Gender Justice Feminist Jurisprudence Renaissance Law College Notes

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Gender Justice Feminist Jurisprudence Renaissance Law

College Notes
Bachelor of law (Sree Narayana Law College, Poothotta)
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Class –LL.B. (Hons.) I SEM. Subject – Gender Justice & Feminist Jurisprudence
GENDER JUSTICE
UNIT-I Women in Pre- UNIT-III Sex Inequality in

Independence India UNIT-II Women in Post-Independence Inheritance Rights
1. Social and legal inequality India
1. Preamble of the Constitution – 1. Continuance of feudal
2. Social reform movement in
India Equality provisions in fundamental Institutions of joint family –
3. Gandhian movement. Rights and Directive Principles of State women's
Policy.
4. Nehru's views – joint family inheritance position under
etc. 2. Negative Aspects of the Constitution
– Exploitation of sex not Hindu Law.
5. Karachi congress –
Fundamental Rights Resolution. mentioned in Article 23. 2. Inheritance right of
6. Equality of sexes. 3. Different personal laws – unequal women under Christian
position of women.
law.
4. Uniform Civil Code towards gender
justice. 3. Inheritance right of
5. Indian tradition and family ideology: women under Parsi law.
growth of feminism and schools
of feminism. 4. Inheritance right of
women under Muslim law.
5. Movement towards
uniform Civil Code.
UNIT-IV Matrimonial relations and its consequences Unit-V Social Welfare Laws for Women and Non-
implementation
1. Matrimonial Property.
of protective labour legislation.
2. Separation of property.
3. Maintenance of different system of personal law. 1. Maternity benefits Act.
4. Division of assets on divorce. 2. Equal remuneration Act.
3. Factories Act.
4. Inequality in the work place.
5. Additional burden of domestic responsibilities.

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PAPER-III LAW OF CRIMES-I (PENAL CODE)

UNIT-I General
1. Concept of crime
GENDER JUSTICE
• UNIT-I Women in Pre-Independence India

• 1. Social and legal inequality
DEFINITION AND CONCEPT OF GENDER INEQUALITY

‘Gender’ is a socio-cultural term referring socially defined roles and behaviors assigned to ‘males’ and
‘females’ in a given society; whereas, the term ‘sex’ is a biological and physiological phenomenon which
defines man and woman. In its social, historical and cultural aspects, gender is a function of power
relationship between men and women where men are considered superior to women. Therefore, gender
may be understood as a man-made concept, while ‘sex’ is natural or biological characteristics of human
beings.
Gender Inequality, in simple words, may be defined as discrimination against women based on their sex.
Women are traditionally considered by the society as weaker sex. She has been accorded a subordinate
position to men. She is exploited, degraded, violated and discriminated both in our homes and in outside
world. This peculiar type of discrimination against women is prevalent everywhere in the world and more
so in Indian society.
CAUSES OF GENDER INEQUALITY IN INDIA

1 patriarchy system. (men dominate, oppress and exploit women)
2women too, through, continued socio-cultural conditioning (accepted their subordinate position to men)
3Extreme poverty
4lack of education
5 low quality of food and nutrition. (major health issue)
6 excessive workload
TYPES OF GENDER INEQUALITIES

There are many kinds of gender inequality or gender disparity which are as follows:
1. Natality inequality:
2. Professional or Employment inequality
3. Ownership inequality
4. Household inequality
5. Special opportunity inequality
LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS AGAINST GENDER INEQUALITY-

Indian Constitution provides for positive efforts to eliminate gender inequality; the PREAMBLE-Preamble
to the Constitution talks about goals of achieving social, economic and political justice to everyone and to
provide equality of status and of opportunity to all its citizens. Further, women have equal right to vote in
our political system.
FR- Article 15 of the Constitution provides for prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex also apart
from other grounds such as religion, race, caste or place of birth. Article 15(3) authorizes the Sate to make
any special provision for women and children.
DP-the Directive Principles of State Policy also provides various provisions which are for the benefit of
women and provides safeguards against discrimination.

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OTHER LAWS-protective Legislations have also been passed by the Parliament to eliminate exploitation of
women and to give them equal status in society. For instance, the Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 was enacted
to abolish and make punishable the inhuman custom of Sati; the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 to eliminate
the practice of dowry; the Special Marriage Act, 1954 to give rightful status to married couples who marry
inter-caste or inter-religion; Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Bill
(introduced in Parliament in 1991, passed in 1994 to stop female infanticide and many more such Acts.
Furthermore, the Parliament time to time brings out amendments to existing laws in order to give
protection to women according to the changing needs of the society, for instance, Section 304-B was added
to the Indian Penal Code, 1860 to make dowry-death or bride-burning a specific offence punishable with
maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
So there are varied legislative safeguards and protection mechanisms for women but the ground reality is
very different. Despite all these provisions women are still being treated as second rate citizens in our
country; men are treating them as an object to fulfill their carnal desires; crimes against women are at
alarming stage; the practice of dowry is still widely prevalent; female infanticide is a norm in our homes.
MEASURES TO SOLVE GENDER INEQUALITY/REMOVAL OF GENDER INEQUALITY- (How we can

Eliminate Gender Inequality)-
1 legislations
2 when the mentality will change
3movement for Women’s empowerment
4economically independent and self-reliant (where they can fight their own fears and go out in the world
fearless)
5 women have good education, good career,
6ownership of property
7 freedom of choice and also the freedom to make their own decisions
8 Changes at District level mechanism(reporting of violence against women)
9 Changes at State level Mechanism (prompt action)
10 Law of Torts: An area of civil wrong
11 Sensitization of Criminal Justice system
12 Family Law- Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and Dowry Prohibition Act, 1987
CASE LAW-after the decision of the Supreme Court in Gurupad Khandappa Magdum v Hirabai
Khandappa Magdum and that till such time, such ascertained share is handed over, the Hindu Undivided
Family (HUF) would continue to be treated as the owner of such assets, notwithstanding the ascertained
shares of such female heir as part of the corpus of the Hindu family, even as held in State of Maharashtra
v Narayan Rao Sham Rao Deshmukh . And also after the amendment of Hindu Succession Act in
September 2005 under Sec. 3(2), the right of a Hindu widow to get the full share of her late husband in
coparcenary property (with limited interest — later enlarged to absolute right) continues or has been
curtailed now. It means that From September 2005, daughters also have become coparceners.
So, these are some landmarks where the legislature and judiciary had performed a well job i.e. by serving
in favour of the deceased or victim in a way that the truth or right should not to fail.
“Fight for gender equality is not a fight against men. It is a fight against traditions that have chained
them – a fight against attitudes that are ingrained in the society – it is a fight against system – a fight
against proverbial laxshman Rekha which is different for men and different for women. The society must
rise to the occasion. It must recognize & accept fact that men and women are equal partners in life. They
are individual who have their own identity”.

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• 2. Social reform movement in India

The women’s movement in India goes back to more than a hundred years but its composition, its agenda,
its form and style, its outreach, its inclusiveness have been changing over the years. The social reform
movement before independence first addressed the woman’s condition within Hindu society but this was
restricted to the women in the upper castes and exposed illiberal traditions such as that of treatment of
widows and child marriage and was largely sponsored by men who saw threats to Hindu society by
colonial powers’ criticisms and hence wished to safeguard their cultural edifices by reforming what they
thought were mere aberrations but left the patriarchal social structure un touched. Subsequent events
were induction of women in the nationalist movement, the Constitution’s promise of gender equality;
1974’s Towards Equality Report prepared by the Committee on the Status of Women; international
women’s movements and The Convention on the Abolition of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW). Have these instruments been successful in liberating Indian women from patriarchy?
. Reforms regarding women in 19 century-

Reform regarding Women. The conditions of women at the beginning of 19th century was
miserable. They did not get equal treatment.They were denied Education. Female Infanticide, Child
Marriages, Dowry System, Sati, Tonsure. The movement for reforms regarding women addressed
these issues.
sati and it means: The term sati literally means a 'pure and virtuous woman'. It was applied in case
of a devoted wife who contemplated perpetual and uninterrupted conjugal union with her
husband life after life and as proof thereof burnt herself with the dead body of her husband.
Enlightened Indian reformers led by Ram Mohan Roy launched a frontal attack on the evil of sati.
With an eye, to the coming Charter debates in the British Parliament and anxious to get a renewal
of its charter for another 20 years by presenting a creditable image of its activities in India, the
Court of Directors encouraged William Bentinck to enact legislation to suppress sati.
However, this act was not applicable to Hindus, Muslims and other recognized faiths and as such
had very limited impact on Indian society. B.M. Malabari, a Parsi reformer of the 19th century,
started a crusade against child marriage and his efforts were crowned by the enactment of the of
Consent Act which forbade the marriages of girls below the age of Sharda Act further pushed up
marriage age and provided for penal action of boys under 18 and girls under 14 years of age. An
improvement Was made by the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1978 which raised the age of presage
for girls from 15 to 18 years and for boys 18 to 21.
The British first discovered female infanticide in India in 1789. Jonathan Duncan, then the resident
in Benares province was asked by the Bengal council to settle the revenues in the province
acquired by the raja of Benares. Duncan found during his tour for settling the revenues, that the
Raj Kumar rajputs in Jaunpur district destroyed their female children. Duncan immediately
informed Lord Cornwallis the then governor-general of British Indian about his discovery. A few
years later in 1794. Sir John Shore informed the Asiatic Society of Bengal of Duncan's discovery. In
1795, Duncan was appointed governor of Bombay. He visited Surat in 1800 and was informed
during his visit by a minister of the Nawab of Surat that the Jadeja rajputs of peninsular Gujarat in
Kathiawad (now Saurashtra) and Kutch killed their female children
Thereafter, the British discovered female infanticide in various parts of north and west India. The
castes, which resorted to the practice in the 19th century, according to reports of British officials,
included: rajputs, jats, ahirs, gujars, khutris and moyal Brahmins in north India. In western India,
the only other caste besides the rajputs of peninsular Gujarat who practiced female infanticide

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according to the information in the records, were the lewa patidars and kanbis of mainland
Gujarat. These castes were dominant at the local level in different parts of north and west India
Child Marriage- Child marriage is defined as a formal marriage or informal union before age
18.While child marriage is observed for both boys and girls, disproportionately most affected
worldwide are girls. It is related to child betrothal and unmarried teenage pregnancy. In some
cases only one marriage-partner is a child, usually the female, due to importance placed upon
female virginity. Other causes of child marriage include poverty, bride price, laws that allow child
marriages, religious and social pressures, regional customs, and perceived inability of women to
work for money.
Causes Of Child Marriage • Dowry. • Persecution, forced migration, and slavery. • Fear and social
pressures. • Religion, civil law and child marriage. • Politics and financial relationships.
The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 was passed during the tenure of British rule on
prepartition India. It forbade the marriage of a male younger than twenty-one or a female younger
than eighteen. A marriage fell under the scope of this Act if either of the contracting parties met the
established criterion of a child. South Asia has the highest prevalence of child marriage of any
region in the world.
Others were Malabari, Ranade Veerasalingam Pantulu in madras made effort in this direction
D.K Karve in western India ,opened widows home in poona, set up women university in Bombay
in 1916, himself married widow Vishnu Shastri Pandit founded widow remarriage
association1850 Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar principle Sanskrit college Calcutta … Hindu widow
remarriage act 1856 Woman emancipation •Abolition of “Sati” through regulation of 1829 ……
Raja Rammohan Roy •Widow Remarriage
Woman education •1819 Calcutta female juvenile society set up by Christian society •1849
Bethume school Calcutta by Bethume 1st fruit of the movement for woman education • 1854
Wood’s Dispatch on education laid emphasis on woman education •1916 Woman university
Bombay …. Karve •1916 Lady Hardinge Medical college Delhi
Caste based exploitation •Brahmo samaj, prathna samaj , Arya samaj, Ramakrishna Mission,
Theosophist worked against it …. Though defended chaturvarna system •Principle of liberty &
equality basis for freedom movt. to unify the society •INC govt. in 1937 did useful work for
upliftment of depressed •Gandhiji in 1932 founded All India Harijan Sangh
Lord Hardinge II (1910-1916) •1911 …Creation of Bengal presidency like Bombay & Madras •1911
…..Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi •1911 … Coronation durbar of King George V in Delhi
•1915 ….”Hindu Mahasabha” by Madan Mohan Malviya
Raja Rammohan Roy • Father of Indian Renaissance • Set up Brahmo Samaj 1828 earliest reform
movement • Wrote Gift to Monothesis , preached monotheism • Translated to Bengali the Vedas &
five Upanishads • 1814.. Set up Atmiya Sabha in Calcutta • Focused on rationality & reasons in
Vedanta • 1820 wrote Precepts of Jesus • Sati was declared crime through Govt regulations •
Supported David Hare to set up Hindu college 1817

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Brahmo Samaj •Followers of Brahmo samaj were Keshab Chandra sen ,Debendra nath tagore,
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Ashwani Kumar datta, Derozians •It denounced polytheism& idol
worshipping •Criticized caste system
Henry Vivian Derozian •Led Young Bengal Movement •Teacher in Hindu college Calcutta 182631
•Inspired by French revolution •Had radical thoughts of liberty & freedom
1.
2. Jyotiba Phule •Was against upper class Brahminical domination •In 1873 founded Satya Shodhak
samaj .
• 3. Gandhian movement.
 Gandhi invented a small, portable spinning wheel that could be folded into the size of a small
typewriter. This was a strategy to inculcate discipline and dedication to weeding out the unwilling and
ambitious and to include women in the movement at a time when many thought that such activities
were not respectable activities for women.
 Gandhi strongly favored the emancipation of women, and he went so far as to say that "the women
have come to look upon me as one of themselves." He opposed purdah,and the extreme oppression of
Hindu widows, up to and including sati.
 He especially recruited women to participate in the salt tax campaigns and the boycott of foreign
products.
 Gandhi's success in enlisting women in his campaigns, including the salt tax campaign, anti-
untouchability campaign and the peasant movement, gave many women a new self-confidence and
dignity in the mainstream of Indian public life
 According to Howard, Gandhi "developed his discourse as a religious renouncer within India's
traditions to confront repressive social and religious customs regarding women and to bring them
into the public sphere, during a time when the discourse on celibacy was typically imbued with
masculine rhetoric and misogynist inferences.... his writings show a consistent evolution of his
thought toward creating an equal playing field for members of both sexes and even elevating women
to a higher plane—all through his discourse and unorthodox practice of brahmacharya.
• 4. Nehru's views – joint family etc.

