. The
Information Technology Act of 2000 was enacted by the Parliament in an attempt to
regulate and facilitate the cyber space. On publication of obscene information in
electronic form, the IT Act provides: Whoever, publishes or transmits or causes to be
published in the electronic form, any material which is lascivious or appeals to the
prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who
are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter
contained or embodied in it, shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment
of either description for a term which may extend to five years and with fine which
may extend to one lakh rupees and in the event of second or subsequent conviction
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and
also with fine which may extend to two lakhs rupees.

4.6.18. Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956:

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In Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act, 1956, harmful publications means any book,
magazine, pamphlet, leaflet, newspaper or other like publication which consists of stories told
with the aid of pictures or without the aid of pictures or wholly in pictures, being stories
portraying wholly or mainly:

1) the commission of offences; or

2) acts of violence or cruelty; or

3) incidents of a repulsive or horrible in such a way that the publication as a whole

would tend to corrupt a young person into whose hands it might fall, whether by
inciting or encouraging him to commit offences or acts of violence or cruelty or in
any other manner whatsoever. Liability is on all who sells, lets to hire, distributes,
publicly exhibit or in any manner puts into circulation, any harmful publication, or for
purposes of sale, hire, distribution, public exhibition or circulation, prints, makes or
produces or has in his possession any harmful publication, or advertises or makes

known by any means whatsoever that any harmful publication can be procured from or
through any person. He shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to six
months or with fine or both.

48 | P a g e
 CHAPTER-V

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT-

Women empowerment means emancipation of women from the vicious grips of social,
economical, political, caste and gender based discrimination. It means granting women the
freedom to make life choices. Women empowerment does not mean “identifying
women”rather it means replacing particularly with parity. In this regard, there are various
facets of women empowerment such as given hereunder:-
Human Rights or individual Rights:

A woman is a being with sense, imagination and thoughts; she should be able to express them
freely. Individual empowerment means to have the self-confidence to articulate and assert the
power to negotiate and decide.

Women Empowerment under International Conventions

"Empowerment is the process of enhancing the capacity of individuals or groups to

make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes.
Empowered people have freedom of choice and action. This in turn enables them to
better influence the course of their lives and the decisions which affect them"60

Empowerment is often suggested as part of the solution to a lot of societal problems, as well
as being an end in itself. But, while discussing about empowerment the greatest challenge is
to understand what exactly it means.

“Empowerment means individuals acquiring the power to think and act freely,
exercise choice, and to fulfill their potential as full and equal members of society”

“Empowerment refers to the expansion in people’s ability to make strategic life choices in a
context where this ability was previously denied to them”. 61

60
[Online] available from http://www.worldbank.org
61
47Kabeer, Naila. 2001. “Reflections on the measurement of women‟s empowerment.” In
Discussing Women‟s Empowerment-Theory and Practice.Sida Studies No. 3. NovumGrafiskaAB: Stockholm.

49 | P a g e
According to Kabeer, “Empowerment is a process by which those who have
been denied power gain power, in particular the ability to make strategic life choices.
For women, these could be the capacity to choose a marriage partner, a livelihood, or
whether or not to have children. For this power to come about, three interrelated
dimensions are needed: access to and control of resources; agency (the ability to use
these resources to bring about new opportunities) and achievements (the attainment of
new social outcomes). Empowerment, therefore, is both a process and an end result”.

In the present scenario empowerment is considered a process by which the

one’s without power gain greater control over their lives. This means control over
material assets, intellectual resources and ideology. It involves power to, power with
and power within. Some define empowerment as a process of awareness and
conscientization, of capacity building leading to greater participation, effective
decision-making power and control leading to transformative action. This involves
ability to get what one wants and to influence others on our concerns.

The couple of word “Women-Empowerment” may be defined as a multidimensional

social process that helps women in gaining control over their own lives. It fosters capacity in
them, for use in their own lives, their community, and in their society by acting on issues that
they define as important. It is multidimensional in the sense that it occurs within sociological,
psychological,

economic, political and other dimensions. It also occurs at various levels such as individual,
group, and community. It is a social process in the sense that it occurs
in relationships to others.

According to UNFPA Guidelines 48,“The empowerment of women comprises five

components- women‟s sense of self-worth; their rights to have and to determine choices;
their right to have access to opportunities and resources; their right to have the power to
control their own lives; both within and outside the home; and their ability to influence the
direction of social change to create more just social and economic order on national and
international levels.”

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United Nations Population Fund Guidelines for Women's Empowerment

The need for women empowerment reflects in the words of Helen Clark, the Administrator
UNDP, “Development cannot be achieved if fifty percent of the population is excluded from
the opportunities it brings.”

Gender equality or women empowerment is central to economic and human

development in a country. Removing inequalities gives societies a better chance to
develop. When women and men have relative equality, economies grow faster,
children’s health improves and there is less corruption. Gender equality is an
important human right. Almost all the international organisations have advocated in
favour of women empowerment for very long, the United Nations has been the
pioneer among them.

Various efforts by United Nations include:

1. Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (1958);

2. Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960);

3. Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of

Marriages (1962);

4. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

CEDAW (1979) and Optional Protocol to the Convention (1999) The Convention is
often described as an international bill of rights for women.

5. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women by 2015‖ has been one of the eight
goals in the Millennium Development Goals by UN.

The Cairo Conference in 1994 organized by UN on Population and

Development called attention to women’s empowerment as a central focus and UNDP
developed the Gender Empowerment measure which focuses on the three variables
that reflect women’s participation in society - political power or decision-making,
education and health. 1995 UNDP report was devoted to women’s empowerment and
it declared that if human development is not engendered it is endangered a declaration
which almost become a lei motif for further development measuring and policy
planning. Equality, sustainability and empowerment were emphasized and the stress

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was, that women‟s emancipation does not depend on national income but is an engaged
political process.

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created “UN Women”, the United
Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so,
UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization‟s goals on
gender equality and the empowerment of women. The creation of UN Women came
about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for
greater impact.

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the UN Charter, UN Women, among other
issues, works for the: elimination of discrimination against women and girls;
empowerment of women; and achievement of equality between women and men as partners
and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and
security8.

Considerable efforts have been made internationally but the efforts within our
country are numerous and continuous since our struggle for freedom against the
British Raj. It was during that period women emancipation was initiated by some of
the male reformers to improve our societal structure, educational and health standards.

The inception of Mahatma Gandhi in the National freedom movement ushered

a new concept of mass mobilization. Women constituted about 50% of the country‟s
total population, he, therefore, involved women in the nation‟s liberation movement.
The mass participation of women directly in the freedom struggle was the great divide
in the history of (Feminist movement) empowerment of women. They shed age-old
disabilities and shared the responsibility of liberation of their motherland with their
counter parts. The freedom of India thus became synonymous with the empowerment
of women. In this context the date of India’s political freedom (15th August, 1947) is a
landmark in the history of women empowerment in India. It brought in its wake a
great consciousness in our society for human dignity. It was realized that every citizen
of independent India be accorded equal treatment under the law.

52 | P a g e
Women-only organization like All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) and
the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) emerged. Women were
grappling with the issues relating to the scope of women’s political participation,
women’s franchise, communal awards, and leadership roles in political parties.

The Indian National Army (INA), which was set up by Subhash Chandra
Bose, was one of the most genuine and fearless movements undertaken by Indian men
and women under the able and remarkable leadership of this great patriot. Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose recruited around 1000 women for the Rani of Jhansi Regiment
from different South East Asian countries. Dr. Lakshmi Swaminathan, who was a
medical practitioner by profession, led this regiment. The women in the regiment
were given the same training as that was given to men. Even their uniform was similar
to the men soldiers. The real impact of the INA may not have been in military terms,
but it had a deep psychological impact on the women of India. While there was
significant number of women patriots who stood by Gandhiji and the Congress in the
non-violent movement, women of Bengal and from other parts of India also
participated in a vital role in various armed revolutions.

Women played a major role in the Lahore Students Union of Bhagat Singh and the Kakori
case. The MahilaRashtriyaSangha was established by LatikaGhosh in the year 1928. Veena
Das who
shot at the Governor of Bengal, and Kamla Das Gupta and Kalyani Das were all
active within the respective revolutionary groups. Women courageously participated
in violent and non-violent movements of Indian independence.

The women in freedom struggle of India excelled as speakers, marchers, campaigners and
tireless volunteers. They actively participated in the processions and rallies conducted by the
Indian political parties. They always fought for Hindu-Muslim unity. The contribution of
women in freedom struggle of India is truly remarkable and is difficult to define in words.