• In India, the joint family system has continued down the ages for various reasons. As we all know, a
particular social institution continues to exist so long as it has a purpose to serve. It always
responds to the social requirements of the times. It stagnates and finally withers away only when
there is no proper leadership to direct it.
• In the Indian context, the system continued due to a host of factors. First, our country was under
foreign domination for several centuries. Secondly, the leadership, perhaps unimaginatively,
believed in continuity for its own sake, rather than in change. Thirdly, there was a sort of
indifferent passivity on the part of the leaders. It could, of course, be also due to the exhaustion of
the will to act.
• Be it as it may, let us now discuss the merits and the demerits of the system.
Merits of the Joint Family:

• (1) Simple division of labour:
• (2) Avoids fragmentation of land:
• (3) Money saving device:
• (4) Insurance against odds:

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• (5) Place of recreation:

• (6) Satisfaction of basic needs:
• (7) Provides leisure:
• (8) Social control:
• (9) Cradle of social virtues:(good qualities)
• (10) Provides psychological security:
• (11) Co-operation and economy:
• (12) Socialism in wealth:
• (13) Continuity of culture:
• Demerits of the Joint Family:

• 1. Hindrance in the development of personality:
• 2. Strife:(One word of opposition or of self-assertion with dignity from the daughters-in-law is
enough to set the house on fire literally.)
• 3. Source of litigation:
• 4. Loss of privacy:
• 5. The deplorable condition of women:
• 6. Lethargy and Indolence:
• 7. Uncontrolled procreation:
• 8. Child marriage:
• 9. Limits social mobility:
• 10. Miserable economic condition:
• 11. Hinders social change:
NEHRU’S VIEW- Nehru's primary purpose in instituting the Hindu code bills was to unify the Hindu
community. Therefore, it made sense to define Hindu in the broadest possible sense. Through legal equity
Nehru intended to "erase distinctions within the Hindu community and create Hindu social unity." "The
integration of Hindus into a homogeneous society could best be done by enacting an all-embracing code
which encompasses within its fold every sect, caste, and religious denomination.” The debates over Article
44 in the Constitution revealed that many believed varied laws and legal divisions helped create, or at
least were reflective of, social divisions. Nehru and his supporters insisted that the Hindu community,
which comprised 80% of the Indian population, first needed to be united before any actions were taken to
unify the rest of India. Therefore, the codification of Hindu personal law became a symbolic beginning on
the road to establishing the Indian national identity. Nehru also felt that because he was Hindu, it was his
prerogative to codify specifically Hindu law, as opposed to Muslim or Jewish law.
Those in Parliament who supported the bills also saw them as a vital move towards the modernization of
Hindu society, as they would clearly delineate secular laws from religious law. Many also heralded the
bills' opportunity to implement greater rights for women, which were established to be necessary for
India's development.
Support and opposition

During the debates over the Hindu code bills in the General Assembly, large segments of the Hindu
population protested and held rallies against the bills. Numerous organizations were formed to lobby for
the defeat of the bills and massive amounts of literature were distributed throughout the Hindu
population. In the face of such vocal opposition, Nehru had to justify the passage of the Hindu code
bills. Before, he had stated that, in accordance with the policy of noninterference, he was undertaking
codification in compliance with a demand from the Hindu community. When it became clear that the vast
majority of Hindus did not support the Bills, he insisted that though a minority, those who supported the
Hindu Code Bills were modern and progressive and subsequently held vital weight in the Hindu

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community in importance if not in numbers. He also argued that because the bill's supporters were
progressive, those who dissented would eventually change their position when confronted with the
realities of modernity.
The Hindu Code Bill's proponents included both men and women within and outside of Parliament
belonging to various political parties. Significant support for the bills came from Congress' women's wing
(All-India Women's Conference), and several other women's organizations. Advocates largely sought to
convince the public that the bills did not stray far from classical Hindu personal law. Essentially, those in
Parliament who opposed the bills were men, and largely came from Nehru's own Congress party. They
believed that the code bills would institute reform that strayed too far from the classical Hindu social
order, and were too radical. They argued that practices such as divorce were absolutely not condoned by
Hinduism. "To a Hindu the marriage is sacramental and as such indissoluble." They also felt that should
equal property rights be given to women, the Mitākṣarā concept of a joint family would crumble, as would
the foundation of Hindu society. They also insisted that were daughters and wives given inheritance more
conflicts would arise within families. Their main argument, however, was that the bills lacked public
support. Therefore, they were a direct contradiction to the policy of noninterference and would mean the
government was meddling in personal law. They implied that these were bills propagated by a small
minority of Hindus onto the majority who did not want them.
Today
The application of the Hindu Code Bills have been controversial in determining who is to be called a Hindu
and who is entitled to be exempted from certain rules of Hindu law.
They are also still contentious among many communities, including women's, nationalist, and religious
groups. At the time of their creation, many portrayed them as a serious deviation from Hindu legal
precedent. Feminists such as Nivedita Menon argue that since these personal laws cover matters of
marriage, inheritance and guardianship of children, and since all personal laws discriminate against
women, the tension within these laws is a contradiction between the rights of women as individual
citizens and those of religious communities as collective units of the democracy. In her 1998 article "State,
Gender, Community: Citizenship in Contemporary India", she calls for more support and initiation for
reform within all personal laws, more legislation in areas that are not covered by secular or personal
laws—such as domestic violence. She also argues for the setting-up of a gender-equal framework of rights
that covers the "public" domain of work (maternity benefits, equal wages) and is available to all Indian
citizens (thus avoiding a direct confrontation with communities and communal politics)
• 5. Karachi congress – Fundamental Rights Resolution.

The Gandhi Irwin Pact was endorsed by the Congress in the Karachi Session of 1931, that was held from
March 26-31. Gandhi was nominated to represent Congress in the Second Round Table Conference. Just a
week back, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru had been executed. So, there was anger in the public whose
point was that why Gandhi did accept to sign the pact. So, when Gandhi was on the way to attend the
Karachi session, all over the route, he was greeted with the Black flags. In the Karachi session, congress
passed a resolution to dissociate itself from and disapprove the political violence in any shape. The
resolution which was drafted by Gandhi, admired the bravery and sacrifice of the three martyrs. In the
same line, the Congress endorsed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and reiterated the goal of "Poorna Swaraj".
Resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy The Karachi session was presided by Sardar Patel.
The congress adopted a resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy which represented the
Party’s Social, Economic and Political programme. It was later known as Karachi Resolution. Nehru had
originally drafted it, but some Congress leaders thought it was too radical and it was redrafted. We have
been told that MN Roy also played a role in drafting this resolution, but Nehru himself later said that MN
Roy had nothing to do with it. In any case, the redrafted resolution made the Karachi Session memorable,
because for the first time, the resolution tried to define what would be the meaning of Swaraj for common

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people. Some important aspects of these resolutions were: Basic civil rights of freedom of speech, Freedom
of Press, Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association, Equality before law Elections on the basis of
Universal Adult Franchise Free and compulsory primary education. Substantial reduction in rent and taxes
Better conditions for workers including a living wage, limited hours of work. Protection of women and
peasants Government ownership or control of key industries, mines, and transport. Protection of
Minorities. Thus, the Congress which was agenda less a few years back had the most impressive agenda in
hand now and made this agenda- the basis of its political programme for the next many years to come.
• 6. Equality of sexes.
Gender equality, also known as sex equality, gender

egalitarianism, sexual equality or equality of the
genders, is the view that men and women should
receive equal treatment, and should not
be discriminated against based on gender.
POST WAR ERA- After World War II, a more general movement for gender equality developed based
on women's liberation and feminism. The central issue was that the rights of women should be the same
as of men.
The United Nations and other international agencies have adopted several conventions, toward the
promotion of gender equality. Prominent international instruments include:
 In 1960 the Convention against Discrimination in Education was adopted, coming into force in 1962
and 1968.
 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is an
international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an
international bill of rights for women, it came into force on 3 September 1981.
 The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, a human rights declaration adopted by consensus
at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 in Vienna,Austria. Women's rights are
addressed at para 18.
 The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women was adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly in 1993.
 In 1994, the twenty-year Cairo Programme of Action was adopted at the International Conference on
Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo. This non bindingprogramme-of-action asserted that
governments have a responsibility to meet individuals' reproductive needs, rather than demographic
targets. As such, it called for family planning, reproductive rights services, and strategies to promote
gender equality and stop violence against women.
 Also in 1994, in the Americas, The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and
Eradication of Violence against Women, known as the Convention of Belém do Pará, called for the end
of violence and discrimination against women.
 At the end of the Fourth World Conference on Women, the UN adopted the Beijing Declaration on 15
September 1995 - a resolution adopted to promulgate a set of principles concerning gender equality.
 The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSRC 1325), which was adopted on 31
October 2000, deals with the rights and protection of women and girls during and after armed
conflicts.
 The Maputo Protocol guarantees comprehensive rights to women, including the right to take part in
the political process, to social and political equality with men, to control of their reproductive health,

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and an end to female genital mutilation. It was adopted by the African Union in the form of a protocol
to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and came into force in 2005.
 The EU directive Directive 2002/73/EC - equal treatment of 23 September 2002 amending Council
Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as
regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions states that:
"Harassment and sexual harassment within the meaning of this Directive shall be deemed to be
discrimination on the grounds of sex and therefore prohibited."
 The Council of Europe's Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and
domestic violence, the first legally binding instrument in Europe in the field of violence against
women, came into force in 2014.
 The Council of Europe's Gender Equality Strategy 2014-2017, which has five strategic objectives:
 Combating gender stereotypes and sexism
 Preventing and combating violence against women
 Guaranteeing Equal Access of Women to Justice
 Achieving balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision-making
 Achieving Gender Mainstreaming in all policies and measures
Such legislation and affirmative action policies have been critical to bringing about changes in societal
attitudes. Most occupations are now equally available to men and women, in many countries. For
example, many countries now permit women to serve in the armed forces, the police forces and to
be fire fighters – occupations traditionally reserved for men. Although these continue to be male
dominated occupations an increasing number of women are now active, especially in directive fields
such as politics, and occupy high positions in business.
Similarly, men are increasingly working in occupations which in previous generations had been
considered women's work, such as nursing, cleaning and child care. In domestic situations, the role
of Parenting or child rearing is more commonly shared or not as widely considered to be an
exclusively female role, so that women may be free to pursue acareer after childbirth.
Another manifestation of the change in social attitudes is the non-automatic taking by a woman of her
husband's surname on marriage.
A highly contentious issue relating to gender equality is the role of women in religiously orientated
societies. For example, the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islamdeclared that women have
equal dignity, but not equal rights, and this was accepted by many predominantly Muslim countries. In
some Christian churches, the practice of churching of women may still have elements of ritual
purification and the Ordination of women to the priesthood may be restricted or forbidden. Some
Christians or Muslims believe in Complementarianism, a view that holds that men and women have
different, but complementing roles. This view may be in opposition to the views and goals of gender
equality.
In addition, there are also non-Western countries of low religiosity where the contention surrounding
gender equality remains. In China, cultural preference for a male child has resulted in a shortfall of
women in the population. The feminist movement in Japan has made many strides and has resulted in
Rethe Gender Equality Bureau, but Japan still remains low in gender equality compared to other
industrialized nations.
The notion of gender equality, and of its degree of achievement in a certain country, is very complex,
because there are countries that have a history of a high level of gender equality in certain areas of life,
but not in other areas. An example is Finland, which has offered very high opportunities to women in
public/professional life, but has had a weak legal approach to the issue of violence against women,
with the situation in this country having been called a paradox. Denmark has also received harsh
criticism for inadequate laws in regard to sexual violence in a 2008 report produced by Amnesty
International, which has described Danish laws as "inconsistent with international human rights
standards", which has led to Denmark eventually reforming its sexual offenses legislation in
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2013. Indeed, there is a need of caution when categorizing countries by the level of gender equality
that they have achieved. According to Mala Htun and Laurel Weldon "gender policy is not one issue
but many" and:
"When Costa Rica has a better maternity leave than the United States, and Latin
American countries are quicker to adopt policies addressing violence against women than
the Nordic countries, one at least ought to consider the possibility that fresh ways of grouping
states would further the study of gender politics."
Not all ideas for gender equality have been popularly adopted.
Efforts to fight inequality

World bodies have defined gender equality in terms of human rights, especially women's rights,
and economic development. UNICEF describes that gender equality "means that women and men, and girls
and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections. It does not require that girls and
boys, or women and men, be the same, or that they be treated exactly alike."[36]
UNFPA stated that, “despite many international agreements affirming their human rights, women are still
much more likely than men to be poor and illiterate. They have less access to property ownership, credit,
training and employment. They are far less likely than men to be politically active and far more likely to be
victims of domestic violence.”
Thus, promoting gender equality is seen as an encouragement to greater economic prosperity. For
example, nations of the Arab world that deny equality of opportunity to women were warned in a
2008 United Nations-sponsored report that this disempowerment is a critical factor crippling these
nations' return to the first rank of global leaders in commerce, learning and culture. That is, Western
bodies are less likely to conduct commerce with nations in the Middle East that retain culturally accepted
attitudes towards the status and function of women in their society in an effort to force them to change
their beliefs in the face of relatively underdeveloped economies.
In 2010, the European Union opened the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)
in Vilnius, Lithuania to promote gender equality and to fight sex discrimination.
Gender equality is part of the national curriculum in Great Britain and many other European
countries. Personal, Social and Health Education, religious studies and Language acquisition curricula tend
to address gender equality issues as a very serious topic for discussion and analysis of its effect in society.
A large and growing body of research has shown how gender inequality undermines health and
development. To overcome gender inequality the United Nations Population Fund states that, “Women's
empowerment and gender equality requires strategic interventions at all levels of programming and
policy-making. These levels include reproductive health, economic empowerment, educational
empowerment and political empowerment."
UNFPA says that “research has also demonstrated how working with men and boys as well as women and
girls to promote gender equality contributes to achieving health and development outcomes.”
Violence against women

Violence against women (in short VAW) is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that
are primarily or exclusively committed against women. This type of violence is gender-based, meaning
that the acts of violence are committed against women expressly because they are women, or as a result of
patriarchal gender constructs. The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defines
VAW as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or
psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life" and states that:
"violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men
and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the
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prevention of the full advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social
mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men"
Forms of VAW include sexual violence (including war rape, marital rape and child sexual abuse, the latter
often in the context of child marriage), domestic violence, forced marriage, female genital
mutilation, forced prostitution, sex trafficking, honor killings, dowry killings, acid
attacks, stoning, flogging, forced sterilization, forced abortion, violence related to accusations
of witchcraft, mistreatment of widows (e.g. widow inheritance). Fighting against VAW is considered a key
issues for achieving gender equality. The Council of Europe adopted the Convention on preventing and
combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).
In Western countries which are overall safe (i.e. where gang murders, armed kidnappings, civil unrest, and
other similar acts are rare) the vast majority of murdered women are killed by partners/ex-partners: as of
2004-2009, former and current partners were responsible for more than 80% of all cases of murders of
women in Cyprus, France, and Portugal. By contrast, in countries with a high level of organized criminal
activity and gang violence murders of women are more likely to occur in a public sphere, often in a general
climate of indifference and impunity. In addition, many countries do not have adequate comprehensive
data collection on such murders, aggravating the problem.
In some parts of the world, various forms of VAW are tolerated and accepted as parts of everyday life;
according to UNFPA:
"In some developing countries, practices that subjugate and harm women - such as wife-beating, killings in
the name of honour, female genital mutilation/cutting and dowry deaths - are condoned as being part of
the natural order of things."
In most countries, it is only in recent decades that VAW (in particular when committed in the family) has
received significant legal attention. The Istanbul Convention acknowledges the long tradition of European
countries of ignoring, de jure or de facto, this form of violence. In its explanatory report at para 219, it
states:
"There are many examples from past practice in Council of Europe member states that show that
exceptions to the prosecution of such cases were made, either in law or in practice, if victim and
perpetrator were, for example, married to each other or had been in a relationship. The most prominent
example is rape within marriage, which for a long time had not been recognised as rape because of the
relationship between victim and perpetrator."
In Opuz v Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights recognized violence against women as a
form discrimination against women, para 200: "[T]he Court considers that the violence suffered by the
applicant and her mother may be regarded as gender-based violence which is a form of discrimination
against women." This is also the position of the Istanbul Convention which reads:
"Article 3 – Definitions, For the purpose of this Convention: a “violence against women” is understood as a
violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women [...]".
Reproductive and sexual health and rights