Women’s participation in the freedom struggle developed their critical

consciousness about their role and rights in independent India. This resulted in the
introduction of the franchise and civic rights of women in the Indian constitution.
There was provision for women’s upliftment through affirmative action, maternal
health and child care provision (crèches), equal pay for equal work etc. The state

53 | P a g e
adopted a patronizing role towards women. Women in India did not have to struggle for basic
rights as did women in the West. The utopia ended soon when the social and cultural
ideologies and structures failed to honour the newly acquired concepts of fundamental rights
and democracy.

It is really a matter of concern that in independent India the women are not given their due
credit and their participation in all the walks of life is not as remarkable as during those days
of struggle.

Although women in India did not have to struggle for basic rights but many
problems still remain which inhibit these new rights and opportunities from being
fully taken advantage of. For example, India’s constitution also states that women are
a “weaker section” of the population, and therefore need assistance to function as said
equals.62

(1) Social women empowerment:

A critical aspect of social empowerment of women is the promotion of gender equality.

Gender equality implies a society in which women and men enjoy the same opportunities,
outcome, rights and obligation in all spheres of life.

(2) Educational women empowerment:

It means empowerment women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to
participate fully in the development process. It means making women aware of their rights
and developing a confidence to claim them.

(3) Economical and Occupational empowerment:

It implies a better quality of material life through sustainable livelihoods owned and managed
by women. It means reducing counterparts by making them a significant part of the human
resource

62
Justice Krishna Iyer: Crimes Against Women- A Saga of Victimology sans Penology, 1993, Ashish Publishing
House, New Delhi

54 | P a g e
(4) Legal women empowerment:

It suggests the provision of an effective legal structure which is supportive of women

empowerment. It means addressing the gaps between what the law prescribe and what
actually occurs.

(5) Political empowerment:

It means the existence of a political system favouring the participation in and control by the
women of the political decision process and in Governance.

National Initiatives to curb the Gender violence:-

In January 1992, the Government set up this statutory body with a specific
mandate to study and monitor all matters relating to the constitutional and For the
welfare of the woman, several commissions had been set up by the government to
look into the matter of status of woman in Indian society. In its crusade to deal with
blatant violations, Indian Parliament enacted the Protection of Human Rights Act,
1993 and the National Commission for Women Act, 1990. The present chapter makes
an attempt to study the role and responsibilities of National Human Rights
Commission (hereinafter cited as NHRC) and National Commission for Women
(hereinafter cited as NCW) in seeking redress for the women victims.

Highlighting their achievements and recommendations in many fields of law, the sixth
chapter of the work shall make an attempt in bringing out the weaknesses in the working of
the present system. The researcher is quite hopeful that by removing the defects and flaws
these Commissions would be able to play a befitting role as a moral authority for promoting
human rights in our country.

legal safeguard provided for women, review the existing legislation to suggest amendments.

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(1) Reservation for women in local self-Government:-

The 73rd constitutional Amendment Acts passed in 1992 by parliament ensure one third of
the total seats for women in all elected offices in local bodies whether in rural areas or urban
areas.

(2) The National plan of Action for the Girl Child (1991-2000):-

The plan of Action is to ensure survival protection and development of the girl child with the
ultimate objective of building up a better future for the girl child

(3) National Policy for the employment of women:-

The department of women & child development in the ministry of Human Resource
Development has prepared a „National policy foe the empowerment if women‟ in the year
2001. The goal of this policy is to bring about the advancement development and
empowerment of women.

(4) National commission for empowerment of women, 2010:-

The launch if the National commission for empowerment of women in march, 2010 is an
imported development that will provide the much required fillip to coordinated assessment of
current Government interventions and aligning future programmes so as to translate the
MPEW prescription into reality. The mission was operationalized during 2011-2012

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 CHAPTER-VI

CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT TOWARDS WOMAN

The India polity more or less has an always tried to cope with the contemporary
need - based development of laws for the specified purposes. It may be in the field of
Human Rights, Politics, Civil Rights, Constitutional Rights or Social Transfer. Still
the judicially always inspires directly or indirectly to meet the challenges as per need,
either by precedents, directions or suggestions etc. The Supreme Court in a case1
observed that “it is well accepted by thinkers, philosophers and academicians that if
JUSTICS, LIBERTY, EQUALITY and FRATERNITY, including social, economic
and political justice, the golden goals set out by the Preamble of the Constitution, are
to be achieved, the Indian polity has to be educated and educated with excellence.

Our Indian constitution was written in an era when the social condition of
Indian women was very poor and need an urgent reform. She was mentally and
physically tortured in the society. She was struggling to find her social status and a
respectable place in the society. At that time Indian women were in a need of some
laws in order to improve their social position and to ensure proper safety against
mental and physical torture. At that time Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, author of our Indian
constitution, took certain constructive and much needed steps in favor of Indian
women to make them independent and socially strong and today we can see the
revolutionary change in the position and image of Indian women.

Due to the revolutionary changes brought by our constitution and efforts made
by Indian women, they have earned themselves a respectable position in the society.
Now they are treated equally with men. Today women are everywhere and to be
precise women are in space, women are in corporate, women are in politics, women
are in entertainment field, women are in defense field and the list goes on.

It is indeed a matter of pleasure that the position of women has improved in

the last four decades. But still somewhere I feel that the presently Indian women are
again a bit struggling to maintain their dignity and freedom. Mental and physical
torture of women has again become common and that is why they have started feeling

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unsafe. As per my personal understanding with the proper knowledge of legal and
constitutional rights of a woman their position can be further strengthen in the society. There
are lots of provisions in our law which protects a woman from mental and physical torture.
Now let us discuss some of the problems women are facing along with remedy provided by
the law63.

PROVISIONS ENSURING RIGHTS OF INDIAN WOMEN

After Independence lots of provisions have been introduced to improve the social condition
of women and to give them a platform where they can utilize their potential for their
betterment and contribute positively towards the growth of their country. It is fact that the in
the present era position and development of any country is dependent on the socio-economic
position of its women. The provisions which enhanced the value of present women can be
divided into two parts:

1. Constitutional provisions

2. Parliamentary provisions

It’s a fact that awareness about constitutional and Parliamentary provisions to improve the
condition of women is lacking. To ensure and spread the awareness of these provisions we
will discuss them in detail.

Constitutional provisions to ensure dignity of women

Lots of provisions have been introduced through constitution to ensure dignity and self
respect to the women at large. As mentioned earlier Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, author of Indian
constitution, make sure that constitution of India safeguard the social and legal rights of
women. Please find below some of the provisions made in favour of Indian women, in
constitution of India:

Constitutional Commitment for Empowering Women

63
Justice Krishna Iyer: Crimes Against Women- A Saga of Victimology sans Penology, 1993, Ashish Publishing
House, New Delhi

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Empowerment of any section of a society is a myth until they are conferred equality before
law. The foundation of freedom, justice and fraternity is based on the recognition of the
inherent dignity and of equal and inalienable rights to all the members of the society.

In this context the date of India’s political freedom (15th August, 1947) is a
landmark in the history of women empowerment in India. It brought in its wake a
great consciousness in our society for human dignity. It was realized that every citizen
of independent India be accorded equal treatment under the law. Torealize the
vision of the freedom movement special attention was given by Constitution
framers. The framers of the Indian Constitution bestowed sufficient thought on the
position of women in the Indian Social order. This is evident from the provisions of
the Constitution, which have not only ensured equality between men and women but
also provided specifically certain safeguards in favour of women 64.

While supporting the incorporation of Fundamental Rights in our Constitution one of the
member of the Constituent Assembly, Mrs. Hansa Mehta ushered these words, “It will warm
the heart of many a woman to know that free India will mean not only equality of status but
equality of opportunity. It is true that a few women in the past and even today enjoy high
status and have received the highest honour that any man can receive, like our friend, Mrs.
Sarojini Nadu. But these women are few and far between. One swallow does not make a
summer. These women do not give us a real picture of the position of Indian women in this
country.

The average woman in this country has suffered now for centuries from
inequalities heaped upon her by laws, customs and practices of people who have
fallen from the heights of that civilisation of which we are all so proud. There is
thousands of women to-day who are denied the ordinary human rights. They are put
behind the purdah, secluded within the four walls of their homes, unable to move
freely. The Indian woman has been reduced to such a state of helplessness that she has
become an easy prey of those who wish to exploit the situation. In degrading women,
man has degraded himself. In raising her man will not only raise him but rise the

64
J.P. Bhatnagar: Law Relating Women & their Rights, Second Edition 1999, Asoka Law House, New Delhi

59 | P a g e
whole nation. Mahatma Gandhi’s name has, been invoked on the floor of this House.
It would be ingratitude on my part if I do not acknowledge the great debt of gratitude
that Indian women owe to Mahatma Gandhi for all that he has done for them. In spite
of all these, we have never asked for privileges. The women’sorganisation to which I
have the honour to belong has never asked for reserved seats, for quotas, or for
separate electorates. What we have asked for is social justice, economic justice, and
political justice. We have asked for that equality which can alone be the basis of

mutual respect and understanding and with-out which real co-operation is not possible
between man and woman. Women form one half of the population of this country and,
therefore, men cannot go very far without the co-operation of women. This ancient land
cannot attain its rightful place, its honoured place in this world without the co-operation of
women. I therefore welcome this Resolution for the great promise which it holds, and I hope
that the objectives embodied in the Resolution will not remain on paper but will be translated
into reality.

The Constitution of India is a basic document which provides for women

empowerment within the framework of the plenary provision of various and the
Preamble. The courts always try to interpret the cases which are detriment to women
within the area of social justice with these Articles. The objective of the Constitution
as spelt out in the Preamble is to ensure that justice, equality and liberty are achieved.
The ways and means to achieve these objectives are provided under Part III
enumerating Fundamental Rights and Part IV incorporating the Directive Principles of
the State Policy.

The makers of Indian Constitution also understood this fact and have provided
several provisions for elevating the status of women and giving them a level playing
field. The following is a brief description of such provisions. 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 them65.

65
available from http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol1p9.htm

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Fundamental Rights Guaranteed to women under the Constitution:

Part III of the Constitution, consisting of Articles 12 to 35, relating to Fundamental Rights, is
considered the „heart‟ of the Constitution.

The fundamental rights are regarded as fundamental because they are most
essential for the attainment by the individual of his full intellectual, moral and
spiritual status.

As per Justice P. N. Bhagwati:

“These fundamental rights represent the basic values cherished by the people of this country
since the Vedic times and they are calculated to protect the dignity of the individual and
create conditions in which every human being can develop his personality to the fullest
extent.”66

Article 14 — Equality before Law:

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. Our
Constitution has a substantially elaborate framework to ensure equality amongst its citizens.

It not only guarantees equality to all persons, under Article 14 as a fundamental

right, but also expands on this in the subsequent Articles, to make room for affirmative action
and positive discrimination. Article 14 of the Constitution provides equality before law. It
embodies general principle of equality and prohibits unreasonable discrimination between
persons. It states that:

“The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the
laws within the territory of India.”

In practice this guarantee has been read to infer substantial equality as opposed to formal
equality which is evident from various judicial explanations and elaborations in the

66
Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. Ltd v. Audrey D'Costa, 1987 AIR SC 1281 Government of A.P. v. P.B. Vijaya
Kumar AIR 1995 SC 1648

61 | P a g e
judgments of the Supreme Court of India as well as the Indian High Courts. The latter
dictates that only equals must be treated as equals and that unequal may not be treated as
equals. This broad paradigm itself permits the creation of affirmative action by way of
special laws creating rights and positive
discrimination by way of reservations or special provisions in favour of weaker
classes of society67

67
Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597

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Mackinnon MackenzieandCo.Ltd.v. AndreyD’Casta68 the question involved was getting of
equal pay for equal work. Their Lordships ruled that when lady stenographers and male
stenographers were not getting equal remuneration, that was discriminatory and any
settlement in that regard did not save the situation. Their Lordships also expressed the view
that discrimination between male stenographers and lady stenographers was only on the
ground of sex and that being not permissible, the employer was bound to pay the same
remuneration to both of them when they were doing practically the same kind of work.

In MadhuKishwar v. State of Bihar69, the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 was challenged on
the ground that the Act denied the right to succession to scheduled tribe women to the
tenancy lands and hence, it violates Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. The
Supreme Court, by admitting the petition, quashed the discriminative provisions of
the Act and paved a way for tribal women to entitle their rights to tenancy lands along with
men.

Article 14 has also been invoked to prohibit sexual harassment of working

women on the ground of violation of the right of gender equality. Article 14 indeed
contains important provisions for protecting the rights of women and the
interpretation of this Article by the judiciary enables the establishment of equality
between the sexes.

Article 15(3) protective discrimination in favour of women and children: Article 15 of the
Constitution specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Clause (1) of this
Ariticle provides that, “the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of
religion, race, caste sex, place of birth or any of them.” And Clause (2) says that, “No citizen
shall, not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste sex, place
of birth or any of them be subject to any disability liability, restriction or condition with
regard to:

(a) access to shops, public places; or

68
AIR 1987 SC 1281
69
AIR 1996 SC 1864

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(b) use of wells and places of public resort maintain wholly or partly out of state funds or
dedicated to the use of the general public.”

Article 15 Clause 3 constitutes exception to Article 15 Clause 1 & 3. It authorises the State to
make special provisions for women and children.

Thus, Article 15(1) prohibits gender based discrimination and Article 15(3)
softens the strictness of Article 15(1) and permits the State to positively
discriminate in favour of women to make special provisions to improve their social to
positively discriminate in favour of women to make special provisions to improve
their social discriminatory provisions in favour of women as this is the Constitutional
mandate. In the case of Dattatraya v. State of Bombay70, the Bombay High Court
held that the State can establish educational institutions for women only.
Constitutional mandate. In the case ofDattatraya v. State of Bombay71, the
Bombay High Court held that the State can establish educational institutions for
72
women only. Again in Yusuf Abdul Aziz v. State of Bombay , the validity of
Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code was challenged under Articles 14 and 15(1) of
the Constitution. Section 497 of the IPC deals with the provisions relating to the
offence of adultery, which only punishes man for adultery and exempts the woman
from punishment though she may be equally guilty as an abettor. This section was
held by the Supreme Court to be valid since the classification was not based on the
ground of sex alone. The Court upheld the Section 497 of the IPC as valid by relying
upon the mandate of Article 15 (3) of the Constitution. Even Section 354 of the IPC is
not invalid because it protects the modesty only of women and Section 488 (now
Section 125) of the Cr.P.C. (Code of Criminal Procedure) is valid although it obliges
the husband to maintain his wife but not vice versa.73

Article 16 — Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment:

70
AIR 1952 SC 181
71
AIR 1952 SC 181
72
AIR 1954 SC 321
73
Shahdad v. Mohd. Abdullah, AIR 1967 J & K 120; GirdharGopal v. State, AIR 1953 MB 147; ThamsiGoundan v.
KanniAmmal, AIR 1952 Mad 529

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Article 16 is an instance of the application of the general rule of equality before law laid
down in Article 14 and of the prohibition of discrimination in Article 15(1) with respect to
the opportunity for employment or appointment to any office under the State. Explaining the
relative scope of Articles 14, 15 and 16, Das, J. said: “Article 14 guarantees the general right
of equality; Articles 15 and 16 are instances of the same right in favour of citizens in some
special circumstances.”74

Article 16(1) and(2) embody the general rule that the State shall provide
equal opportunities for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment
to any office under the State. There shall be no discrimination on the grounds of
religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth, residence or any of them in providing
employment. These provisions are an extension of the principle of equality before law
and of the goal of „equality of status and opportunity‟ as set in the Preamble of
the Constitution. The import of these provisions is that a woman has the same rights
in matters of employment under the State as a man and the State shall not discriminate
against women on this count. It operates equally against any such discriminative
legislation or discriminative executive action. If any law is passed or any executive
action is taken to prevent the women from taking up employment under the State,
such law or executive action could be challenged under Articles 16(1) and (2). The
principle of equal pay for equal work is also covered article 16(1)75.

Article 39:- Article 39 of constitution of India ensures the benefit of the

directive principles of state policy to the women. Directive principles of state policy
mean guiding principles for the framing of laws by the government at state level.
Article 39(a) of directive principles of state policy ensures and directs a state to apply
policies which focus on a men and women have an equal right of adequate means of
livelihood and article 39(c) ensures equal pay for equal work for both men and
women.

74
GazulaDasaratha Rama Rao v. State of A. P., AIR 1961 SC 564
75
Randhir Singh v. Union of India, AIR 1982 SC 879

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Article 42:- Article 42 of constitution of India caste a duty on every employer
to ensure just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief. In reality the
position and treatment of women in corporate offices is really bad and in fact they are
exploited by their seniors and bosses. In this scenario the provisions of article 42 are
very important and now it is duty of employer to provide good working conditions to
all the employees.