Global maternal mortality rate per 100 000 live births, (2010)
In 2010, Sierra Leone launched free healthcare for pregnant and breastfeeding women
The importance of women having the right and possibility to have control over their body, reproduction
decisions and sexuality, and the need for gender equality in order to achieve these goals are recognized as
crucial by the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the UN International Conference on
Population and Development Program of Action. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that
promotion of gender equality is crucial in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Maternal mortality is a major problem in many parts of the world. UNFPA states that countries have an
obligation to protect women's right to health, but many countries do not do that. Maternal mortality is
considered today not just an issue of development, but also an issue of human rights. UNFPA says that,
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“since 1990, the world has seen a 45 per cent decline in maternal mortality – an enormous achievement.
But in spite of these gains, almost 800 women still die every day from causes related to pregnancy or
childbirth. This is about one woman every two minutes.” According to UNFPA:
"Preventable maternal mortality occurs where there is a failure to give effect to the rights of women to
health, equality and non-discrimination. Preventable maternal mortality also often represents a violation
of a woman’s right to life."
The right to reproductive and sexual autonomy is denied to women in many parts of the world, through
practices such as forced sterilization, forced/coerced sexual partnering (e.g. forced marriage, child
marriage), criminalization of consensual sexual acts (such as sex outside marriage), lack of criminalization
of marital rape, violence in regard to the choice of partner (honor killings as punishment for
'inappropriate' relations). Amnesty International’s Secretary General has stated that: "It is unbelievable
that in the twenty-first century some countries are condoning child marriage and marital rape while
others are outlawing abortion, sex outside marriage and same-sex sexual activity – even punishable by
death." All these practices infringe on the right of achieving reproductive and sexual health. High
Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has called for full respect and recognition of women's
autonomy and sexual and reproductive health rights, stating.
"Violations of women's human rights are often linked to their sexuality and reproductive role. Women are
frequently treated as property, they are sold into marriage, into trafficking, into sexual slavery. Violence
against women frequently takes the form of sexual violence. Victims of such violence are often accused of
promiscuity and held responsible for their fate, while infertile women are rejected by husbands, families
and communities. In many countries, married women may not refuse to have sexual relations with their
husbands, and often have no say in whether they use contraception."
Adolescent girls are at the highest risk of sexual coercion, sexual ill health, and negative reproductive
outcomes. The risks they face are higher than those of boys and men; this increased risk is partly due to
gender inequity (different socialization of boys and girls, gender based violence, child marriage) and partly
due to biological factors (females' risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections during unprotected
sexual relations is two to four times that of males').
Socialization within rigid gender constructs often creates an environment where sexual violence is
common; according to the WHO: "Sexual violence is also more likely to occur where beliefs in male sexual
entitlement are strong, where gender roles are more rigid, and in countries experiencing high rates of
other types of violence." The sexual health of women is often poor in societies where a woman's right to
control her sexuality is not recognized. Richard A. Posner writes that "Traditionally, rape was the offense
of depriving a father or husband of a valuable asset — his wife's chastity or his daughter's
virginity". Historically, rape was seen in many cultures (and is still seen today in some societies) as a crime
against the honor of the family, rather than against the self-determination of the woman. As a result,
victims of rape may face violence, in extreme cases even honor killings, at the hands of their family
members. Catharine MacKinnon argues that in male dominated societies, sexual intercourse is imposed on
women in a coercive and unequal way, creating a continuum of victimization, where women have few
positive sexual experiences; she writes "To know what is wrong with rape, know what is right about sex. If
this, in turn, is difficult, the difficulty is as instructive as the difficulty men have in telling the difference
when women see one. Perhaps the wrong of rape has proved so difficult to define because the
unquestionable starting point has been that rape is defined as distinct from intercourse, while for women
it is difficult to distinguish the two under conditions of male dominance."
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One of the challenges of dealing with sexual violence is that in many societies women are perceived as
being readily available for sex, and men are seen as entitled to their bodies, until and unless women object.
Rebecca Cook wrote in Submission of Interights to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of M.C. v.
Bulgaria, 12 April 2003.
"The equality approach starts by examining not whether the woman said 'no', but whether she said 'yes'.
Women do not walk around in a state of constant consent to sexual activity unless and until they say 'no',
or offer resistance to anyone who targets them for sexual activity. The right to physical and sexual
autonomy means that they have to affirmatively consent to sexual activity."
Freedom of movement
Women's freedom of movement continues to be legally restricted in some parts of the world. This
restriction is often due to marriage laws. For instance, in Yemen, marriage regulations stipulate that a wife
must obey her husband and must not leave home without his permission. In some countries, women must
legally be accompanied by their male guardians (such as the husband or male relative) when they leave
home.
The CEDAW states at Article 15 (4) that:
Article 15
"4. States Parties shall accord to men and women the same rights with regard to the law relating to the
movement of persons and the freedom to choose their residence and domicile."
Gendered arrangements of work and care

Since the 1950s, social scientists as well as feminists have increasingly criticized gendered arrangements
of work and care and the male breadwinner role. Policies are increasingly targeting men as fathers as a
tool of changing gender relations, Shared earning/shared parenting marriage, that is, a relationship where
the partners collaborate at sharing their responsibilities inside and outside of the home, is often
encouraged in Western countries.
Girls' access to education

In many parts of the world, girls' access to education is very restricted. Girls face many obstacles which
prevent them to take part in education, including: early and forced marriages; early pregnancy; prejudice
based on gender stereotypes at home, at school and in the community; violence on the way to school, or in
and around schools; long distances to schools; vulnerability to the HIV epidemic; school fees, which often
lead to parents sending only their sons to school; lack of gender sensitive approaches and materials in
classrooms. According to OHCHR, there have been multiple attacks on schools worldwide during the
period 2009-2014 with "a number of these attacks being specifically directed at girls, parents and teachers
advocating for gender equality in education". The United Nations Population Fund says:
"About two thirds of the world's illiterate adults are women. Lack of an education severely restricts a
woman's access to information and opportunities. Conversely, increasing women's and girls' educational
attainment benefits both individuals and future generations. Higher levels of women's education are
strongly associated with lower infant mortality and lower fertility, as well as better outcomes for their
children."
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Political participation of women

Women in government
A world map showing countries governmental participation by women, 2010.

Women are underrepresented in most countries' National Parliaments. The 2011 UN General Assembly
resolution on women’s political participation called for female participation in politics, and expressed
concern about the fact that "women in every part of the world continue to be largely marginalized from
the political sphere". The Council of Europe states that:
"Pluralist democracy requires balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision-
making. Council of Europe standards provide clear guidance on how to achieve this."
Institutions also play an essential role in achieving and enforcing gender equality. However, basic legal and
human rights, access to and the control of resources, employment and earnings and social and political
participation are still not guaranteed in many social and legal institutions. For example, only 22 per cent of
parliamentarians globally are women and therefore, men continue to occupy most positions of political
and legal authority.
Economic empowerment of women

Female economic activity is a common measure of gender equality in an economy. UN Women states that:
"Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty
eradication and inclusive economic growth."
Gender discrimination often results in women ending in insecure, low-wage jobs, and being
disproportionately affected by poverty, discrimination and exploitation.
The UN Population Fund says that, “Six out of 10 of the world’s poorest people are women. Economic
disparities persist partly because much of the unpaid work within families and communities falls on the
shoulders of women, and because women continue to face discrimination in the economic sphere.”
Marriage, divorce and property laws and regulations

Equal rights for women in marriage, divorce, and property/land ownership and inheritance are essential
for gender equality. CEDAW has called for the end of discriminatory family laws.In 2013, UNWomen stated
that "While at least 115 countries recognize equal land rights for women and men, effective
implementation remains a major challenge".
The legal and social treatment of married women has been often discussed as a political issue from the
19th century onwards. John Stuart Mill, in The Subjection of Women(1869) compared marriage
to slavery and wrote that: "The law of servitude in marriage is a monstrous contradiction to all the
principles of the modern world, and to all the experience through which those principles have been slowly
and painfully worked out." In 1957, James Everett, then Minister for Justice in Ireland, stated: "The
progress of organised society is judged by the status occupied by married women". Until the 1970s, legal
subordination of married women was common across European countries, through marriage laws giving
legal authority to the husband, as well as through marriage bars. In France, married women obtained the
right to work without their husband's consent in 1965; while the paternal authority of a man over his
family was ended in 1970 (before that parental responsibilities belonged solely to the father who made all
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legal decisions concerning the children); and a new reform in 1985 abolished the stipulation that the
father had the sole power to administer the children's property. In Austria, the marriage law was
overhauled between 1975 and 1983, abolishing the restrictions on married women's right to work outside
the home, providing for equality between spouses, and for joint ownership of property and assets. In
Europe, Switzerland was one of the last countries to establish gender equality in marriage: married
women's rights were severely restricted until 1988, when legal reforms providing gender equality in
marriage, abolishing the legal authority of the husband, come into force (these reforms had been approved
in 1985 by voters in a referendum, who narrowly voted in favor with 54.7% of voters approving).
Although dowry is today associated with South Asia, the practice has been common until the mid-20th
century in parts of Southeast Europe. For example, in Greece it was only in 1983 that dowry was removed
from family law through legal changes which reformed the marriage law and provided gender equality in
marriage.[87][88] These new changes also dealt with the practice of women changing their surnames to that
of the husbands upon getting married, a practice which has been outlawed or restricted in some
jurisdictions, because it is seen as contrary to women's rights. As such, women in Greece are required
to keep their birth names for their whole life.
Laws regulating marriage and divorce continue to discriminate against women in many countries. For
example, in Yemen, marriage regulations state that a wife must obey her husband and must not leave
home without his permission. In Iraq husbands have a legal right to "punish" their wives.
Violence and mistreatment of women in relation to marriage has come to international attention during
the past decades. This includes both violence committed inside marriage (domestic violence) as well as
violence related to marriage customs and traditions (such as dowry, bride price, forced marriage and child
marriage). Violence against a wife continues to be seen as legally acceptable in some countries; for
instance in 2010, the United Arab Emirates's Supreme Court ruled that a man has the right to physically
discipline his wife and children as long as he does not leave physical marks. The criminalization
of adultery has been criticized as being a prohibition, which, in law or in practice, is used primarily against
women; and incites violence against women (crimes of passion, honor killings). A Joint Statement by the
United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice in 2012 stated:
"the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice is deeply
concerned at the criminalization and penalization of adultery whose enforcement leads to discrimination
and violence against women." UN Women also stated that "Drafters should repeal any criminal offenses
related to adultery or extramarital sex between consenting adults".
Investigation and prosecution of crimes against women and girls

Human rights organizations have expressed concern about the legal impunity of perpetrators of crimes
against women, with such crimes being often ignored by authorities. This is especially the case with
murders of women in Latin America. In particular, there is impunity in regard to domestic violence. High
Commissioner for Human Rights,Navi Pillay, has stated on domestic violence against women:
"The reality for most victims, including victims of honor killings, is that state institutions fail them and that
most perpetrators of domestic violence can rely on a culture of impunity for the acts they commit – acts
which would often be considered as crimes, and be punished as such, if they were committed against
strangers."
Women are often, in law or in practice, unable to access legal institutions. UNWomen has said that, "Too
often, justice institutions, including the police and the courts, deny women justice".
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Harmful traditional practices

Anti-dowry poster in Bangalore, India
Prevalence of FGM by country, according to a 2013 UNICEF report

"Harmful traditional practices" refer to forms of violence which are committed in certain communities
often enough to become cultural practice, and accepted for that reason. Young women are the main
victims of such acts, although men can be affected. They occur in an environment where women and girls
have unequal rights and opportunities. These practices include, according to the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
"female genital mutilation (FGM); forced feeding of women; early marriage; the various taboos or
practices which prevent women from controlling their own fertility; nutritional taboos and traditional
birth practices; son preference and its implications for the status of the girl child; female infanticide; early
pregnancy; and dowry price"
Female genital mutilation is defined as "procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female
genital organs for non-medical reasons". An estimated 125 million women and girls living today have
undergone FGM in the 29 countries where data exist. Of these, about half live in two countries, Egypt and
Ethiopia. It is most commonly carried out on girls between infancy and 15 years old.
UNFPA and UNICEF state that, "In every society where it is practiced, FGM is a manifestation of deeply
entrenched gender inequality. It persists for many reasons. In some societies, for example, it is considered
a rite of passage. In others, it is seen as a prerequisite for marriage. In some communities, whether
Christian, Jewish, Muslim, the practice may even be attributed to religious beliefs. Because FGM may be
considered an important part of a culture or identity, it can be difficult for families to decide against having
their daughters cut. People who reject the practice may face condemnation or ostracism. Even parents
who do not want their daughters to undergo FGM may feel compelled to participate in the practice."
Son preference refers to a cultural preference for sons over daughters, and manifests itself through
practices such as sex selective abortion; female infanticide; or abandonment, neglect or abuse of girl-
children.
Early marriage, child marriage or forced marriage is prevalent in parts of Asia and Africa. The majority of
victims seeking advice are female and aged between 18 and 23. Such marriages can have harmful effects
on a girl's education and development, and may expose girls to social isolation or abuse.
The 2013 UN Resolution on Child, Early and Forced Marriage calls for an end to the practice, and states
that "Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage is a harmful practice that violates abuses, or
impairs human rights and is linked to and perpetuates other harmful practices and human rights
violations, that these violations have a disproportionately negative impact on women and girls". Despite a
near-universal commitment by governments to end child marriage, "one in three girls in developing
countries (excluding China) will probably be married before they are 18." UNFPA states that, “over 67
million women 20-24 year old in 2010 had been married as girls. Half were in Asia, one-fifth in Africa. In
the next decade 14.2 million girls under 18 will be married every year; this translates into 39,000 girls
married each day. This will rise to an average of 15.1 million girls a year, starting in 2021 until 2030, if
present trends continue.”
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Abuses regarding nutrition are taboos in regard to certain foods, which result in poor nutrition of women,
and may endanger their health, especially if pregnant.
Women's ability to control their fertility is often reduced. For instance, in northern Ghana, the payment
of bride price signifies a woman's requirement to bear children, and women using birth control face
threats, violence and reprisals. Births in parts of Africa are often attended by traditional birth attendants
(TBAs), who sometimes perform rituals that are dangerous to the health of the mother. In many societies,
a difficult labour is believed to be a divine punishment for marital infidelity, and such women face abuse
and are pressured to "confess" to the infidelity.The custom of bride price has been criticized as
contributing to the mistreatment of women in marriage, and preventing them from leaving abusive
marriages. UN Women recommended its abolition, and stated that: "Legislation should …State that divorce
shall not be contingent upon the return of bride price but such provisions shall not be interpreted to limit
women’s right to divorce; State that a perpetrator of domestic violence, including marital rape, cannot use
the fact that he paid bride price as a defence to a domestic violence charge."
The caste system in India which leads to untouchability (the practice of ostracizing a group by segregating
them from the mainstream society) often interacts with gender discrimination, leading to a double
discrimination faced by Dalit women. In a 2014 survey, 27% of Indians admitted to practicing
untouchability.
Tribal traditions can be harmful to males; for instance, the Satere-Mawe tribe use bullet ants as
an initiation rite. Men must wear gloves with hundreds of bullet ants woven in for ten minutes: the ants'
stings cause severe pain and paralysis. This experience must be completed twenty times for boys to be
considered "warriors".
Other harmful traditional practices include marriage by abduction, ritualized sexual
slavery (Devadasi, Trokosi), breast ironing and widow inheritance.
Portrayal of women in the media

The way women are represented in the media has been criticized as interfering with the aim of achieving
gender equality by perpetuating negative gender stereotypes. Theexploitation of women in mass
media refers to the criticisms that are levied against the use or portrayal of women in the mass media,
when such use or portrayal aims at increasing the appeal of media or a product, to the detriment of, or
without regard to, the interests of the women portrayed, or women in general. Concerns include the fact
that the media has the power to shape the population's perceptions and to influence ideas, and therefore
the sexist portrayals of women in the media may impact on how society sees and treats women in real
life. One common criticism of the way women are represented in the media is that the media reinforces
stereotypical societal views of "what women are for", by portraying women either as submissive
housewives or as sex objects.
Health
Social constructs of gender (that is, cultural ideals of socially acceptable masculinity and femininity) often
have a negative effect on health. The WHO cites the example of women not being allowed to travel alone
outside the home (to go to the hospital), and women being prevented by cultural norms to ask their
husbands to use a condom, in cultures which simultaneously encourage male promiscuity, as social norms
that harm women's health. Teenage boys suffering accidents due to social expectations of impressing their
peers through risk taking, and men dying at much higher rate from lung cancer due to smoking, in cultures
which link smoking to masculinity, are cited by the WHO as examples of gender norms negatively
affecting men's health. The WHO has also stated that there is a strong connection between gender
socialization and transmission and lack of adequate management of HIV/AIDS.
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Gender mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming is the public policy of assessing the different implications for women and men of
any planned policy action, including legislation and programmes, in all areas and levels, with the aim of
achieving gender equality. The concept of gender mainstreaming was first proposed at the 1985 Third
World Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya. The idea has been developed in the United
Nations development community. Gender mainstreaming "involves ensuring that gender perspectives and
attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities".
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UNIT-II
UNIT-II Women in Post-Independence India