Article 243:- Article 243 of constitution of India ensures reservation of seats in gram
panchayat for women. This opportunity of being a part of local level arbitration process has
improved the social conditions of women in village areas.

These are few rights which are given by our constitution to the Indian women in order to
ensure their dignity and social respect. Further to protect these constitutional rights
there are numerous legal steps that have been taken by the state Governments which we will
discuss in detail through this article.
Parliamentary provisions to ensure dignity of women

After Independence there was need to introduce some statutory laws to ensure safety and
protection of women. Keeping in view this requirement, just like constitutional
provisions, various parliamentary steps have also been taken by the law of India in order to
ensure dignified life to the Indian Women. Parliamentary steps means and includes the
enactment of various laws and statutory acts to protect the interest of women and to stop the
crime against women. These acts have proved really useful towards progress and safety of
women in society.

Personally I feel that equal rights should be awarded to women which have
already been enjoyed by men in our society as women forms a major part of Indian
population and for social and economic welfare on global platform women welfare is
very much needed. In order to ensure adherence to constitutional provisions for
women welfare, there was a need to enact specific laws by the state and central
Government. Although a women can be victim of any crime in society and in fact all
crimes cannot be classified as a crime against women except few crimes which affects
a women largely. However major steps have been taken by the legislation which has
proved as weapons for women and helped them to stand in male dominating country.

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Now we will discuss major crimes against women along with the legal provision which
penalize the criminal.

Few crimes which are recognized as crime against women are:

Adultery:- Adultery is a very serious crime against women in India and

affects married women by and large. In simple words adultery means having
voluntary sexual relationship with a married person other than the spouse. The
offence of adultery is dealt with by section 497 of the Indian penal Code, 1860, which
says adultery means sexual intercourse of a man with a married woman without the
consent of her husband when such sexual intercourse does not amount to rape.

However we may find different meaning of adultery in different laws in different countries.
Initially only men were punished under the law of adultery in India but now men and women
both are equally responsible for committing the crime of adultery. As per section 497, the
offender shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or
with fine, or with both. In such case the wife shall not be punishable as a partner in crime.

Child marriage:-Child marriage is a very awful offence against child as it

does not only harms the future of child but also damage social values. Further the
doctors have also revealed that child marriage is a very big reason for bad health
condition for girl child. Child marriage restricts the social development along with
reduction in the educational and employment opportunities in the global market. It
was like a burden on society to practice this unwritten custom. The major step was
taken by the Law Commission of India by fixing the minimum age for marriage
which is 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys. Another major step was mandatory
primary education and moreover for girls provision for free education provided by the
Government of India.

Female feticides: -Female feticide means identifying and killing of female

fetus before they take birth. This is the most brutal way of killing women. The custom
of female feticide is practiced by the society form ancient times and it is really
shameful to note that even today, when we considers ourselves educated and civilized,
this custom is practiced in a big manner. Government has taken so many steps to

spread awareness among people about the consequences of this crime. Many
awareness programs are conducted by the Government to spread the awareness about

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the physical, mental and social effect of this practice. Punishment of 3 years
imprisonment and Rs. 10,000 fine has been prescribed by Pre conception and Pre
Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex selection) Act, 1994, for the offence
of Female feticides.

In a recently development Maharashtra government has recommend to the

centre that the crime of female feticide should be treated as murder. To ensure this
amendment in Pre conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of
Sex selection) Act, 1994, (PCPNDT Act, 1994) would become necessary. This
provision will bring this crime within the category of murder under section 302 of the
Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Trafficking and Prostitution :-Trafficking means import and export of humans

for sex business. It is indeed very sad to learn that in India, where women are
recognized as Devi and prayed by all Indian’s as Devi Shakti, they are also treated as
a source of earning by unethical means. Prostitution is one of the biggest problems in
this world which is damaging the women in many ways. In general, the term
prostitution means offer of sexual services for earning money. Prostitution is a
problem which exists across the world. There are quite a few laws in India in order to
prevent the crime of prostitution like Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and
Girl Act,1956 and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956. There are few
commissions are made by state Government to save women and specially girls to
protect them from this practice.

Domestic Violence:- Domestic violence has become a very serious problem

for women. In general the term Domestic violence means mental, physical, emotional
and economical harassment of a woman by family members. For the purpose of
domestic violence family includes spouse, his mother, father, brother, sister, his
relatives and sometimes even friends. We call ourselves educated and talk too much
about morality, ethics and civilization and expect others to be good to create a dream
world but forget that without giving due respect to the women, a nation’s growth is
impossible. Now in India domestic violence is recognized as a criminal offence under

section 498A of Indian Penal Code, 1860. Domestic violence means cruelty by
husband towards women. Cruelty can be done by physically, mentally, economically
or emotionally.

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An act called Domestic violence Act, 2005 was introduced to handle the cases
of Domestic violence in India. This act is a very noteworthy attempt in India to
recognize domestic violence as a punishable offence. Before the introduction of this
act two kinds of remedies were available to a women affected by Domestic violence.
These two remedies were divorce through civil courts and application of section 498A
through criminal courts.

Eve teasing: - It is a general perception that eve teasing is not a big crime like
rape or murder and may be because of that we don’t take it seriously. But from a
women’s point of view eve teasing is also a very big crime as this activity does make
her feel uncomfortable most of the times. Eve teasing usually involves teasing
women, passing comments on women and making vulgar signs (eshare). A woman
has to face this kind of irritating behavior and deal with this on daily basis. She can’t
even fight back due to fear of disrespect by others as everyone will blame her and say
that you must have done something to invite them. In case of eve teasing girl should
not remain silent and raise her voice. She should inform her family members and
simultaneously file a complaint in the nearest police station. In this case family should
also support the women instead of locking her at home.

Acid throwing:- Recently the issue of acid throwing on girls has also become a
big issue. There are few types of acids and all are very dangerous for human flash and
burn. This acid attack sometimes is so dangerous that even bones and eyes are also
got damaged due to acid. Few victims are forced to leave their education or
occupation due to the results of acid throwing. Now a days this has become very easy
for people to get these acids and the cases of acid throwing has become very regular
in daily life.

It is quite sad that despite of so many cases of acid attacks on women, we do

not have a dedicated and specific law to deal with such cases. The National
Commission for Women (NCW) is asked for a well defined law to deal with such

casualties. The NCW has introduced a draft of the Prevention of Offences (by Acids)
Act, 2008, which is with now with the Union Ministry of Women and Child
Development for the purpose of vetting and final recommendations. Once the Union
Ministry of Women and Child Development approved the Bill, it will be sent to the

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law ministry to be tabled in Parliament. After the approval in Parliament it will
become applicable as law.

Fraudulent Marriage:- Before going into the details of Fraudulent Marriage let
me explain the general meaning of fraud in relation to crime against women. Fraud
means hiding something or giving false impression about something which a person
knows that knowing the fact may harm his prospective marriage. The scope of
fraudulent marriage has increased in the recent past as in India parents of a girl are
very fond of NRI son in law. Parents want to settle their daughter with any rich NRI.
Parents of brides don‟t inquire too much about the NRI groom as they are happy that
their daughter is going to marry a rich person who will fulfill her all demands and she
will live a luxurious life in abroad. There blind faith on NRI‟s may invite problems
like false commitments, false details, second marriage and infertility. This is not
necessary that fraudulent marriages only took place in case of NRI‟s even Indian
grooms also do the same for money or for boy child or for any other reason.

Exploitation at work place:- Though we all accept the truth that in today‟s world women has
come out of her image of house wife and proved herself as a better administrator then a man.
In all sectors women are working hard and getting awards and rewards for that. She has
crossed all the boundaries and shut the mouth of all those peoples who has ever questioned
her working caliber.

But she has to pay a very heavy price of her success as she has to face
exploitation at work place do we ever think what boundaries she has crossed and how.
What she had paid go get this position and power? How much pain she has felt to
become this person.

Rape, murder: - Rape is another very serious crime against women and this
crime is increasing day by day like anything. Reporting of rape and abduction cases
has become very common in print and electronic media which is indeed a very sad

affair for all of us. Increasing rape cases are enough to prove that our moral values are still
very low and we still to learn how to respect the dignity of women at large.

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In simple terms the word „Rape‟ means sexual intercourse or sexual
penetration, by another person without the consent of the other person or victim.
Provisions related to rape are given in section 375 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code,
1860. Section 375 explains the pre-condition which are necessary tp prove the offence
of rape whereas section 376 provides punishment for the offence of rape. As per
section 376, whoever commits the offence of rape shall be punished with
imprisonment of either for a term which shall not be less than seven years (7) but
which may be for life or for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be
liable to fine.

Dowry:- The system of dowry is another social evil which dragging women
back from 100 of years as this evil has a very long history especially in India. Various
dowry based domestic violence cases has been reported by media. There are ample
legal provisions in India to provide relief to women in case of dowry based domestic
violence cases. Civil law of India has prohibited the payment of dowry in the year
1961. Further Indian Penal Code, 1860 has introduced Sections 304B and 498A,
which allows women to file complaint and seek restoration of her rights from serious
harassment by the husband's family.

Dowry is one of the strong and biggest reasons of increasing domestic violence. Every year
thousands of dowry deaths along with mental trauma cases reported and registered in India.
In case of inadequate dowry, incidents like burning, suicides, physical and mental torture of
women is very common by husband and his family. Keeping in view the increasing cases of
dowry deaths another legislative provision called “Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act 2005”, was introduced in order to reduce domestic violence cases and to protect
women's rights. Some legislative acts for women at one place

Let me also share the name of some of the legislative acts which are available in India to
protect women‟s rights against harassment. These acts are like a boon to women at large to
protect their dignity in society. Please have a look.

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1) Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

2) The Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005

3) The Commission Of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987

4) The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956

5) Civil Procedure Code, 1973

6) Indian Penal Code, 1960

7) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

8) Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929

9) The Medical Termination Of Pregnancy Act, 1971

10) National Commission Of Women Act, 1990

11) The Minimum Wages Act, 1948

12) Bonded Labor System Abolition Act, 1976

13) The Special Marriage Act, 1954

14) Foreign Marriage Act, 1969

15) Indian Divorce Act, 1969

16) The Indecent Representation of Women Prohibition Act, 1986

17) Guardians & Wards Act, 1869

18) Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

The above list is not conclusive but inclusive. These acts have given ample
provisions to ensure the protection of women rights like minimum wages, protection
from domestic violence, right of equal remuneration, prevention from immoral
trafficking, prevention from indecent representation of women etc. So there is no
doubt that our judiciary and legislature has taken various effective steps to ensure the
dignity of women.

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 CHAPTER-7

WOMEN UNDER VARIOUS LEGISLATIONS

A. GERMANY

The law enshrines women's rights in many countries, but in most societies, equal rights for
women is not still fully realised. In Germany, this is particularly evident in inequality of
opportunities in the field of business and politics. Sexual harassment, domestic violence, and
international trafficking of women are among other critical issues. In Germany, women have
already become more visible in the society compared to other countries, yet the women's
movement is far from reaching its goal.76

a. PAYEMENT RIGHTS

On average, women earn less than men in Germany. That is partly because women work in
the fields with lower payments, such as social services. Besides, women often make less
money for doing the same job their male counterparts do. For years politicians have been
discussing various proposals to promote pay equality, but so far not much has changed. One
day in the year has been titled as "Equal Pay Day" in Germany to raise awareness on the
issue.

Also, the responsibility of the household, raising children and care for the sick or old family
members are still mainly on women's shoulders- these are unpaid tasks which often are not
even perceived as work. The same goes for social and cultural volunteer work, which is also
carried out mainly by women.

Although more and more women work, in many families in Germany, the man is still seen as
the main breadwinner, who does not have to contribute to house chores.

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b. IN POLITICS AND BUSINESS

According to the General Equal Treatment Act women and men are considered to be equal in
Germany. But even though a large percentage of women have the same or higher education
and qualifications, they are still very few women on the executive floors in Germany.

To increase women's presence in leading positions, the law for the equal participation of
women and men in executive positions has been in place since May 2015. This law requires
larger companies to increase the proportion of women in their supervisory committees,
boards of directors and senior management positions. This so-called "women's quota" was
received in different ways and is still hotly debated. Since this law has been introduced, the
proportion of women in these areas has risen slightly.

The situation is the same in the political sphere: here, too, women are under-represented.
Although Germany has a female Chancellor (Angela Merkel), the share of women in
politicical sphere in general and especially at the local level is still lower than that of men.
German parties have different approaches toward the topic of women's quota. Some parties
have fixed quotas; others do not. Overall, however, the political sphere endeavours to
promote women and their participation in social and economic life.

3. CHILD MARRIAGE

Any civil or religious marriage in which one of the two partners is under 18 is considered to
be "child marriage". Since July 2017, according to the German law, one can only consent to
marriage if they are 18 or older. The laws regarding the child marriage abroad have also
become more stringent. When at least one of the spouses are under the age of 16 at the time
of marriage, their union is automatically void. The marriages registered between the age of 16
to 18 are also nullified by judicial ruling, except in certain hardship cases. 77

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According to statistics, there are currently 1475 child marriages in Germany. In 1152 of the
cases, the minor spouse is female- so mainly young girls are victims of child marriage.

In addition to child marriages, forced marriages are also a big problem. A marriage is
considered to be a forced marriage if it takes place against the will of at least one of the two
spouses-this is different from an "arranged marriage", which is mediated by the family or a
marriage mediator, but with both spouses' consent. Since February 2015, forced marriages are
regarded as a particularly serious case of coercion and are severely punished in Germany.

A family reunion with a spouse living in Germany is not possible if their union is deemed to
be a forced marriage. If there is a big difference in age or when the authorities suspect that
two spouses hardly know each other, their case will be particularly examined.

4. PROSTITUTION AND TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN

Prostitution has been legal in Germany since 2001, and it is considered to be a legitimate job.
Only the exploitation of prostitutes is punishable by law. The reason for this amendment was
to protect the sex-workers from exploitation. Unfortunately, the law did not have the desired
effect and exploitation and trafficking continues to be a major problem.

Human smuggling (including trafficking of Women) is a severe human rights crime. It has
been titled as a modern form of slavery and despite the existence of EU directive against
trafficking, is still a lucrative business for organised crime groups .

5. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Violence against women has many faces and unfortunately takes place very often. Domestic
violence is, above all, very common. According to a survey, every fourth woman in Germany
has experienced domestic violence at least once in her life. To protect women, in 2002 the so-
called Violence Protection Act has been put in place. This law allows the police to take
immediate and pre-judicial measures to protect the affected woman. For example, the
perpetrator might have to leave the shared home immediately 78.

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But how is violence against women defined? According to the UN Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women, this includes any action that inflicts physical, sexual
or psychological harm or distress on a woman merely because of her gender. Same applies to
the threat of such acts of violence, coercion and arbitrary deprivation of liberty, i.e. locking
up a woman in a private or public space against her will.

In Germany, there are many different aid institutes available for women who have
experienced physical, psychological or sexual violence, including counsellingcentres or
women's shelters. A women's shelter is a safe house where women affected by violence can
take refuge. They can live there until their situation is clarified. The addresses are
confidential, which means nobody can find you there. Unfortunately, There are not enough
women shelters available around Germany, and sometimes there is no free space in them, but
the staff there will definitely help you find a way79.

6. RAPE SEXUAL HARRASMENT AND COERCION

There is no long way from sexual harassment to sexual Coercion or rape. Sexual coercion
refers to the sexual acts committed through violence or the threat of violence and against the
will of the victim. The ultimate form of sexual coercion is rape. Sexual harassment happens
when you are:

• touched against your will,

• stared at,

• verbally abused,

• forced to have sexual intercourse,

• forced to watch others have sexual intercourse,

• insulted because of your sex or gender,

• labelled with inappropriate and lewd names,

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Sexual harassment can happen in public, at home or work, by a stranger, relative, friend,
colleague or boss80.

Sexual harassment, coercion or rape are among criminal offences in Germany as well as
many other countries. The victims can either go directly to the police or contact a
counsellingcentres (anonymously, if you prefer so) and get help. Many women who had to
flee their home countries, had to face sexual violence during their flight and even after their
arrival in Germany. If you want to talk about your experiences, you can find help at
counselling and therapy centers. If you are currently being harassed or threatened, for
example in your refugee accommodation centre, you can contact social workers in the
accommodation centre or go to an independent counsellingcentre. You are entitled to safe
accommodation.

7. ABORTION RIGHTS

While abortions may be performed legally in Germany, the procedure is actually technically
defined as “illegal” under the criminal code, and the circumstances under which it can be
performed are labelled as “exceptions”.