The Gandhian era and the decades after independence have witnessed tremendous changes in the status
of women in Indian society. The constitution has laid down as a fundamental right the equality of sexes.
But the change from a position of utter degradation and subjugation of women in the nineteenth century
to a position of equality in the middle of the twentieth century is not a simple case of progress of women in
modern era.
Women in Post Independent India faced a major upheaval as regards their position, perception and role in
society. In the period immediately following Independence, a number of constitutional provisions were
made for women`s social, economic and political benefits. However, the most revolutionary change in the
position and role of women in the post Independent period was brought about by the Towards Equality
Report.
Women in post-independent India were part of a new state that developed a bureaucratic structure
designed to meet the specific needs of women. This included creating the National Social Welfare Board,
assigning special duties to block development officers, and asking the Department of Health and Welfare
to prepare a specific plan with women in mind. In the documents of the new Indian state the past had been
undone, modernity was triumphant, and women were no longer subordinate to men.
Women in the immediate post-Independent period

However, in the post-independent period, the immediate concerns of women were not constitutional
rights but political reality. The partition of British India into India and Pakistan affected millions of women
and men as populations fled both countries. When the migrations were over more than eight million
people had moved from Pakistan to India or from India to Pakistan. Many women, estimates range from
80,000 to 150,000, were abducted during this time. As a result India and Pakistan agreed on procedures
for recovery and restoration.
Constitutional Provisions for Women in the post-Independent period

The Constitution of India declared equality as one of the Fundamental Rights. It also guaranteed equal
protection of the law, equal opportunities in public employment, and prohibited discrimination in public
places. The Hindu Code, passed as separate Acts between 1955 and 1956, rewrote the Hindu laws of
marriage and divorce, adoption, and inheritance. Adult suffrage added women to the electoral roles and
political parties pledged their commitment to women's issues. Many of the women who participated in the
social reform and political activities of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s were pleased with the constitutional
provisions and legal reform. Most of them belonged to the upper and middle classes of society, and they
were ready to become the beneficiaries of new opportunities.
Women's Organisations in the post-Independent period

The government asked prominent women's organizations to assist them in developing five-year plans.
These women agreed with government that economic growth was the most important issue. The best
known of the women's organizations became institutionalized as they secured permanent buildings, well-
staffed offices, libraries, and bureaucracies of their own. They set up and continue to administer programs
designed to serve women, especially day-care centres, hostels for working women, educational centres
and medical dispensaries. Their approach, like that of the Government, has been Welfarism. A number of
women's organisations have been criticised for this approach and blamed for not helping to prepare
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women for new responsibilities. It was felt that women themselves were hindering change and bringing
about the traditional role of women as dependants.
The Communist women were the most vocal in expressing their dissatisfaction with constitutional
provisions, five-year plans, and government and party promises. In 1954 Vibhla Farooqui and her female
colleagues in the Communist Party of Indiaorganized a national conference to address women's issues. At
this conference they founded the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) to focus attention on
women's struggle for equal rights and responsibilities in all spheres of life and for improvement in their
living conditions. They felt that the existing political forces were trying to reduce the role of women's
organisations to charitable work combined with the passing of resolutions. They therefore pleaded for a
new orientation and a change in the status of these women's organisations.
There were other women, close followers of Mahatma Gandhi, who saw economic and social change as
more important than legal and constitutional rights. They too were dissatisfied. But many of these
individuals also believed in voluntarism and focused their attention on grass-roots projects.
Toward Equality Report and its impact

Despite the criticism, the Indian government's commitment to equality was not seriously challenged until
1974 when Toward Equality, a report on the status of women, was published. In 1971 the Ministry of
Education and Social Welfare appointed a committee to examine the constitutional, legal and
administrative provisions the have a bearing on the social status of women, their education and
employment and to assess the impact of these provisions. There had been an internal demand for such a
document but the actual timing was in response to a United Nations request to all countries to prepare
reports on the status of women for International Women's Year scheduled for 1975.
Dr. Phulrenu Guha, Union Minister for Social Welfare, chaired this committee with Dr. Vina Mazumdar,
appointed in 1972, as member-secretary. The remaining nine members of the committee represented a
wide range of interests and experience. The committee was asked to suggest ways to make women full
members of the Indian state. In order to write this report, the committee commissioned a number of
studies and interviewed about 500 women from each state. By 1973 they had concluded their
proceedings. These studies and the report issued in 1974 were the first major effort to understand the
extent to which constitutional guarantees of equality and justice had not been met for women.
Authors of this report asserted that women's status had not improved but had, in fact, declined since
Independence. The declaration that social change and development in India had adversely affected women
shocked many Indians. This was a time when Mrs. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister and India was one
of the few countries in the world that regularly sent women abroad as ambassadors, representatives to the
United Nations, and delegates to international conferences. To celebrate International Women's Year,
organizations all over the country were programming special sessions to publicize women's
achievements.
The impact of the Toward Equality on the programs and policies for women has been very crucial.
Following publication of the report the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) established an
advisory committee on women's studies headed by Dr. Vina Mazumdar. This supported further research
into questions raised in the report. Almost all of the research carried out under the direction of this
advisory committee attempted to discover the conditions under which women lived and worked in
contemporary India. In 1980 the Centre for Women's Development Studies, an autonomous research
institute, was founded, with Vina Mazumdar as director. This centre has carried forward the work of
studying the status of women and making recommendations to the government regarding policies. The
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Research Centre for Women's Studies at SNDT Women's University began its work in 1974 as a research
unit. Under the able directorship of Neera Desai, it was accorded the status of Centre for Advanced
Thus the Towards Equality report made some very significant changes in the position and perception of
women in the post Independent period. Further, the Institutional changes too brought about a marked
change in women's roles as is seen by the leading roles that Indian women continue to play in India and
the world stage.
Revolutionary changes have taken place in the position of women in India after independence. The
Constitution of India provided for special steps to be taken by the government to improve the condition of
women by separate institutions.
A quick and effective change in the status of women was contemplated through social legislations. The
Constitution of India guarantees certain fundamental rights and freedom such as protection of life and
personal liberty. Indian women are the beneficiaries of these rights in the same manner as the Indian men.
Article 14 ensures equality before law and Article 15 prohibits any discrimination. Article 16(a) forbids
discrimination in any respect of employment of office under the state on the grounds only of religion caste,
sex, descent, and place of birth, residence or any of them.
In the post-independent India we had series of laws passed for the upliftment of women. These
legislations have been brought in order to give equal rights and privileges with men, to eliminate
discriminations against women, remove inequality between sexes, and remove external barriers coming in
the way of their self-realisation and development. The important Acts passed for the upliftment of women
are:
1. The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955:
This Act provided equal rights to women to obtain divorce and also maintenance in certain cases.
2. The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956:
By virtue of this Act a woman can adopt a boy or a girl as her son or daughter.
3. The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act of 1956:
This Act provides that a woman is entitled to act as the natural guardian of her minor children.
4. The Hindu Succession Act of 1956:
As a result of this Act, woman has got equal rights in the inheritance of family property. This Act is a
landmark in the history of Hindu law.
5. The Hindu Women Right to Property Act of 1973:
This Act has given more facilities to women. According to this Act, the daughter, the widow, and the
mother can inherit property of the deceased simultaneously. Now women will hold her property
absolutely with full right to sell, mortgage, and dispose of as she desires. But according to the Hindu
Succession Act, 1956, woman has only to enjoy her husband’s share in coparcenaries property for her life
time without any right to alienate property.
6. The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961:
According to this Act, taking or demanding dowry is an offence punishable by imprisonment and or fines.
7. The Equal Remuneration Act of 1976:
This Act does not permit wage discrimination between male and female workers.
Besides legislations, education was also regarded as an important factor in raising the status of women in
society. Therefore, active steps were taken to promote women’s education. Immediately after
independence it was realised that unless half of our population are exposed to educational process,
modernisation of our society would be a distant dream. Various Committees and Commissions emphasised
the need for equalisation of educational opportunities.
This led to opening of different schools and colleges, especially for women.
However, the absence of any economic compulsion was in fact one of the main reasons for the slow
progress of women education till seventies. There is a gradual change among the women that in order to
make a decent living and to assert their rights and privileges and to become economically independent,
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they must acquire proper skill through education. Hence, there has been a constant rise of women ratio in
the field of higher education.
There has been a remarkable increase in the number of women getting out of the four walls of the
household and becoming workers in both cities and villages, according to the 1991 census report. Job
opportunities outside the family, economic hardship and social situation have encouraged women to take
up employment outside the family. The attitudes of women’s relatives towards women’s employment,
women’s own preference for employment are now quite different from earlier beliefs. People are now in
favour of women employment.
Today, the centre of production is located outside the family, economic conditions demand participation of
women with men in the production process. This has enhanced the status of women in the family as well
as the society.
According to the report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India (1974), the number of female
employees in the categories of professional, technical and related workers, primary and middle school
teachers has been continuously rising since 1960. The Director General of Employment and Training data
for selected professions in public and private sectors identify teaching, medical and health, clerical and
related workers and telephone operators as the four occupations.
In the political field, women now enjoy equal rights with men. The two important rights in the political
field sanctioned to women by Indian Constitution are: female enfranchisement and eligibility for the
legislature. Prior to independence, when the elections were held in 1946 for constitutional assembly,
many prominent women of Indian like Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Meheta, Renuka Rai and others were elected.
In the first general election held in 1952, several women contested for the Lok Sabha.
After independence more women have joined different political parties. Some of them have captured seats
of power as Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Ministers of States.
Now all the political parties have a woman’s cell or wing and some women leaders are in the position of
president or secretary of party. Women of different parties are actively participating in campaigning and
organising meetings at the time of elections. The families are always helping women to have a smooth
entry in politics. Now politics is not the exclusive domain of men.
Many changes have taken place with respect to social life of Indian women. The ‘new life’ in city has
altered the family relations. Social life of women has been altered because the husband and wife have
begun to share a common social life which was not found in traditional family.
Attitude towards -segregation of sexes has also been changing. Coeducation has created an opportunity for
intermixing of boys and girls. During leisure the women visit their friends’ house. Boys take girls out to
entertain them by taking to movies, restaurants and picnic.
Industrialisation has not only affected the joint family system, but also the relationship between the
husband and the wife. The position of a woman as consultant is found in most families where she shares
the responsibility of making the major family decisions with her husband or father. Now authority vests
not only on eldest male but also on females.
It is well known that the freedom movement in India generated great awareness among women about
their social right and their social responsibilities in the larger soc.al order one result of this was the
manifestation of a new creative urge among women in post-independent India.
The status of women and their social relationship as necessitated by the new social, political and economic
organisation in society has come out through the routine factors of social change.
Undoubtedly in the period before 1947 there was a considerable change in thinking, outlook and value of
Indian women. Subsequently Indian women have gradually moved towards self-reliance and
independence. The status of Indian women through the ages has been changing and the status, which was
lost during the middle ages and earlier parts of 19th century, has been regained somewhat. It appears that
the status of women has gone high in India.
However the real position is that a large majority of women in the villages or women of low caste still
suffers from injustice and inequalities.
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If we look at them, we will notice that no social change of much importance has been brought about among
them Most of the women in villages are still illiterate and superstitious and do not participate in the
political, social and economic life of the nation. Rural women have remained backward due to tradition,
illiteracy, ignorance, superstition, social evils and many other factors. Hence, emancipation of women in
rural India is an essential prerequisite for social progress of the nation.
• 1. Preamble of the Constitution – Equality provisions in fundamental Rights and Directive

Principles of State Policy.
“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN
SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT,
ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.”
In PREAMBLE, words “secure to ALL ITS CITIZENS” includes females too.
Condition of women in India has not been historically very good. As is evident from Manusmriti, women
did not have much rights as compared to men. Further, the women are physically weaker than men and
due to this fact also, they have been exploited. Due to such continuous unfavorable treatment, the social
status of women has become really bad.
That women are naturally a weaker sex was first acknowledged by US supreme court in the case of Muller
vs Oregon 1908. In this case, the US SC observed that due physical structure and performance of maternal
functions, women are at a disadvantage in the society and thus it is society's responsibility to implement
favorable laws to bring them on the same level as men.
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.
Fundamental Rights
Art 14
It says that the state shall not deny any person equality before law and equal protection of law in the
territory of India. While this article is general in nature, it forms the bedrock for all other provisions. The
principle of equality adopted in the this article is that "like should be treaded alike". This is the key
principle for a social welfare state to ensure social and economic equality. The right to equality with out
the capability and the means to avail the benefits equally would be a cruel joke on the weaker sections.
This concept of equality permeates throughout the entire constitution. This article facilitates the existence
of other provisions that might seem discriminatory but are, in fact, not.
Art 15
While article 15(1) prohibits the state from discriminating on the basis of religion, race, case, sex, or place
of birth, art 15(3) allows the state to make special provisions for women and children. This is important
because as espoused by art 14, it is imperative for the state to make laws as per the social condition of
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various peoples. Art 15 merely elaborates that same concept and acknowledges that women need special
treatment for their upliftment.
In the case of Yusuf Abdul Aziz vs State of Bombay, AIR 1954, SC held that section 497 of IPC is valid
even though it punishes only the man for adultery and not the woman even if she has abetted the crime.
Art 16
Art 16 (1) ensures equality in employment in govt. services and art 16(2) explicitly prohibits any
discrimination on the ground of sex among other grounds. Even though art 16 does not directly contain
any provision specifically for women, in the case of State of AP vs P B Vijayakumar AIR 1995, SC held
that a rule 22A introduced by AP govt. that gave preference to women over men was valid. SC held that it
is not necessary to have a specific provision in art 16 because such a provision can be made under art
15(3) itself. It further noted that art 15(3) is a recognition of the fact that for centuries the women of this
country are socially and economically handicapped. As a result they are unable to participate in the socio-
economic progress of the country on an equal footing. Thus, making special provisions for women in
employment is an integral aspect of 15(3). This power of art 15(3) is not whittled down any way in art 16.
Art 21
The courts have interpreted very widely the right to life and personal liberty. In several cases, this article
has come to the rescue of women who have been wronged. In the case of Bodhisatva Gautam vs Subhra
Chakrabarti AIR 1996, SC awarded interim compensation to the rape victim.
Soon after that in the case of Vishaka vs State of Raj, AIR 1997, due to lack of any specific law, SC gave
certain guidelines to prevent sexual harassment of women in workplace.
Art 23
Prohibits traffic in human beings and forced labor. This has improved the condition of women in terms of
forced prostitution.
Directive Principles
Art 39 (a) Urges the state to provides equal right to adequate means of livelihood to men and women.
Art 39 (d) Equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
In the case of Randhir Singh vs Union of India AIR 1982, SC held that equal pay for equal work is a
constitutional goal and is capable of being enforced.
Art 39 (e) State should ensure that men, women, and children are not forced into work that is unsuitable
to their age or strength due to economic necessity.
Art 40/Art 243 D provides that 1/3 seats in panchayats shall be reserved for women.
Art 42 says that the state shall make provisions for securing just and humane working conditions and
maternity relief.
Art 44 UCC
Due to absence of a uniform civil code, women are routinely exploited in the name of personal laws
promulgated by religions. This fact was known to the makers of constitution and they urged the states to
implement UCC.
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In the case of Sarla Mudgal vs Union of India, 1995, SC urged the implementation of UCC by states.
Fundamental Duties
51 A (e) says that it is the duty of the citizens to renounce practices that are derogatory to the dignity of
women.
Acts for the benefit of women

Several Acts have been passed for the improving the condition of women from time to time.
1. Dowry Prohibition Act 1961
2. Contract Labor Act 1970 as well as Factories Act 1948 provide that women cannot be employed in
the night between 9 PM to 6 AM. Women cannot be required to work more than 9 hours.
3. Equal Remuneration Act 1976
4. The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986
5. The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act 1987
6. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005
7. Maternity Benefits Act 1961
8. Child Marriage Prohibition Act 1929
Ameliorative Measures for women

In the past 60 yrs of independence there has been quite a lot of work done towards the benefit of women.
In intial 5 yr plans, the focus was on welfare of women. Later on the focus shifted to development and
currently the focus is on empowerment. In 2001, National Policy for Women Empowerment was adopted.
It main points are –
1. To create an environment so that women feel involved in the making of economic and social
policies.
2. To give equal share in social, economic, and political aspects.
3. To remove discrimination against women by enacting various laws.
4. To encourage equal treatment of women in the society.
The following are other measures adopted towards this end.

Swayamsidha Scheme - Implemented by joining Indira Awas Yojana and Mahila Samruddha Yojana, whose
objective is the ensure the total development of women. Under this policy, women can directly control and
audit the programs. It is implemented at gram and village panchayat level by Govt. as well as NGOs.
1. Swahdhar Scheme - It helps destitute women to learn vocation and financial support so that they
can start earning on their own.
2. Kishori Shakti Yojana
3. Mahila Samriddhi Yojana
4. Maternity Benefits Scheme
5. Rashtriya Mahila Kosh
6. Scheme for working women's hostels
7. Development of women and children in rural areas
8. Margin Money Loan scheme
2. Negative Aspects of the Constitution – Exploitation of sex not mentioned in Article 23. A growing
occurrence of rural prostitution, sex tourism, and traditional notions of gender bias contribute to the
prevalence of prostitution and the sex trafficking in India. According to India’s federal police, more than
one million children are prostituted in India—“a source, transit nation, and destination” of the sexual-
slavery industry. The actual numbers on sex trafficking in India are more difficult to ascertain because of
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the “clandestine nature” of sex trafficking, but India’s Home Secretary commented that around 100 million
people “were [also] involved in human trafficking in India.” Although most victims are girls who are
trafficked within India, many are also girls who are trafficked across borders from Nepal and Bangladesh
and sent to urban red light areas in Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
An internationally accepted definition of trafficking, as defined by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, which supplements the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UN TIP Protocol), is the “recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons” by using “force[,] . . . coercion, abduction, fraud, [and]
deception” to control and exploit another person, including, but not limited to, sex exploitation.
The Indian Constitution under Article 23 specifically prohibits human trafficking, asserting that all citizens
have the right to be protected from exploitation. Rampant and ongoing sex trade in India clearly violates
the Indian Constitution and other domestic anti-trafficking legislation, and it simultaneously implicates
India’s obligations under the many international treaties against trafficking in persons that India has
ratified.
More than fifty years ago, India ratified without reservation the UN Convention for the Suppression of the
Traffick in Persons, which instructs States Parties to punish any person who “[e]xploits the prostitution of
another person,” even with the person’s consent. In Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, it further instructs
States Parties to punish any person who “procures, entices, or leads away” another person for the
purposes of prostitution, a person who manages and finances brothels, and a person who knowingly rents
out facilities “for the purpose of prostitution of others.”
Shortly after ratifying this Convention, India enacted domestic anti-trafficking legislation, the Immoral
Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA) of 1956 (later amended in 1986). The ITPA punishes brothel owners, brothel
managers, and traffickers with prison terms ranging from three years to life. The passage of this law
indicates the legislature’s positive intent in fulfilling India’s international obligations. Despite this, the
inclusion of Section 7, which penalizes those who prostitute in or near public places, and Section 8, which
penalizes the solicitation of sex, both of which have in practice justified the police’s arrest and
imprisonment of trafficked women who have been forced into prostitution and who have no knowledge or
control over the brothel’s proximity to public places. Amending the law to exclude Sections 7 and 8 would
decriminalize the activities of trafficking victims who are forced to solicit for sex. In 2006, a bill to amend
the ITPA was proposed by India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development, which would decriminalize
prostitution and instead would penalize prostitutes’ clients. The law currently contains provisions that
penalize brothel owners, managers, and traffickers. However, the bill did not pass.
Most recently, in 2011, India signed the UN TIP, thus reaffirming the country’s desire to combat sex
trafficking within the country. The goals of this protocol are to “prevent and combat trafficking” and
“protect and assist the victims of such trafficking,” especially women and children.
The Ministry of Home Affairs also set up specialized police units in major Indian cities in 2011 with the
sole task of investigating sex trafficking cases and arresting traffickers and brothel owners and managers.
These police officers were specially trained and sensitized to understand how trafficking rings operate.
However, the police lack the resources to investigate and make arrests on every trafficking case. For
example, police in West Bengal have called for faster rehabilitation and effective “social welfare and
judiciary systems” that can put violators of the ITPA on trial and ensure they are not “out on bail.” In
Mumbai in 2011, 242 sex-trafficking cases were prosecuted and 125 sex-trafficking perpetrators were
convicted in accordance with ITPA, resulting in prison terms of three years. Although these numbers
indicate a positive change, the overall conviction rate is low. If the ITPA conviction rate remains low, it will
allow traffickers to perpetuate and sustain the slave trade and the violation of victims’ basic human rights.
• 3. Different personal laws – unequal position of women.

Contemporary India is a multicultural society that is pluralistic with regards to religious law. Different
groups in India have separate religious personal laws (RPLs), which India’s secular state is reluctant to
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reform. However, these laws have generated debate about the meaning of gender equality in India, since
all RPLs to various extents give women fewer rights than men, but Indian women have been promised
equality as a constitutional right. Though the RPLs allow for inclusiveness in religion, the history of these
laws in India shows that they have been used selectively as a tool of governance and often to the
disadvantage of women. In the past, feminists argued that various differences of identity—such as race,
ethnicity, and sexuality—should be recognized and accounted for in the law. But in the case of India’s
cultural pluralism, religious difference comes into conflict with gender equality. I argue for replacing the
religious personal laws with gender-just family laws. Though this argument may seem exclusionary,
cultural identity and gender justice do not have to be antithetical values. One way of pursuing both goals is
to keep the historical and social specificities in the forefront of any discussions. It is possible to argue for
common rights for all women by re-conceptualizing the feminist project as one of constructing inclusive
legal theory that is sensitive to demands of differences but also those of justice.
The Origin of the Concept of Religious Personal Laws India’s legal system is a common law system—a relic
of British imperialism that is at the same time very different from the original British common law. During
colonization, novel ideas of utilitarianism and legal positivism informed many English innovations in
India.1 The usual organic relationship between a legal system and its society was violently disrupted
doubly by this experiment. Indians came to have a legal system developed in response to the needs of a
very different society, that of England. But whereas laws in England have abandoned or modified most of
these legal concepts, India maintains the “tradition” of the colonial laws. The concept of religious personal
laws is one of those ideas.
Historically, in Europe, the law made a distinction between personal (often ecclesiastical) laws and the
legal codes of the territory as a whole. In India before colonization, however, Hindus and Muslims—with
very few exceptions—were governed by their own respective laws. Colonization in India happened in a
complex and geographically varied manner. Different parts of the country came under colonial control
under different legal arrangements. British laws were introduced gradually and selectively and “personal
matters” were to remain governed by the religious laws of these communities. However, the content of
personal laws was determined almost randomly in the successive charters and regulations. Moreover, the
substantive content of these rules was modified in judicial and legislative actions. The judicial role in this
regard was significant even if unintentional. Gradually legislative changes were also introduced, but
despite these changes the idea has persisted that the RPLs are immutable.
The practice of applying laws of religious communities in personal matters was regarded as the “saving”
of religious laws, in part because of the language used. Different communities in India were identified by
the religions they followed and the personal laws that the English administrators had decided to save were
also in turn understood as religious, although in practice they could be community customs rather than
scriptural rules. Thus religious laws and personal laws became interchangeable, and in the process Gender
Inequality and Religious Personal Laws in India . It was forgotten that before the arrival of the British
administrators, all aspects of the laws of Hindus and Muslims were religious. Moreover, British policies
determined what should be designated as a personal matter, and of course the final shape of the laws
governing such personal matters—whether administered by the English courts or legislated by the
colonial parliaments—modified the religious laws of the people. One marked feature of most RPLs is that
women have fewer rights than men.The history of legislative reforms of RPLs in the independent Indian
state shows that the goal of gender equality is frequently subordinated to other political considerations.
The state has selectively used the argument of religious sanctity of these laws but at other times
introduced legislative changes. Most of the changes have been introduced in the Hindu Laws but the
changes in the minority communities’ laws have been more halting. Ostensibly the minority status of some
communities has been given priority over gender equality, but Hindu women have also not managed to
gain complete parity of rights with men. The most recent reform, in 2005, of the Hindu Succession Act was
proposed in order to make daughters equal coparceners; however, the legislation nevertheless still leaves
women with lesser rights than men.4 It is in these particular circumstances that gender equality for Indian
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women is more likely to be achieved by introducing a regime of common family law that would formulate
rules so as to recognize the principle of gender equality as the defining feature of the law. Cultural Identity
and Common Family Laws The dilemma faced by feminists asking for a common family law for all Indian
women is that they must simultaneously answer the mainstream critics of feminism who challenge the
demand for gender-sensitive laws and the men and women of minority communities who demand respect
for cultural identity. In the following part I will briefly explain the context of feminist critiques of
mainstream understandings of law and then argue that difference cannot be treated as good per se but
must be pursued in a specific context. Uniform Law as the Guarantor of Fairness and Justice Liberalism
and positivism have joined to formulate a view of modern law as autonomous of the economy and society,
in contrast to earlier conceptions of law that relied on historical or theological explanations.
In this widely accepted view, the legitimate authority of law is dependent upon universal, neutral, and
abstract principles. The law defines who is a legal subject and everyone who meets these requirements is
entitled to One marked feature of most RPLs is that women have fewer rights than men, the same rights
irrespective of their religion, wealth, gender, or any other characteristic. Liberal legalism in particular
finds its legitimacy in this guarantee of non-arbitrariness, of fairness to everyone irrespective of their
specific characteristics or differences. Legal feminists have extensively critiqued claims about the
neutrality and universality of law. Traditionally feminist engagements with law are divided into three
broad phases.
The earliest feminists, liberal feminists, argued for equal legal rights based upon the idea of the essential
sameness of women and men. However, even after women gained formal equality it was obvious that men
and women remained in a gender based hierarchical relationship. Feminists now explained that neutrality
of law in effect maintained male privilege while portraying legal rules as gender neutral. This in turn gave
rise to the sameness–difference debate in the feminist discourse: whether law should be gender neutral or
gender specific. Feminists who demanded that the different needs and interests of women be
acknowledged in law had to confront the charge that any deviation from neutral rules amounts to special
or preferential treatment. The emphasis on difference has become more complex with the advent of post
structural critiques about the essentialism of modernist thought. Post-structural theory has challenged the
idea of universal rules on the grounds that any closure of definitions is exclusionary and therefore unjust.
The category of woman is thus deconstructed to make evident the differences among women (e.g., race,
ethnicity, sexuality, etc.). If woman is not a unified category, the implication is that not all women have
similar interests, and thus feminist politics of reform and especially of legal reform becomes problematic.
This development, known as the anti-essentialism idea in post-structural theory, has a consequence that
cultural pluralism often comes at the cost of gender equality. These developments of western feminism did
not have exact parallels for women in India. The political and social context for women in India was very
different from the world of European women. The formal equality guaranteed in the Indian constitution
has not been understood as extending to gender parity in RPLs. This contradiction rests on the use of
religious (minority) identity for political purposes. The same constitution that guarantees gender equality
also ensures the right to religious freedom and minority identity. That Indian women of different
communities have yet to gain complete gender equality lends credence to feminist political philosopher
Susan Moller Okin’s suggestion that multiculturalism is bad for women.
However, rather than simply reverting to the orthodoxy of universal rights, it might be more useful to
contextualize the demand for different rights. It could and should be made incumbent upon those
demanding different rights to explain how these demands are not antithetical to gender equality. The
feminist challenge therefore is to acknowledge that gender equality demands more Gender Inequality and
Religious Personal Laws than gender-specific laws; the very legal concepts need to change. This is the
radical potential of feminist legal theory—it can reorient all legal theory to become more contextual and
inclusive. Thus whether universal laws or different laws will serve the interests of women can only be
answered in a specific context. Differences Matter The challenge now is to re-conceptualize categories of
law in a manner that women’s interests are neither dismissed nor marginalized. Post-structuralism does
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not mean either that all women must be treated the same or that no general rules can be formulated.
Rather it demands that attention is paid to the consequences of recognizing differences. Therefore
feminist analyses of law must constantly theorize the complex relationships between women and law by
conceptualizing law as a site of struggle, meaning that law is not a pre-given or final. It is always an
outcome of contestation and women like any other community have to constantly argue for gender-just
laws. Moreover, what constitutes gender justice can only be a contingent definition under constant
scrutiny, always available for redefining—which allows for many different voices to inform the content of
law. This can be illustrated with a brief analysis of the enactment of domestic violence legislation in India.
Religious Personal Laws and Other Laws The enactment of the 2005 Domestic Violence [Prevention] Act
(DVA) in the Indian Parliament raises a number of relevant issues for feminists seeking to understand law
as a site of struggle. It is also an example of how the “wrong” of domestic violence needs very different
remedies for women of Northern and Southern nations. The differences between the conditions of women
in different societies ought to be recognized but always with the proviso that such recognition leads to a
just or fair outcome. Women’s groups’ demand for a law on domestic violence was reiterated by the
National Commission for Women and later adopted by the government. It is reasonable to ask what
prompted the women’s groups to articulate this demand for a legal response to violence against women
and what is it that the backers of the act hoped to achieve. Domestic violence arises in a specific
socioeconomic context for most Indian women. The lack of real economic independence of most Indian
women underpins the cultural construction of women as dependents. The so-called religious personal
laws deny women even formal legal equality in personal relations. In this context it is no surprise that
domestic violence is a real problem. The efforts of women’s groups to name this The so-called religious
personal laws deny women even formal legal equality in personal relations problem and to seek legal
redress for it are understandable but are informed by certain problematic ideas about the law. The DVA is
an example of the effort to name certain social realities as a genderspecific harm suffered by women in
India. Naming domestic violence as a subject of civil law is an important re-conceptualization. The
proposed remedy for domestic violence however, is less than encouraging. The DVA has defined the major
issue as the “right” of the woman complainant to stay in the matrimonial home. Thus when a woman,
subject to violence, makes a legal complaint, the courts are empowered to allow her (to the exclusion of
the violent husband) to occupy the home. In the absence of this law her only option would be to walk out
of the house. Presumably, this law gives her time to make arrangements for getting out of a violent
marriage, but this is where the wider social, economic, and cultural conditions block her exit. The high
cultural premium on the idea of a woman’s place in the husband’s house is a social reality for most women.
The economic underpinning of this cultural norm is the fact that most women are financially dependent.
Furthermore, they cannot realistically expect either maintenance or a share of property on divorce. The
right of residence in the matrimonial home (legally the husband’s house) therefore, is an empty
achievement. The woman cannot live there indefinitely and nothing else in her circumstances has changed
to enable her to be financially independent. Even if this law is a limited advance, why are Indian feminists
so modest in their demands? No doubt they are acknowledging the particular social realities of Indian
women, but a more integrated response is required. The domestic violence law is as much limited by the
wider social, economic, and political contexts as our failure to challenge the inequalities built into the
religious personal laws. A woman who seeks the protection of the DVA will invariably be economically
dependent, and that dependence in itself is to a large extent underpinned by various laws. For example,
the lack of rights in matrimonial property, illusory maintenance rights, deficient rights in agricultural land,
and absence of employment opportunities maintain the inequalities. How then can the DVA change
anything? Still, it is undeniable that for all its limitations, the law is a step forward in working towards
gender justice. It of course does not mean that the struggles for all other kinds of equality rights are no
longer necessary. Legal feminist discourse in India at present does not deal adequately with these
fundamental issues. A possible explanation of this state of affairs is that, as a specific legacy of the history
of colonization, legal scholarship in India is mostly caught in a time warp. In keeping with the conservative
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view of legal knowledge as technical know how, most legal analyses in India restrict themselves to
doctrinal emphases.20 Legal scholarship that confines itself to examining the minutiae of the doctrine
cannot engage with the interdisciplinary developments in legal theory elsewhere. This absence of
theoretical Gender Inequality and Religious Personal Laws in India concerns can be illustrated by
examining the developments related to the reform of aspects of Christian personal laws. Difference and
Justice as Dual Feminist Goals The Divorce Act of 1869 governs the dissolution of marriage for two
Christians. The British colonial administrators originally enacted this act to govern Indian Christian
subjects. The act was reformed in 2001, after protracted community consultations and persistent demands
by women’s organizations. There is no doubt that the amendments to the act are a major gain for Indian
Christian women. Nevertheless, it is disturbing that in 2001 the Indian legislature, in consultation with
women’s organizations, could endorse ideas about fault-based divorce laws, the concept of dependent
domicile, and the concept of restitution of conjugal rights. In order to assess the scope of the amendments
to this legislation and its suitability for the Indian Christians it is necessary, at the very least, to know the
reasons behind this act and the relevant legal model used. The original IDA of 1869 was enacted as a
follow up to the first Divorce Act in England. English law up to that point, in keeping with the ecclesiastical
principles, did not allow for a Christian marriage to be dissolved. Social, economic, and religious changes
in Europe resulted in a gradual acceptance of divorce in certain circumstances, manifested in the Married
Women’s Right to Property Acts and the Divorce Act. In other words there was a correspondence between
the social changes and the legal changes.
None of this correspondence existed in colonial India. Yet, the IDA of 1869 was enacted as a religious law
for the Christian community. The model derived from the English divorce law, which was a major
legislative innovation that was duly transferred to India in 1869. However, when the legislature of a long-
independent India enacted an amendment to this law in 2001 and it insisted on retaining the “religious”
grounds of divorce, it is surprising that legal scholars do not see this as incredulous. Feminist legal
thinkers must surely be able to point out the anachronistic nature of this law, but instead the amendments
are portrayed as a major gain for Indian Christian women. There is an almost total lack of discussion as to
the ideal divorce law for women in the twenty-first century. The continued presence of fault-based
grounds of divorce, the lack of recognition of marriage as a partnership, no mention of the concept of
matrimonial property, or the anachronistic continuation of the idea of father as the natural guardian of a
child makes divorce a very problematic remedy for women. The fact that women’s groups are the main
force behind these changes makes it even more difficult to accept that appeasing religious and other
community leaders takes priority over gaining a realistic right of divorce for Christian women. Political
contingencies constrain the political activists, but no such hurdles exist for the legal feminist scholars:
theirs is a disappointing silence. Unless systematic theoretical analysis becomes part of Indian legal
scholarship, the level of critique will remain limited and gender equality will continue to be an
afterthought rather than a core component of the law. Even though most of the international legal feminist
literature is Eurocentric, it can nevertheless be a good starting point for Indian legal feminists to build
specifically Indian legal theory. One of the peculiar legacies of being in a postcolonial country is the fact
that the scholars can neither ignore the scholarship in the developed world countries nor employ it
directly. Most legal thinkers in the developed world write as if the developing world simply has to catch up
with the developed world, and ignore the specificities of postcolonial societies. For thinkers in the
developing world, however, all scholarship is judged by its engagement with contemporary developments
in the global North. That being said, Indian legal feminists can use these developments to illustrate that
what constitutes knowledge, including feminist knowledge, has an effect of silencing the marginalized
voices. The postmodernist insight that knowledge is constructed and partial can allow a space for
arguments about the justice of law recognizing differences among people. Feminist legal thinkers can
make the theoretical issues relate to the specific Indian conditions. For example, with regard to RPLs, the
fundamental issue for legal scholars is whether the divide between religious and secular spheres is an
adequate conceptual category. It is necessary to examine who deploys the religious–secular conceptual
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divide and to what effect. In the Indian context the construct of religious identity of the various
communities and in particular minority communities is in turn worthy of analysis. How and why religious
personal laws become the chief marker of religious minority identity is a question that should lead into an
in-depth analysis of the role of law in maintaining communities. The existence of religious personal laws
that deny equality to women is usually discussed as an example of conflict in rights of equality and the
right to culture, especially by the minorities. In liberal democratic societies the right to freedom of
conscience is routinely recognized. But nowhere does this right extend to imposing one’s view of religion
on other people, even other members of one’s own community. This is not a particularly novel situation
faced by Indian thinkers. In all European states, personal laws originated in religious laws, but family laws
are now secular. Nowhere has the existence of modern family laws given rise to the argument that they
prevent people from being good Christians. Neither is there a credible argument made that in a Protestant
country where divorce is allowed, the Roman Catholics are denied the right to cultural autonomy. It is not
particularly radical to formulate the issue as one of comparing the compatibility of group rights and
individual rights. In a liberal polity, how far the law Gender Inequality and Religious Personal Laws in
India can or should go in upholding communal identities is a question that legal scholars ought to concern
themselves with. It is worth repeating here that cultural/religious differences are not a good per se. If the
discourse of difference is being used to deny women legal equality, it is incumbent upon the analysts to
point that out and argue for a discourse of fairness in the law. The religious autonomy that various
communities claim in turn invokes a simplistic notion of choice. Invariably there is no discussion of who is
making the choice and whether the structural nature of hurdles in exercising choice makes it a futile
concept for most women. With regard to personal matters it could be imagined that law, rather than
enforcing religious authority, can facilitate equality by making all family laws gender non-discriminatory.
Such a family law would not interfere with anyone’s religious autonomy but neither will it enforce
religiously sanctioned inequalities. The conceptual issue for legal scholars is to develop arguments that
gender and religious autonomy can coexist. India, being a religiously plural society, faces this tension more
so than many other societies. It is no surprise that most legal theory, developed in industrialized countries,
does not concern itself with this issue. The specific responsibility of Indian legal scholars, feminists, and
others is to develop ideas about the relationship between law and their social institutions. It is not enough
to simply replicate ideas developed elsewhere and end up with the absurd situation that in contemporary
India women are denied equality by reference to anachronistic laws that are now supported in the name
of progressive pluralism.
4. Uniform Civil Code towards gender justice.