In order to get an abortion, the following conditions must generally be met: the woman must
request the abortion, undergo counselling at least three days before the operation, a physician
must perform it, and it must occur within the first 12 weeks of the pregnancy. Women
seeking abortions due to medical reasons or because the pregnancy was caused by a crime,
such as rape, do not have to go to counselling.

A woman found to be under “exceptional distress” may also be able to have an abortion up to
22 weeks into the pregnancy, if she also undergoes counselling.

Still, the wording of the German law concerning the required counselling has a pro-life ring
to it: The counselling is meant to “protect unborn life”, and to “encourage the woman to
continue the pregnancy and to open her to the prospects of a life with the child”, the law
states.

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Insurance providers will generally cover the costs of an abortion if there is a medical risk or
criminal aspect to the pregnancy. For other kinds of abortions, women must take on the costs
themselves, unless they are considered low income.

The oddity of the German abortion law was highlighted at the end of last year when a doctor
was fined €6,000 for “advertising” her abortion services online. On her website she provided
information for patients about the abortion procedure.

2. SAUDI LAW

Gender roles in Saudi society come from local culture and interpretations of Sharia (Islamic
law). Sharia law, or the divine will, is derived by scholars through interpreting the Quran and
hadith (sayings of and accounts about the Prophet's life). In Saudi culture, the Sharia is
interpreted according to a strict Sunni form known as the way of the Salaf (righteous
predecessors) or Wahhabism. The law is mostly unwritten, leaving judges with significant
discretionary power which they usually exercise in favor of tribal traditions81.

The variation of interpretation often leads to controversy. For example, Sheikh Ahmad
Qassim Al-Ghamdi, chief of the Mecca region's Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and
the Prevention of Vice or the so called mutaween (religious police), has said prohibiting
ikhtilat (gender mixing) has no basis in Sharia. Meanwhile, Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Barrak,
another prominent cleric, issued a fatwa (religious opinion) that proponents of ikhtilat should
be killed.

According to the Encyclopedia of Human Rights, two "key" notions in Islamic legal theory
that are mobilized to curtail women's rights in Saudi are:

• sex segregation, justified under the Sharia legal notion of 'shielding from corruption'
(dar al-fasaad), and

• women's alleged 'lack of capacity' (adam al-kifaa'ah) which is the basis of the
necessity of a male guardian (mahram) whose permission must be granted for travel, medical
procedures, obtaining permits, etc.

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"Reclaiming Tradition: Islamic Law in a Modern World | International Affairs Review". Iar-gwu.org. 21
February 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2013

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"It's the culture, not the religion" is a Saudi saying. At least according to some (Library of
Congress) customs of the Arabian peninsula also play a part in women's place in Saudi
society. The peninsula is the ancestral home of patriarchal, nomadic tribes, in which
separation of women and men, and namus (honour) are considered central. Many Saudis do
not see Islam as the main impediment to women's rights. According to one female journalist:
“If the Quran does not address the subject, then the clerics will err on the side of caution and
make it haram (forbidden). The driving ban for women is the best example.”Another
(SabriaJawhar) believes that, “if all women were given the rights the Quran guarantees us,
and not be supplanted by tribal customs, then the issue of whether Saudi women have equal
rights would be reduced.”

Saudis often invoke the life of Prophet Muhammad to prove that Islam allows strong women.
His first wife, Khadijah, was a powerful businesswoman who employed him and then
initiated the marriage proposal on her own.Another wife, Aisha, commanded an army at the
Battle of Bassorah and is the source of many hadiths. Muhammad ended female infanticide
and established the first rights for women in Arab culture. He reportedly told Muslim men,
"You have rights over your women, and your women have rights over you."

Enforcement and custom vary by region. Jeddah is relatively permissive. Riyadh and the
surrounding Najd region, origin of the House of Saud, have stricter traditions. Prohibitions
against women driving are typically unenforced in rural areas.

Enforcement of the kingdom's strict moral code, including hijab and separation of the sexes,
is often handled by the Mutaween (also Hai'a) – a special committee of Saudi men sometimes
called "religious police." Mutaween have some law enforcement powers, including the power
to detain Saudis or foreigners living in the kingdom for doing anything deemed to be
immoral. While the anti-vice committee is active across the kingdom, it is particularly active
in Riyadh, Buraydah and Tabuk.

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3. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – LAW

Women's Legal Issues are a unique body of law with a distinct history. Although there has
never been a better time in history to be a woman in this country, women still face a number
of issues that men simply do not have to contend with 82.

TITLE IX - EQUAL EDUCATION

Title IX is the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education. Although
society has come a long way since its first enactment, Title IX is still very much a part of
American education laws. Much current Title IX law today pertains to equal opportunities in
student sports.

EMPLOYMENT

Women still face discrimination in the workplace. From sexual harassment to unequal pay,
American women still have a number of unique legal hurdles that men rarely face.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Women have a unique role in the reproductive process that men simply do not. As a result,
women's health issues, including reproductive rights remain a matter of great public concern.
Whether pro-life or pro-choice, reproductive rights will likely forever remain a hot button
issue in American law and politics.

SOCIAL PROGRAMS

Women are at greater risk of poverty than men at all stages of their lives because of ongoing
employment discrimination and a tendency to retain greater responsibilities for taking care of
children. Similarly, women's longer lifespans and lower lifetime earnings tends to expose
them to greater risk of poverty after retirement. As a result, a number of social programs
recognize gender based preferences in order to better account for these facts.

For more information about legal issues relevant to women, please review the resources
below.

Women's Rights Law - US

• Individual Rights and Responsibilities - Rights of Women

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The Committee on the Rights of Women works within the Section of Individual Rights and
Responsibilities to address substantive legal issues affecting the civil and human rights of
women. From combating inequities faced in the United States, to improving the status of
women abroad, the Committee plays an active role within the ABA drafting policy proposals,
hosting Continuing Legal Education programs, developing written materials and providing a
national forum for women's rights advocacy.

• Breastfeeding State Laws

Forty-three states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have laws with language
specifically allowing women to breastfeed in any public or private location (Alabama,
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington
and Wyoming).

• Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)

The Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) is a U.S.-based nongovernmental
organization whose mission is to ensure that U.S. international policies and programs
promote sexual and reproductive health within a human rights framework of women and girls
worldwide. We envision a world where sexual and reproductive health and rights are
universally recognized and sexual and reproductive health care is accessible and available to
all.

• Equal Rights Amendment

The ERA was introduced into every session of Congress between 1923 and 1972, when it
was passed and sent to the states for ratification. The seven-year time limit in the ERA's
proposing clause was extended by Congress to June 30, 1982, but at the deadline, the ERA
had been ratified by 35 states, leaving it three states short of the 38 required for ratification. It
has been reintroduced into every Congress since that time.

• Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978

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An Act to amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit sex discrimination on
the basis of pregnancy.

• State Abortion Laws (U.S.)

Prior to 1973, abortion was a states issue; most abortions, in most states were illegal. Though
individual states have retained some narrow, legal outlets for regulating abortion, Roe vs.
Wade forbids them from outlawing abortion during the first trimester and binds them to an
extremely broad "health" exception during the second and third trimester.

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) - Equal Pay Act of 1963

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing
federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee
because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age
(40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a
person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination,
or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

The term women's rights refers to freedoms and entitlements of women and girls of all ages.
These rights may or may not be institutionalized, ignored or suppressed by law, local custom,
and behavior in a particular society. These liberties are grouped together and differentiated
from broader notions of human rights because they often differ from the freedoms inherently
possessed by or recognized for men and boys, and because activists for this issue claim an
inherent historical and traditional bias against the exercise of rights by women and girls.

4. CANADIAN LAW

Canada’s history has been shaped by countless determined women who worked to promote
and uphold gender equality in Canada. Women championed a number of important human
rights that have become core Canadian values — the right to vote in provincial and federal
elections, the right to own property, the right to earn a fair wage, and finally, the right to be
recognized as “persons” under the law 83.

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Women are now protected from discrimination on the grounds of gender, age, marital status
and more by the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms.

Women’s rights are human rights. Equality rights are of particular importance, given the
unequal treatment women have experienced in Canada. A number of legal instruments exist
in Canada to protect equality for women.

One is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which gives constitutional protection to
individual human rights. It applies to relationships between an individual and government,
while relationships between individuals are covered in certain areas by the Canadian Human
Rights Act (CHRA), as well as provincial and territorial human rights legislation.

There are two key sections of the Charter to note with regards to equality: sections 15 and

28.Section 15 ensures the equal protection and benefit of the law “without discrimination
based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical
disability.”