Uniform Civil Code: Towards Gender Justice
1.1Introduction
Politics of our nation has become so ingrained in pacification with specific sections of the society that our
fundamental right of free speech and expression cannot be protected by the State. As a consequence of this
appeasement the level of tolerance has reduced and which resulted in complete disregard for the law of
the country.
Uniform civil code of India is a term which refers to a concept of encompassing Civil Law Code in India. A
uniform civil code is said to administer same set of civil laws which will be applicable to all irrespective of
their religion, caste, gender, and tribes etc. This code will supersede all the personal laws which depend
upon religion, caste and tribes. Such a uniform codes are there in most of the Modern Nations.
Article 44 of the Constitution recommends a uniform civil code which the State shall endeavor to secure
the security of the citizens. This recommendation was given to the State to allow the State to integrate and
unite itself after independence before having a uniform civil code. It was apprehended by the framers of
the Constitution that an iron fist approach for enforcement of a uniform civil code would result in
widespread religious unrest which can lead to the disintegration of the fragile union.
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The common areas which are covered by a civil code are acquisition and accommodation of property,
adoption, marriage and divorce.
1.2 Dissolution of Marriage

The personal laws in India are based on the religion of the person, thereby making its application selective
in nature. But law should not be selective rather it should be uniform. There has been a lot of debate as to
whether Section 125 of Cr.P.C is applicable to Muslim women or not. The decision of the Supreme Court in
Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano answered this very question. The Court held that Sec 125 is applicable to
all irrespective of their religion. After this very judgment our legislature passed an enacted called Muslim
Women (Protection of Rights) Act, 1986. The constitutionality of this law was challenged in Daniel Latifi v.
Union of India. The Supreme Court while applying the doctrine of harmonious construction and construed
the enactment to be in compliance with the judgmentof Shah Bano. The present position of Muslim women
is that they are entitled to fair and reasonable maintenance under Section 125 of the CrPC so long as she
remains unmarried after the divorce.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights) Act, 1986 went through a lot of criticism because non-Muslims
believed it to be political stunt for elections. The Shah Bano case reflected how much personal laws are
influenced by religion and politics. The Supreme Court even after many petitions for uniform civil code has
denied interfering in the area of legislature but has reminded the parliament time and again about the
presence of Article 44 of the Constitution.
1.3 Inheritance
The Indian Succession Act, 1925 is the general law on succession and inheritance in India but this is not
mandatorily applicable to all because different religious groups are governed by their own personal laws
on inheritance and succession like Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Muslims. For those persons who
have different faiths than Hindu and Muslim, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 applies.
There is very clear demarcation between the laws of succession and inheritance applicable to Hindus,
Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist and Parsi, Christians and Jews with that of Muslims and with persons of inter
faith marriages.
The properties of a Hindu male dying intestate devolve equally amongst his sons, daughter, widow and
mother according to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. However, the deceased husband, if he so desires, can
write a Will and exclude his wife, which makes the provision of section 30 questionable in nature. The Will
made by the deceased may contain bequeath of all his properties and no means of support to the widow
this suggests that the gender inequalities in succession law proliferate extensively.
The joint family property of a Mitakshara Coparcenery devolves by survivorship upon the surviving
members of the coparcenery and not in accordance with this Act. This concept however takes a different
route when the Mitakshara coparcener dies leaving behind a female relative claiming the property and in
such an instance this undivided interest instead of devolving by survivorship devolves as provided under
the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. This unequal treatment with female child has existed since ages and the
amendment in 2005 attempted to reduce this inequality. The right of the daughter to demand a partition
of the coparcenery property after the 2005 amendment is absolute and not subjected to any rider. The
right of a daughter to demand partition of coparcenery property cannot be defeated even if she is
converted to Muslim religion after her marriage. As far as her succession rights are concerned they are
relatable only to the separate property of her father for which she has to wait till his death. The
coparcener gets a right by birth in the coparcenery property and the death of the father is not a
prerequisite for right to seek partition and demarcation of their shares. A daughter cannot ask for
partition till the death of her father is not only wrong but appears to be against the spirit of the newly
created coparcenery rights in favour of the daughter.
The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 governs the Muslims and Muslim women in
India. The Shariat is regarded as the Custom or Usage for the purposes of division of all properties, except
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agricultural land. Previously Muslims were governed by their local customs, laws and practices depending
upon their domicile which ran contrary to the Shariat. The customary laws were highly discriminatory and
it excluded daughters and widow from inheritance or succession which was contrary to the Shariat which
provided daughters and widow the right to inheritance and succession but the shares of the daughters and
widows were lower than a man. Therefore we can say that the Muslim laws are more discriminatory and
provided least scope to the women to have a share in her husband’s or father’s property.
In the case of the Parsi community, a daughter gets equal share as that of the son and it is the same even
for the widow. For the Parsi the question of gender equality seems irrelevant.
So by drawing reference from the above discussion we can conclude that the Hindu Law has tried to mend
the inequalities prevailing between the opposite sex related to inheritance and succession. As far as Parsi
law is concerned there never existed any inequality between sons and daughters for the share of their
father’s property. But the Muslim law is still predominantly in favour of males for the right to inheritance
and succession.
1.4 Conclusion
General people have a wrong notion of civil code as being anti- religion. Civil code does not aim at
removing the rituals and ceremonies attached to a particular religion; it only focuses on the rights while
keeping intact the ceremonies. It tries to bring about a secular system reforming the existing personal laws
based on religions which grossly discriminate women. But the superior sex and superior religion battle
does not seem to agree with this very concept. The first women Chief Justice, Leila Seth, argued in favour
of the uniform civil code by stating that it would help to break the shackles of unfair customary practices
harmful to women and would provide them with individual identity. She also addressed the fear that such
code might imperil religious freedom by saying that uniform civil code will not take away the right to
perform religious ceremonies and rituals rather it would provide the women with equal rights relating to
property and would protect her against polygamy and arbitrary divorce.
• 5. Indian tradition and family ideology: growth of feminism and schools

of feminism.
Feminism in India is a set of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political,
economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for Indian women. It is the pursuit of women's
rights within the society of India. Like their feminist counterparts all over the world, feminists in India
seek gender equality: the right to work for equal wages, the right to equal access to health and education,
and equal political rights. Indian feminists also have fought against culture-specific issues within India's
patriarchal society, such as inheritance laws and the practice of widow immolation known as Sati.
The history of feminism in India can be divided into three phases: the first phase, beginning in the mid-
nineteenth century, initiated when male European colonists began to speak out against the social evils of
Sati; the second phase, from 1915 to Indian independence, when Gandhi incorporated women's
movements into the Quit India movement and independent women's organisations began to emerge; and
finally, the third phase, post-independence, which has focused on fair treatment of women at home after
marriage, in the work force and right to political parity.
Despite the progress made by Indian feminist movements, women living in modern India still face many
issues of discrimination. India's patriarchal culture has made the process of gaining land-ownership rights
and access to education challenging. In the past two decades, there has also emerged a disturbing trend
of sex-selective abortion. To Indian feminists, these are seen as injustices worth struggling against.
As in the West, there has been some criticism of feminist movements in India. They have especially been
criticised for focusing too much on women already privileged, and neglecting the needs and
representation of poorer or lower caste women. This has led to the creation of caste-specific feminist
organisations and movements.
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Definition in the Indian context

Women's role in Pre-colonial social structures reveals that feminism was theorised differently in India
than in the West. In India, women's issues first began to be addressed when the state commissioned a
report on the status of women to a group of feminist researchers and activists. The report recognised the
fact that in India, women were oppressed under a system of structural hierarchies and injustices. During
this period, Indian feminists were influenced by the Western debates being conducted about violence
against women. However, due to the difference in the historical and social culture of India, the debate in
favor of Indian women had to be conducted creatively and certain Western ideas had to be
rejected. Women's issues began to gain an international prominence when the decade of 1975–1985 was
declared the United Nations Decade for Women.
Historical circumstances and values in India have caused feminists to develop a feminism that differs from
Western feminism. For example, the idea of women as "powerful" is accommodated into patriarchal
culture through religion, which has retained visibility in all sections of society. This has provided women
with traditional "cultural spaces." Furthermore, in the West the notion of "self" rests in
competitive individualism where people are described as "born free yet everywhere in chains." In India
the individual is usually considered to be just one part of the larger social collective. Survival of the
individual is dependent upon cooperation, and self-denial for the greater good is valued.
Indian women negotiate survival through an array of oppressive patriarchal family structures: age, ordinal
status, relationship to men through family of origin, marriage and procreation as well as patriarchal
attributes. Examples of patriarchal attributes include: dowry, siring sons etc., kinship, caste, community,
village, market and the state. It should however be noted that several communities in India, such as
the Nairs of Kerala, Shettys of Mangalore, certain Maratha clans, and Bengali families exhibit matriarchal
tendencies. In these communities, the head of the family is the oldest woman rather than the oldest
man. Sikh culture is also regarded as relatively gender-neutral.
In India, of communities recognized in the national Constitution as Scheduled Tribes, "some ... [are]
matriarchal and matrilineal" "and thus have been known to be more egalitarian." According to interviewer
Anuj Kumar, Manipur, "has a matriarchal society", but this may not be a scholarly assessment. This is
because though mothers there are in forefront of most of the social activism, the society has always been
patriarchal. Their women power is visible because of historical reasons. Manipur was ruled by strong
dynasties and the need for expansions of borders, crushing any outsider threats, etc. engaged the men. So,
women had to take charge of home-front.
In Muslim families, women and men are considered equal, but not in the westernized sense.
The Quran teaches that the minds of males and females work differently and are generally different
biologically. Therefore, Islam grants different rights to the husband and wife. One such right which the
wife owes to her husband is being head of the household.
The heterogeneity of the Indian experience reveals that there are multiple patriarchies, contributing to the
existence of multiple feminisms. Hence, feminism in India is not a singular theoretical orientation; it has
changed over time in relation to historical and cultural realities, levels of consciousness, perceptions and
actions of individual women, and women as a group. The widely used definition is "An awareness of
women's oppression and exploitation in society, at work and within the family, and conscious action by
women and men to change this situation." Acknowledging sexism in daily life and attempting to challenge
and eliminate it through deconstructing mutually exclusive notions off
emininity and masculinity as biologically determined categories opens the way towards an equitable
society for both men and women.
The male and female dichotomy of polar opposites with the former oppressing the latter at all times is
refuted in the Indian context because it was men who initiated social reform movements against
various social evils. Patriarchy is just one of the hierarchies. Relational hierarchies between women within
the same family are more adverse. Here women are pitted against one another. Not all women are
powerless at all times.
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There have been intense debates within the Indian women's movements about the relationship between
Western and Indian feminisms. Many Indian feminists simultaneously claim a specific "Indian" sensitivity
as well as an international feminist solidarity with groups and individuals worldwide. The rise of liberal
feminism in the West in the 1970s focused deeply on demands for equal opportunities in education and
employment, as well as ending violence against women. To a large extent, the emerging feminist
movement in India was influenced by Western ideals. These called for education and equal rights, but also
adapted their appeals to local issues and concerns, such as dowry-related violence against women, Sati,
sex selective abortion and custodial rape. Some Indian feminists have suggested that these issues are not
specifically "Indian" in nature but rather a reflexion of a wider trend of patriarchal oppression of women.
History
Unlike the Western feminist movement, India's movement was initiated by men, and later joined by
women. The efforts of these men included abolishing sati, which was a widow's death by burning on her
husband's funeral pyre, abolishing the custom of child marriage, abolishing the disfiguring of widows,
introducing the marriage of upper caste Hindu widows, promoting women's education, obtaining legal
rights for women to own property, and requiring the law to acknowledge women's status by granting
them basic rights in matters such as adoption.
The 19th century was the period that saw a majority of women's issues come under the spotlight and
reforms began to be made. Much of the early reforms for Indian women were conducted by men. However,
by the late 19th century they were joined in their efforts by their wives, sisters, daughters, protegees and
other individuals directly affected by campaigns such as those carried out for women's education. By the
late 20th century, women gained greater autonomy through the formation of independent women's own
organisations. By the late thirties and forties a new narrative began to be constructed regarding "women's
activism". This was newly researched and expanded with the vision to create 'logical' and organic links
between feminism and Marxism, as well as with anti-communalism and anti-casteism, etc. The
Constitution of India did guarantee 'equality between the sexes,' which created a relative lull in women's
movements until the 1970s.
During the formative years of women's rights movements, the difference between the sexes was more or
less taken for granted in that their roles, functions, aims and desires were different. As a result, they were
not only to be reared differently but treated differently also. Over the course of time, this difference itself
became a major reason for initiating women's movements. Early 19th century reformers argued that the
difference between men and women was no reason for the subjection of women in society. However, later
reformers were of the opinion that indeed it was this particular difference that subjugated women to their
roles in society, for example, as mothers. Therefore, there was a need for the proper care of women's
rights. With the formation of women's organisations and their own participation in campaigns, their roles
as mothers was again stressed but in a different light: this time the argument was for women's rights to
speech, education and emancipation. However, the image of women with the mother as a symbol
underwent changes over time – from an emphasis on family to the creation of an archetypal mother figure,
evoking deep, often atavistic images.
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First phase: 1850–1915
Maharani Jind Kaur, the youngest wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was renowned for her beauty, energy and
strength of purpose. But her fame is derived chiefly from the fear she engendered in the British, who
described her as "the Messalina of the Punjab", a seductress too rebellious to be controlled.
The colonial venture into modernity brought concepts of democracy, equality and individual rights. The
rise of the concept of nationalism and introspection of discriminatory practices brought about social
reform movements related to caste and gender relations. This first phase of feminism in India was
initiated by men to uproot the social evils of sati (widow immolation), to allow widow remarriage, to
forbid child marriage, and to reduce illiteracy, as well as to regulate the age of consent and to ensure
property rights through legal intervention. In addition to this, some upper caste Hindu women rejected
constraints they faced under Brahminical traditions. However, efforts for improving the status of women
in Indian society were somewhat thwarted by the late nineteenth century, as nationalist movements
emerged in India. These movements resisted 'colonial interventions in gender relations' particularly in the
areas of family relations. In the mid to late nineteenth century, there was a national form of resistance to
any colonial efforts made to 'modernise' the Hindu family. This included the Age of Consent controversy
that erupted after the government tried to raise the age of marriage for women.
Several Indian states were ruled by women during British colonial advance including Jhansi (Rani
Laxmibai), Kittur(Rani Chennama), Bhopal (Quidisa Begum) and Punjab (Jind Kaur).
Second Phase: 1915–1947

During this period the struggle against colonial rule intensified. Nationalism became the pre-eminent
cause. Claiming Indian superiority became the tool of cultural revivalism resulting in an essentialising
model of Indian womanhood similar to that of Victorian womanhood: special yet separated from public
space. Gandhi legitimised and expanded Indian women's public activities by initiating them into the non-
violent civil disobedience movement against the British Raj. He exalted their feminine roles of caring, self-
abnegation, sacrifice and tolerance; and carved a niche for those in the public arena. Peasant women
played an important role in the rural satyagrahas of Borsad and Bardoli. Women-only organisations
like All India Women's Conference (AIWC) and the National Federation of Indian Women(NFIW) emerged.
Women were grappling with issues relating to the scope of women's political participation, women's
franchise, communal awards, and leadership roles in political parties.
The 1920s was a new era for Indian women and is defined as 'feminism' that was responsible for the
creation of localised women's associations. These associations emphasised women's education issues,
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developed livelihood strategies for working-class women, and also organised national level women's
associations such as the All India Women's Conference. AIWC was closely affiliated with the Indian
National Congress. Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, it worked within the nationalist and anti-
colonialist freedom movements. This made the mass mobilisation of women an integral part of Indian
nationalism. Women therefore were a very important part of various nationalist and anti-colonial efforts,
including the civil disobedience movements in the 1930s.
After independence, the All India Women's Conference continued to operate and in 1954 the Indian
Communist Party formed its own women's wing known as the National Federation of Indian Women.
However, feminist agendas and movements became less active right after India's 1947 independence, as
the nationalist agendas on nation building took precedence over feminist issues.
Women's participation in the struggle for freedom 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 adopted a
patronising role towards women. For example, India's constitution states that women are a "weaker
section" of the population, and therefore need assistance to function as equals. Thus 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.
Post-1947
Indira Gandhi (née Nehru) was the only child of the India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. She is
the first and only woman Prime Minister of India and the second-longest-serving Prime Minister.
Post independence feminists began to redefine the extent to which women were allowed to engage in the
workforce. Prior to independence, most feminists accepted the sexual divide within the labour force.
However, feminists in the 1970s challenged the inequalities that had been established and fought to
reverse them. These inequalities included unequal wages for women, relegation of women to 'unskilled'
spheres of work, and restricting women as a reserve army for labour. In other words, the feminists' aim
was to abolish the free service of women who were essentially being used as cheap capital. Feminist class-
consciousness also came into focus in the 1970s, with feminists recognising the inequalities not just
between men and women but also within power structures such as caste, tribe, language, religion, region,
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class etc. This also posed as a challenge for feminists while shaping their overreaching campaigns as there
had to be a focus within efforts to ensure that fulfilling the demands of one group would not create further
inequalities for another. Now, in the early twenty-first century, the focus of the Indian feminist movement
has gone beyond treating women as useful members of society and a right to parity, but also having the
power to decide the course of their personal lives and the right of self-determination.
In 1966 Indira Gandhi became the first female Prime Minister of India. She served as prime minister of
India for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term from 1980 until she was assassinated in
1984.
The state of Kerala is often viewed as the ideal progressive leader in the women’s rights movement in
India among states. Kerala maintains very high relative levels of female literacy and women’s health, as
well as greater female inheritance and property rights. For example, a 1998 study conducted by Bina
Agarwal found that while only 13% of all women in India with landowning fathers inherited that land as
daughters, 24% of such women were able to do so in the state of Kerala.[29] This is important because it has
been shown that measures to improve such access to property and economic independence through
channels such as education not only directly improve women’s wellbeing and capabilities, but also reduce
their risk of exposure to marital or any sort of domestic violence.
Issues
Despite "on-paper" advancements, many problems still remain which inhibit women from fully taking
advantage of new rights and opportunities in India.
There are many traditions and customs that have been an important part of Indian culture for hundreds of
years. Religious laws and expectations, or "personal laws" enumerated by each specific religion, often
conflict with the Indian Constitution, eliminating rights and powers women should legally have. Despite
these crossovers in legality, the Indian government does not interfere with religion and the personal laws
they hold.[30] Religions, like Hinduism, call for women to be faithful servants to God and their husbands.
They have a term called pativrata that describes a wife who has accepted service and devotion to her
husband and his family as her ultimate religion and duty. Indian society is largely composed of
hierarchical systems within families and communities. These hierarchies can be broken down into age,
sex, ordinal position, kinship relationships (within families), and caste, lineage, wealth, occupations, and
relationship to ruling power (within the community). When hierarchies emerge within the family based on
social convention and economic need, girls in poorer families suffer twice the impact of vulnerability and
stability. From birth, girls are automatically entitled to less; from playtime, to food, to education, girls can
expect to always be entitled to less than their brothers. Girls also have less access to their family's income
and assets, which is exacerbated among poor, rural Indian families. From the start, it is understood that
females will be burdened with strenuous work and exhausting responsibilities for the rest of their lives,
always with little to no compensation or recognition.
India is also a patriarchal society, which, by definition, describes cultures in which males as fathers or
husbands are assumed to be in charge and the official heads of households. A patrilineal system governs
the society, where descent and inheritance are traced through the male line and men are generally in
control of the distribution of family resources.
These traditions and ways of Indian life have been in effect for so long that this type of lifestyle is what
women have become accustomed to and expect. Indian women often do not take full advantage of their
constitutional rights because they are not properly aware or informed of them. Women also tend to have
poor utilisation of voting rights because they possess low levels of political awareness and sense of
political efficacy. Women are not often encouraged to become informed about issues. Due to this, political
parties do not invest much time in female candidates because there is a perception that they are a "wasted
investment."
The female-to-male ratio in India is 933 to 1000, showing that there are numerically fewer women in the
country than men. This is due to several factors, including infanticides, most commonly among female
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infants, and the poor care of female infants and childbearing women. Although outlawed, infanticides are
still highly popular in rural India, and are continuing to become even more prominent. This is due to the
fact, most especially in rural areas, that families cannot afford female children because of the dowry they
must pay when their daughter gets married. Like infanticide, the payment of dowry is also illegal, but is
still a frequent and prevalent occurrence in rural India.[32] Women are considered to be "worthless" by
their husbands if they are not "able" to produce a male child, and can often face much abuse if this is the
case.
Birth ratio
Between the years of 1991 to 2001, the female-male ratio of the population of India fell from 94.5 girls per
100 boys to 92.7 girls per 100 boys. Some parts of the country, such as Kerala, did not experience such a
decline, but in the richer Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, the female-male ratio
fell very sharply (the female-male ratios in these states were between 79.3 and 87.8). This is evidence of
natality inequality, and an indication that sex-selective abortion has become more pervasive. The Indian
parliament has banned the use of sex determination techniques for foetuses due to this, but enforcement
of this law has been largely ignored.[34]
Marriage
Most of the average Indian woman's life is spent in marriage; many women are still married before the
legal age of 18, and the incidence of non-marriage is low in India. Childbearing and raising children are the
priorities of early adulthood for Indian women. Thus, if they enter the workforce at all, it is far later than
Indian men. Urban Indian men reach the peak of their labour force participation between the ages of 25
and 29, while urban Indian women do so between the ages of 40 and 44.[4] Because of this, women have
less time for the acquisition of skills and fewer opportunities for job improvements.
There is a poor representation of women in the Indian workforce. Females have a ten percent higher drop-
out rate than males from middle and primary schools, as well as lower levels of literacy than men. Since
unemployment is also high in India, it is easy for employers to manipulate the law, especially when it
comes to women, because it is part of Indian culture for women not to argue with men. Additionally,
labour unions are insensitive to women's needs. Women also have to settle for jobs that comply with their
obligations as wives, mothers, and homemakers.[4][32]
Muslim personal law (MPL)

One of the major issues are aspects of sharia (Islamic law) known as Muslim personal law (MPL) or
Muslim family law. Some of the thorny issues regarding the way in which MPL has thus far been
formulated include polygyny, divorce, custody of children, maintenance and marital property. In addition,
there are also more macro issues regarding the underlying assumptions of such legislation, for example,
the assumption of the man as head of the household.
Dress code
Another issue that concerns women is the dress code expected of them. Islam requires both men and
women to dress modestly; this concept is known as hijab and covers a wide interpretation of behavior and
garments. There is mixed opinion among feminists over extremes of externally imposed control. Women
from other religions are also expected to follow dress codes.
Theology
Hindu feminism
In the Hindu religion, there has been partial success in terms of gender equality reform laws and family
law. While this is a major advancement relative to other religions in India, it is still not a complete triumph
in terms of feminism and relieving oppression.[30] Gandhi came up with the term stree shakti (women
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power) for the concept of womanhood. In the Hindu religion, Gods are not exclusively male. Hinduism
sheds a positive light on femininity; females are considered to complement and complete their male
counterparts. It is important to note that both the deity of knowledge and the deity of wealth are female.[19]
There has been some criticism from Dalit groups that Indian feminism tends to represent "upper caste"
and upper class Hindu women, while ignoring and marginalising the interests of Dalit women. Debates on
caste and gender oppression have been furthered by Other Backward Class(OBC) members of different
political parties, arguing in state assemblies that "lower caste" women's interests are best represented by
women from these castes.[7] Working towards this end, women within Dalit castes have formed
organisations such as the All India Dalit Women's Forum and the National Federation of Dalit Women and
Dalit Solidarity, which focus on the gendered implications of caste based violence and oppression, such as
the ways in which Dalit women suffer from urban poverty and displacement.[7]
Islamic feminism
The symbol for Islamic feminism.