Court decisions have expanded this list to prohibit discrimination on other grounds, such as
citizenship, marital status and sexual orientation; decisions have also recognized that multiple
grounds of discrimination may intersect in particular cases.

Section 28 guarantees that all rights covered in the Charter apply equally to men and women.

The Canadian Human Rights Act of 1977 states that all Canadians have the right to equality,
equal opportunity, fair treatment, and an environment free of discrimination on the basis of
sex, sexual orientation, marital status and family status. It protects Canadians from
discrimination when they are employed by or receive services from:

• the federal government;

• First Nations governments; or

• private companies that are regulated by the federal government like banks, trucking
companies, broadcasters and telecommunications companies.

The CHRA created the Canadian Human Rights Commission to investigate and settle
complaints of discrimination, and refer them to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for a
decision or settlement.

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Other legislative acts that are important to women and equality rights are the Employment
Equity Act and the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act.

EQUALITY

One of the earliest steps toward equality for Canadian women was the legalization of married
women’s property rights.

Starting in Ontario in 1884 and Manitoba in 1900, the Married Women's Property Act gave
married women in these provinces the same legal rights as men, which allowed women to be
able to enter into legal agreements and buy property. The rest of the provinces and territories
followed slowly, with Quebec eventually signing the Married Women’s Property Act in
1964; the Civil Code of Québec was amended to give married women full legal and property
rights.

Another important milestone for women’s rights was defining “persons” under the British
North America Act, 1867. The Famous Five, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung,
Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy and Irene Parlby, petitioned the government in 1928 to ask
the Supreme Court of Canada to decide whether “persons” in the Act included women. The
Supreme Court decided that it did not, for the following reasons:

• The British North America Act in 1928 had to maintain the meaning “persons” would
have been given by the courts when it was passed in 1867.

• According to common law, women could not hold political office.

• If the British Parliament had intended for women to be included as “qualified

persons” under section 24 of the Act, it would have said so.

However, an appeal to the Privy Council was launched. In 1929, the Council decided the
word “person” in itself was not clear, and would be better understood if the British North
America Act was given a wider interpretation. Therefore, if the law was to exclude women
specifically, it should have been clearly stated in the Act.

From this point on, women were considered “persons” under the law. Only one short year
later, in 1930, CairineReay Wilson became the first woman appointed to the Senate.

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VOTING

At the beginning of the 20th century, women were denied the right to vote in provincial and
federal elections.

This began to change in 1916 when women won the right to vote in provincial elections in
Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. British Columbia and Ontario granted women the right
to vote in 1917.

That same year, Canada passed the War-time Elections Act, which gave women in the
military and those who had male relatives fighting in World War I the right to vote. By 1918,
all Caucasian women had the right to vote in federal elections. At this point, there were still
many provinces in which women were not allowed to vote in provincial elections. In
addition, many minority groups were denied the right to vote.

The last province to extend the right to vote in provincial elections to women was Quebec, in
1940. The Northwest Territories was the last territory, granting women the right to vote in
1951. Starting in 1947, the right to vote was extended to some minority groups, and in 1960,
all Canadians were granted the right to vote, including Aboriginal men and women.

LABOUR

One of the first major steps toward equality between women and men in the workforce was
the passing of the Fair Employment Practices Act and the Female Employees Fair
Remuneration Act in Ontario, in 1951.

The Fair Employment Practices Act aimed to eliminate discrimination by implementing fines
and creating a complaints system. The Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act was
designed to provide women with equal pay for work of equal value. The rest of Canada’s
provinces and territories quickly followed Ontario’s lead in adopting similar provincial acts
to ensure equality in the workforce.

This also led to the federal government passing the following three acts:

• the Canada Fair Employment Practices Act of 1953, which applied to the civil
service;

• the Female Employees Equal Pay Act of 1956, which made wage discrimination
based on sex against the law; and

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• the Employment Equity Act of 1986, which applies to federally regulated employees
and requires employers to identify and eliminate unnecessary barriers that limit employment
opportunities.

International women’s rights

Canada has worked to make women’s human rights a strong focus of the United Nations
Commission on the Status of Women and Human Rights Council.

It was one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, which set international standards to eliminate gender
discrimination. In 2002, Canada ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which was adopted by the UN
General Assembly in 2000.

As part of our nation’s commitment to this convention, Canada must submit a report to the
United Nations every four years about how it has worked to further the rights of women.

Read more about Canada’s commitment to gender equality and the advancement of women’s
rights internationally and Canada’s feminist international assistance policy

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 CHAPTER-VIII

8.1. CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS

With the headway of culture, society and families, the roles of men and women got
defined and rather it can be said that over time it got highly differentiated. The
biological differentiation created distinctive patterns of social roles and relationships
in the context of social and familiar institutions, time has changed and so has the role
of women in society, most significantly in past few decades. Her scope and exposure
to the world has broadened, which in turn has opened a vistas of opportunities. It is no
denying fact that the overall development of a society depends on the all round
development of the human being irrespective of gender, caste, class, creed, place of
birth etc. Right of equality of both men and women is the basic need of every
individual imbibed in various International instruments as well as in our Constitution.
However, guaranteeing any Right as Fundamental Right is not just enough without
providing for appropriate infrastructure for its realization rather it is meaningless.

Men and Women are the two basic components of our human society, depends
upon each other and each one of them constitutes substantial part of the population. If
any society is seen within its right perspective, usually it is only women who is matrix
of its social fabric. All the way through centuries and across time, the role of Indian
Women has remained embedded into eternity. At one level the role of Indian women
remains stationary in time and at other times crosses many a threshold of change. It
has taken centuries for Women's role to transform to different array, hues, colors,
shapes and sizes and to arrive at the relevant and meaningful roles of Present-day
Women. Across the globe there may have been an explosion of Rights for women
although they are in essence are far from reality, the fact remains that women are
more often than not overlooked and rendered invisible whilst subjected to torture,
starvation, rape, mutilation of organs, to name a few. The body, as represented within
any particular culture, will reflect the values and anxieties of that culture. Increasing
concern for violation of Woman‟s Right is not a newer one, neither in International
Legal Regime nor in National Legal Regime, such a concern is more due to the

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entrenched inferior status of women in history, culture and tradition. The waves of
concern out of women being subjected to discrimination in all stages of life,
income, education, health andparticipation in society, and are particularly

vulnerable to specific violations such as Gender-based violence, Trafficking, Sex

discrimination, lack of self-determination in her Reproductive Rights, there is a long
list to go rather it can be said it is Women, who are always considered as a physically
and emotionally weaker than the males, whereas at present, women have proved
themselves in almost every walk of life affirming that they are no less than men
through their hard work whether at home or working places, still whether it is family
or society, offences against women are prevalent everywhere . Family is the fabric
which is weaved to bring the society into existence, it is the foundation upon which
the society comes into being. But ironically, behind the closed doors, women are often
being subjected to torture. It is happening in rural areas, towns, cities and in
metropolitans as well. It is becoming a legacy being passed on from one generation to
another, reflecting the pathetic reality that women are just not safe and secure
anywhere. The status of women is a significant reflection of the social justice in the
society.

Time moved on, as society evolved new pattern, meanings changed, nature of
social structures and hierarchy was altered, and roles of men, women and hierarchy
atttained new dimensions. Women too internalized the agrarian model crystallized by
Manu:

"Women are to be property, owned and protected by a successive sets of

males". They never recognized their own potentials, aspirations or inner urges. Their
role was to adjust, to adapt and accommodate within the given circumstances. They
were expected to sacrifice and suffer for the well - being of their families. As such, all
the processes of culture, social and familial socialization anchored in the agrarian
model of living and relationship came to direct confrontation with the experiences,
expectations and aspirations of today's role requirement of women. One such
significant shift has been their transition from dependence, even with regard to the
making of decision which involves the question of Rights over her body, over her
male counterparts to become independent in decision making in some aspect if not all.
There are many myths, which women themselves have lived by and have been

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believed by various institutions in society. However slowly but steadily, these myths
have shattered to some extent and women have learnt to emerge in their new
roles”.

Tribes are indigenous, have their own distinctive culture, geographically isolated

and are low in socio-economic conditions, as a Migrant worker, they form a vital part
ofthe global economy. The promise of decent working and living conditions drives
the international and national movement of workers, both men and women, to seek
out opportunities in other places. Labour migration can offer valuable opportunities
for many people who are unable to secure adequate work in their own native place or
who have little choice but to leave their place. It can also enhance the cultural,
economic, social, civil and political structures in both places of origin and destination.
Migrant workers are vulnerable to abuse by employers and government officials,
among others, in both sending and receiving places. Abuses of labour and human
rights range from discrimination and hazardous working conditions, to extortion,
arbitrary detention, deportation and violence, including rape and murder.

The present study elucidate and explicate the different arenas with regard to the Rights of
Women over Her Body with special reference to Tribals and Migrant Labourers of
Jharkhand. The first chapter introduces the study giving a brief outline within the periphery
of which the entire study has been brought into a straight jacket and it consists of the
Statement of Problems, whereby it makes an effort to focus on legal regime in India vis-à-vis
adaptation of International legal wisdom related to protection as well as upliftment of women
within National jurisdiction as well as of World at large, its inherent crises and inbuilt
mechanism to address the same particularly among tribal‟s and women tribal folks.

Further the chapter laid emphasis on the status of Women in the backdrop of Constitutional
provisions followed by the study of conditions of Modern Tribal Women in particular in their
conceptual foundation as well as under the purview of Constitutional framework.
Furthermore, this chapter also explores over the abstract underpinning of the Tribal Women
as labourers within the State of Jharkhand and as migrant labourers outside the State of
Jharkhand.

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Since the dawn of civilization, women have been a catalyst of change in
different times and ascend in the sphere of knowledge and civilization, shoulder to
shoulder with men. In a male dominated society, Women have stood up in their
relentless crusade against all humiliation, oppression and torture to establish their
position, power and individuality84. Because of this crusade, society and civilization has

84
J.P. Bhatnagar: Law Relating Women & their Rights, Second Edition 1999, Asoka Law House, New Delhi

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blossomed and undergone a progressive change. Across the globe there may have
been an explosion of rights for women in black and white, the fact remains that
Independent and proactive judiciary is integral to the conception of a democratic
government. It is the judiciary which infuses life and blood into the dry skeleton
provided by the legislature and creates a living organism appropriate and adequate to
meet the needs of the society, the right provided has much wider importance than
simply requiring that black letter law should, on its face, be fair and non-Every
Women, who is braving a variety of odds to live a dignified life should be honoured.
Women are now considered as a commendable block of power in a society, though a
paradox still exist that in spite of having so many enactments dealing with women and
judgments of the Supreme Court and various High Courts protecting women, the
downtrodden and poor conditions of women has not been improved substantially, a
majority of rural women are deprived of the socio - economic benefit of the
constitutional and legal provisions made so far and she still subjected to different
kinds of atrocities. A part of urban women who are literate and advanced but still they
are not aware of their status and rights or partially aware.

Since independence the efforts have been taken to reform the society and to
establish an egalitarian society. However, rural women and to some extent urban
women are still indifferent to their rights, they are less aware of their rightful need for
status of equality with the male folk in terms of freedom, rights and privileges. To
achieve this end law has had been used as an instrument to check the gender
discrimination, number of laws were enacted to meet this end but due to strong
patriarchal mentality and unfavourable social environment the goal is still far to
accomplish. Hence efforts should be made to work for changing the attitude and
mindset of both the gender with respect to equality, rights and dignity of women, this
may acquire a long period of persistent effort, as the saying goes:

"Rome was not built in one day."

8.2. SUGGESTIONS.

• Education for the women especially, tribal women is more than mere
acquisition of knowledge. In the absence of education, all the specific provisions
imbibed in the Constitution, various Legislations and different planning and
programmes of the Government for the upliftment of the Women, they are unable to

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take advantages of the same, moreover without education the employment
opportunities thrown up by industrialization are also beyond their grasp. Thus it is
only massive education programme which can throw up a forceful leadership from
women and girls which can stand against and fight the entrenched forces of
exploitation of tribal women and girls in India. In fact, without education, the
economic development of Women in general and migrant tribal women and girls in
particular is hard to achieve.

• The education of the girl-child is crucial, in itself and as a catalyst of social

and economic change. It is essential to meet national targets for improving girls‟
access to education at the primary level. Along with this, it is important to ensure
secondary, senior secondary and university education for girls. There is need to bridge
the gender gaps in enrolment ratios at all levels, especially for scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes children.

• Women are often subjected to violence of various kind inside and outside the realm of
their home, efforts need to be taken in one to one basis i.e., efforts must be taken by each
individual to bring change in their perception or their way of thinking about their female
counterpart, the female must be considered as a complement to male not as an inferior
creature than of a man.

• Gender equality cannot be achieved without economic empowerment.

Therefore, the macroeconomic policy framework and economic structures must be
tailored to ensure that women have equal access to and control over economic
resources

• It was found during the appraisal that there are certain grey areas, so far as Rights of
Women over her Body is concerned, which still needs deliberation like, the term Indecency
is required to be considered in a more unambiguous and comprehensive aspect. As
crime comes under the List III i.e; the Concurrent List of the seventh schedule of the
Constitution both the Union and States need to take stern steps to enable women to avail the
Constitutional or other legal rights vested on them and to throw light in the grey areas
regarding the concept of Reproductive Rights, Rights of a Surrogated mother, Marital Rape
etc

• It was observed during the exploration that a large majority of migrant tribal
women and girls are unaware of the Tribal Development Programmes of the Union

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and State Government. It is, therefore, suggested that to create awareness about the
Tribal Development Programmes of the Central and State Governments such

programmes should be given wide publicity through both visual and written media. In
addition, the educated youth from tribal communities should be trained and employed for
door-to-door propaganda of Tribal Development Schemes for Women and girls and helping
them in taking benefits from these programmes.

The development process initiated by the Government and voluntary agencies

among the tribals have, on one hand, created situations for “restructuration” of the
tribal society and on the other, given rise to some structural problems. The
formulation of specific plans for their social and economic uplift have surely brought
about some change in quality of life of the tribals, but new problems resulting from
these changes are, none the less, minor ones. More over, the migrant tribals and
specifically the migrant tribal women and girls could not be covered under the Tribal
Development Projects as the same were implemented in rural areas of tribal regions. It
is, therefore, suggested that the Union and State Governments should design special
programmes of Tribal Development needed by the tribals in cities and more
specifically for migrant tribal women and girls in cities.

• There should be an integrated programme offering a package of services

simultaneously from the normal social, economical and educational fronts without which the
solution is not likely to strike deep roots into the tentacles of the problems faced by migrant
tribal women and girls in the cities and to bring out a total transformation in the lives of the
most deprived section of India‟s population who have been the victims of atrocities,
exploitation and social injustice.

• Lack of implementation of the provisions of Minimum Wages Act in construction

industry, factories and other organisations where the migrant tribal women and girls
are employed The average monthly income of migrant tribal women and girls is
observed to be very low, the reason behind it is that a large number of them are
employed as domestic servants where it is not applicable .It is, therefore, suggested
that the Minimum Wages Act be made applicable to all types of employment
including domestic work and the provisions of the Act should be strictly implemented
to reduce the financial exploitation of tribal women and girls by the employers. In

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order to free the tribal women and girls from the clutches of money-lenders there is a
need to provide them micro-credit facilities.

• The tribal women and girls migrated to cities are living in acute poverty. The main
reason for their poverty is either no employment or under-employment. It is necessary

to provide basic educational facilities along with hectic efforts of vocational guidance and
training for development of their skills with a view to improve their potential for employment
in public as well as private sector organisations.

When it comes to the size of family it was seen that the tribals do not make any special
efforts to limit the size of family. As a result it becomes very difficult for them to maintain
big families in cities with their limited income. It is necessary to create awareness about the
importance of small families among the migrant tribal women by opening sufficient number
of Family Welfare Centres in localities in which the tribals are living in majority. This will
help them to plan their families. A special drive by the State Health Department will be a
welcome step.

• Emphasis should be laid on universal access to reproductive health by promoting

full antenatal care of pregnant mothers, institutional deliveries, availability of
Emergency Obstetrics Care (EmOC) and postnatal care irrespective of place of birth.
Coupled with this, there should be universal access to information or counselling,
services for fertility regulation and contraception with a wide basket of choices for
men and women, including spacing of births and information on sexuality, maternal
health and HIVAIDS.

• Another limitation which hinders the ability of women to fully participate in the
labour market is the unequal sharing between women and men of unpaid work,
including care-giving. It is important to promote practices that would redistribute
unpaid work between women and men, including parental leave policies for both
genders.

• Lack of toilet facilities in large percentage of households in many States resulting in open
defecation has repercussions relating to health of people. Need for open defecation,
especially in rural areas, also increases the vulnerability of girls to rape and other forms of
violence.

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