The Hindu and Muslim communities in India were treated differently by the government in that separate
types of concessions were made for each community in order to accommodate their separate religious
laws and regulations. The case of Shah Bano begun in 1985 was one such example of Rajiv
Gandhi attempting to make "concessions" for the Muslim community to in turn secure support for the
Congress. Shah Bano, a 73-year-old Muslim woman, was divorced by her husband after forty-three years
of marriage. According to the Sharia or Muslim Law, her husband was not required to pay her alimony.
Shah Bano challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in her favour and
ordered her husband to pay her a monthly maintenance allowance. This caused chaos amongst the Muslim
clerics who denounced the judgement and suggested that their religion, Islam was under attack in the
country. In a fear of losing overall Muslim support, Rajiv succumbed to the pressures of the Conservative
Moulvis from Muslims community and his own party and backed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights
on Divorce) Bill which restricts alimony for Muslim Women only for 90 days after divorce. This caused an
outcry from Muslim feminists and Hindu nationalists who found the appeasement of Muslim males by the
Congress for political purposes wrong and opportunistic.
Feminism was challenged by various minority groups for not entirely addressing the needs of minority
populations. It was suggested that 'mainstream' feminism was upper caste and Hindu in its orientation
and did not address the concerns of minority women. This led to the formation of the Awaaz-e-Niswaan
(The Voice of Women) in 1987 in Mumbai in largely Muslim part of the city. The Muslim community has
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personal laws that often were considered harmful to the rights of Muslim women. The Muslim personal
law allows Polygamy but not Polyandry.
Impact
Western-educated Indians introduced equality in the early nineteenth century. However, the term did not
gain meaning or become an operational principle in Indian life until the country gained independence in
1947 and adopted a democratic government. The Indian Constitution then granted equality, freedom from
discrimination based on gender or religion, and guaranteed religious freedoms. Also, seven five-year
plans were developed to provide health, education, employment, and welfare to women. The sixth five-
year plan even declared women "partners in development."
Employment
In general, in the uneducated and rural sections of Indian society, which form a major percentage of the
total population, women are seen as economic burdens. Their contributions to productivity are mostly
invisible as their familial and domestic contributions are overlooked. Indian women were contributing
nearly 36 percent of total employment in agriculture and related activities, nearly 19 percent in the
service sector, and nearly 12.5 in the industry sector as of the year 2000. High illiteracy rates among
women confine them to lower paying, unskilled jobs with less job security than men. Even in agricultural
jobs where the work of men and women are highly similar, women are still more likely to be paid less for
the same amount and type of work as men.
In 1955 the Bollywood group Cine Costume Make-Up Artist & Hair Dressers' Association (CCMAA) created
a rule that did not allow women to obtain memberships as makeup artists.[39] However, in 2014
the Supreme Court of India ruled that this rule was in violation of the Indian constitutional guarantees
granted under Article 14 (right to equality), 19(1)(g) (freedom to carry out any profession) and Article 21
(right to liberty).[39] The judges of the Supreme Court of India stated that the ban on women makeup artist
members had no "rationale nexus" to the cause sought to be achieved and was "unacceptable,
impermissible and inconsistent" with the constitutional rights guaranteed to the citizens.[39]The Court also
found illegal the rule which mandated that for any artist, female or male, to work in the industry, they
must have domicile status of five years in the state where they intend to work. [39] In 2015 it was
announced that Charu Khurana had become the first woman to be registered by the Cine Costume Make-
Up Artist & Hair Dressers' Association.
Globalisation
Feminists are also concerned about the impact of globalisation on women in India. Some feminists argue
that globalization has led to economic changes that have raised more social and economical challenges for
women, particularly for working-class and lower-caste women. Multinational companies in India have
been seen to exploit the labour of 'young, underpaid and disadvantaged women' in free trade zones and
sweat shops, and use "Young lower middle class, educated women," in call centres. These women have few
effective labour rights, or rights to collective action.
In addition to this, multinational corporations are seen to advertise a homogenous image of ideal women
across the country is argued to cause an increase in the commodification of women's bodies. This is also
manifested in the form of nationalist pride exhibited through Indian women winning international beauty
pageants. According to some feminists, such developments have offered women greater sexual autonomy
and more control over their bodies. However, many other feminists feel that such commodification of
female bodies has only served the purpose of feeding to male fantasies.
Education
Some of the main reasons that girls are less likely to reach optimal levels of education include the fact that
girls are needed to assist their mothers at home, have been raised to believe that a life of domestic work is
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their destined occupation, have illiterate mothers who cannot educate their children, have an economic
dependency on men, and are sometimes subject to child-marriage.
In 1986, the National Policy on Education (NPE) was created in India, and the government launched the
programme called Mahila Samakhya, whose focus was on the empowerment of women. The programme's
goal is to create a learning environment for women to realise their potential, learn to demand information
and find the knowledge to take charge of their own lives. In certain areas of India, progress is being made
and an increase in the enrolment of girls in schools and as teachers has begun to increase. By 2001 literacy
for women had exceeded 50% of the overall female population, though these statistics were still very low
compared to world standards and even male literacy within India. Efforts are still being made to improve
the level of education that females receive to match that of male students.
Modernization
Modern influences are affecting the younger generations in parts of India, where girls are beginning to
forgo the more traditional ways of Indian life and break gender stereotypes. In more flourishing parts of
the country, the idea of "dating", or more specifically openly dating, has come into play, and the terms
"girlfriend" and "boyfriend" are being used. Some women have landed highly respectable careers, and can
be seen across Bollywood billboards and advertisements. However, this is not the norm throughout the
country; such modernisations and the women behind them face serious resistance from anti-liberalists.
The country is still severely male-dominant and unwelcoming to such movements that go against sex and
gender traditions in India.[44]
Indian feminists
Interview of Pink Chaddi Campaignactivist Namita Malhotra speaking about the movement's beginnings.
(Courtesy: Frederick Noronha) The Campaign is a nonviolent protest movement launched by Consortium
of Pub-Going, Loose and Forward Women in response to violent conservative and right-wing activism
against perceived violations of Indian culture, when a group of women were attacked in a pub
in Mangalore.
 Bina Agarwal - deals especially with the connectedness of gender inequality, social exclusion,
property, and development. She is also the ex-President of the International Association for Feminist
Economics.
 Lalithambika Antharjanam – author and social reformer whose work reflected women's roles in
society.
 Barnita Bagchi – scholar and sociologist with a focus on women's education.
 Jasodhara Bagchi – founder of the School of Women's Studies at Jadavpur University.
 Rita Banerji – Feminist author and founder of The 50 Million Missing Campaign, an online, global
lobby working to raise awareness about the female gendercide (femicide) in India.
 Durgabai Deshmukh - She was a public activist for women's emanicipation and was also the founder of
Andhra Mahila Sabha.
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 Sarala Devi Chaudhurani – early feminist and founder of the Bharat Stree Mahamandal, one of the first
women's organisations in India.
 Prem Chowdhry - social scientist, feminist, Senior Academic Fellow and critic of violence against
couples refusing arranged marriages. She is a Life Member of the Center for Women Studies. She is a
well-known scholar of gender studies, authority on the political economy and social history
of Haryana state in India and daughter of Hardwari Lal, the renowned educationist and Indian
National Congress member of parliament for Haryana.
 Saroj Nalini Dutt – early social reformer who pioneered the formation of educational Women's
Institutes in Bengal.
 Mira Datta Gupta – activist for women's issues and one of the founding members of the All India
Women's Conference.
 Padma Gole – poet whose writings faithfully depicted the domestic lives of Indian middle-class
women.
 Devaki Jain – founder of the Institute of Social Studies Trust and scholar in the field of feminist
economics.
 Brinda Karat – first woman member of the CPI(M) Politburo and former Vice President of the All India
Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA).
 Madhu Kishwar - Founder President of Manushi Sangathan, a forum that will promote greater social
justice and strengthen human rights, especially for women. She founded the magazine Manushi: A
Journal about Women and Society devoted to feminism as well as to gender studies and activism in
1978 with Ruth Vanita
 Vina Mazumdar – secretary of the first Committee on the Status of Women in India and founding
Director of Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS).
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lOMoARcPSD|38016847
UNIT-III
• UNIT-III Sex Inequality in Inheritance Rights

• INHERITANCE AND SUCCESSION-
• The general law relating to the inheritance and succession can easily be referred to The Indian
Succession Act, 1925. Under this Act every Indian is entitled to equal shares on inheriting the
property on the death of a person. The exceptions are Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Muslims
as they are governed under separate laws of succession. As for the persons of different faiths than
Hinduism and Mohammedan, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 applies.
• We can easily segregate the laws of non-testamentary or intestate succession and inheritance as
would be applicable to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist and with Parsis, Christians and Jews with
that of Muslims and with persons of inter faith marriages.
• Laws of succession applicable to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist; for the non-testamentary or
intestate succession/inheritance, the governing law is the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
• Laws of succession applicable to Parsis; for the intestate succession the governing law is the Indian
Succession Act, 1925 specifically under section 50 to 56 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
• Laws of succession applicable to Christians and Jews; for the intestate the governing law is the
Indian Succession Act, 1925 specifically under section 31 to 49 of the Act.
• Laws of succession governing Muslims; for non-testamentary succession the The Muslim Personal
Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 is applicable and where a muslim has died testate, the issue
has to be governed under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 where a Will relates to immovable
property situate within the State of West Bengal, and that of Madras and Mumbai Jurisdiction.
• Laws of succession in case of inter faith marriages, under Special Marriage Act, 1954.
• Under Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the properties of a Hindu male dying intestate devolves, in the
first instance, equally on his sons, daughters, widow and mother and include the specified heirs of
predeceased sons or daughters. The widow of the deceased is entitled to inherit equally with sons
and daughters. The provisions of section 30 of the Act raise issues which are questionable in
nature whereby the deceased husband, if he so desires, may write a Will and exclude his wife. The
Will may contain bequeath of all his properties and no means of support to the widow.
• If there be a meticulous reasoning, the rights of the Women and Daughters under the Hindu
Succession Act can be resolved; the Gender inequalities in succession law proliferate extensively.
Another aspect which is equally complicated is The Streedhan — Streedhan is the property held by
a woman in India and treating the Streedhan on the death of the husband is also to be redressed by
making suitable changes by the Parliament and address these and many other issues in the biased
inheritance law under the Hindu Succession.
• The law applicable to India can be said to be unlike for the State of Maharastra where the women
and more particularly the daughters have dual advantage. A daughter is entitled to a share in the
father’s Hindu undivided family, generally regarded as (HUF) as well as a share in the husband’s
HUF. This again is meager and notional shares which at times take unending time in the legal foray
in situations where the male heirs do not approach the court for the division of the property of the
deceased.
• Under the Mitakshara teachings, the joint family property devolves by survivorship and when a
male Hindu dies after the commencement of this Act having at the time of his death an interest in a
Mitakshara coparcenery property, his interest in the property shall devolve by survivorship upon
the surviving members of the coparcenery and not in accordance with this Act. The concept
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however is viewed differently when the Mitakshara coparcener dies leaving behind a female
relative or male relative claiming through Class I, this undivided interest will not devolve by
survivorship but by succession as provided under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Class I heirs are
Son, Daughter, Widow, Mother, Son of a predeceased son, Daughter of predeceased son, Widow of
predeceased son, Son of a predeceased daughter, Daughter of predeceased daughter, Son of
predeceased so of predeceased son, Daughter of predeceased son of a predeceased son, Widow of
predeceased son of a predeceased son.
• The Indian Succession Act, 1925, states that everyone is entitled to equal inheritance, barring
exceptions to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Muslims. Under the act, the daughter of a person
dying intestate would be entitled only to one-fourth of the son’s share, or Rs. 5,000/-, whichever is
lesser, this amount is also termed as Streedhan and this entitlement excludes the women from any
further right in seeking a proper division of the properties of the deceased. The bias and gender
deprecation is the only factor that the Indian women and daughters are isolated and remain
dependent on the male heirs for their share and right in the seeking distribution of the property
and giving rise to differences in the families and long legal battles.
• The concept of Mitakshara coparcenary, in a joint family is to be analysed in the light of the current
status of a women who is regarded equal to a man. This is unreal and the logistics with regard to
the shares in the property under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 speaks all. A daughter will get a
small share of property compared to the son. The father’s property is equally shared between
brother and sister. In addition, the brother is entitled to a share in the coparcenary from which the
sister is excluded. A good example to explain this anomaly is to the right of a daughter in the
residence is only confined to the possession and not of ownership in the family owned house.
• In order to set at rest the long drawn legal battles and animosity among the heirs of the deceased,
the law of succession should be emphatically amended to provide and give equal inheritance to all,
irrespective of the gender discrimination and bias. Special emphasis to property distribution
among Hindus, the succession right by birth should be abolished and the Mitakshara coparcenary
should be converted into Dayabhaga, which means equal distribution of not only separate or self
acquired properties of the diseased male, but also of undivided interests in coparcenary property.
It should also consider a daughter of a coparcener in a HUF under Mitakshara law to be coparcener
by birth as of a son on the right of claim in the property in equal shares in the coparcenary
property.
• 1. Continuance of feudal Institutions of joint family – women's

inheritance position under Hindu Law.
Indian feudalism refers to the feudal society that made up India's social structure until independence in
1947.
Use of the term feudalism to describe India applies a concept of medieval European origin, according to
which the landed nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in
turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land
and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection. The
term Indian feudalism is an attempt to classify Indian history according to a European model.
Historians have become very reluctant to classify other societies into European models and today it is rare
for Indian history to be described as feudal by academics; it still done in popular usage, however, but only
for pejorative reasons to express disfavour, typically by critics. These
include zamindar, jagirdar, sardar, mankari, deshmukh, chaudhary and samanta. Most of these "systems"
were abolished after the independence of India and the rest of the Subcontinent. D. D. Kosambi and R. S.
Sharma, together with Daniel Thorner, brought peasants into the study of Indian history for the first time.
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When we say that the joint family is disintegrating, we do not mean its disappearance. We only mean a
decrease in the number of joint households. The causes leading to the disintegration of the joint family in
the Indian context are as follows:
1. Industrialization:
So far as rural economic system was concerned, the joint family was a unit of both production and
consumption. But with the arrival of industrial economy, the family no longer functions as a unit of
production. On the contrary, it has become essentially a unit of consumption.
Under such circumstances the maintenance of the joint family has been rendered extremely difficult.
Moreover, the establishment of factories and industries in the countryside has led to the closure of small
scale and cottage industries.
The workers are forced to migrate to the towns and cities in search of employment. This has resulted in
the disintegration of the joint family.
2. Urbanization:
Urbanization has also led to the weakening of the joint family system in India. The amenities of urban life
in the form of better transport and communication, better employment opportunities, better educational
facilities, and developed health care facilities attract the ruralites to the towns and cities. Naturally there is
a rural to urban type of migration.
Such exodus of rural population to urban centres has given rise to the problem of accommodation.
Further, by emphasising individuality and privacy urbanization encouraged the urbanites to opt for small
families.
In this way the urban living weakens joint family pattern and strengthens nuclear family patterns. The
studies conducted by Aileen Ross, M. S. Gore, Milton Singer subscribe to this fact.
3. Modern education:
The role of modern education in bringing about the disintegration of the joint family is no less significant.
Modern education inspires individualism among the people. Further, educated men and women in the
countryside are forced to leave their families in search of suitable jobs.
After getting jobs they finally settle in regions that are far away from their ancestral homes. There ends the
‘common-roof arrangement’. They gradually severe the links with their natal families which subsequently
leads to breakdown in the joint family.
4. Enlightenment of women:
Enlightenment of women is also responsible for the disintegration of the joint family. The young educated
women, being fully conscious of their new rights and status in society, are now not prepared to submit
themselves meekly to their mothers-in-law.
The mothers-in-law with their traditional domineering attitudes fail to adjust themselves with the
educated women of younger generation. As a consequence, conflicts crop up and end in the disintegration
of the joint family.
5. Influence of western culture:

Western culture has fostered in young men and women individualistic tendencies with the result that they
do not want their fortunes to be tied down forever with those of the joint family. B.B. Saha rightly observes
that individualism as a gift of western culture has given rise to a separatist tendency among them.
Furthermore, influenced by the western values such as rationalism, equality, freedom etc, they do not like
to remain submissive under the tight grip of the joint family. The end result is the disintegration of the
joint family system.
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6. Over-Population:
In rural India, agriculture is the major occupation of the ruralites. Land being fixed, agriculture fails to
provide employment to the ever-increasing number of people depending upon it. Rapid growth of
population leads to an imbalance of man and land equation. People are forced to go to towns and cities in
search of employment. This has resulted in the disintegration of joint family.
7. Developed means of transport and communication:

In the past, there was hardly any appreciable development in the field of transport and communication.
Hence the level of mobility was low. But today as a result of developed means of transport and
communication, there is large-scale mobility. People move to different places in order to avail better
employment opportunities. This leads to the breaking up of joint families.
8. Change in marriage system:

Change in marriage system has its adverse impact on the continuance of the joint family system. Factors
like solemnization of marriage at the late age, restricted role of the head of the family in mate selection,
freedom enjoyed by young men and women in matrimonial affairs, perception of marriage by most of the
people as a social ceremony rather than a religious sacrament etc. have weakened joint family ties.
9. Problem of accommodation:
The problem of accommodation has a lion’s share in the disintegration of the joint family system. This
problem is more pronounced in big cities and metropolis. Members of a joint family find it extremely
difficult to live together despite their desire and willingness to do so. Needless to state that the problem of
accommodation leads to loss of privacy and lack of adjustment and understanding among the people,
thereby making the healthy functioning of the joint family impossible.
10. Social legislation:

Legislation has had a devastating effect on the institution of joint family in India. The Hindu Women’s
Right to Property Act of 1937, which recognised the wife as the surviving personality of the dead
coparcener with all his rights in the property, has obviated the theory of survivorship as a guiding
principle of joint family property.
The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 enabled women to seek divorce under specific circumstances. Similarly, the
Hindu Succession Act of 1956 has brought about substantial changes in the Hindu joint family structure by
conferring equal rights on women in inheritance and also by totally obviating the theory of survivorship.
The recent legislation pertaining to ceilings on land has done incalculable damage to the joint family
system in India.
Further, with the enactment of legislation providing social security to people in times of crises such as
sickness, old age, delivery, death etc. the importance of joint family as a veritable agency of social
insurance has been relegated to the background. The government and the industrial management have
been seized with the responsibility of providing social security to the individuals.
In essence, the joint family system which served the economic and psychological needs of the feudal
agricultural communities has become increasingly cumbersome and restrictive after several generations
of industrial modernisation. But it is unlikely to disappear completely until the three generations involved
in any given family unit have equally undergone full psychological adjustment to the nuclear system.
While scope for individual initiative and mobility undoubtedly exists now in India, there is no precedent
for the overall change in depth which it is faced, save in China. The present situation in the Indian context
may be summed up as follows. The joint family is dead.
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INHERITANCE AND SUCCESSION FOR WOMEN UNDER HINDU LAW

Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956,[1] females are granted ownership of all property acquired either
before or after the signing of the Act, abolishing their “limited owner" status. However, it was not until the
2005 Amendment that daughters were allowed equal receipt of property as with sons. This invariably
grants females property rights.
The property of a Hindu female dying intestate, or without a will, shall devolve in the following order:
1. upon the sons and daughters (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) and the
husband,
2. upon the heirs of the husband.
3. upon the father and mother
4. upon the heirs of the father, and
5. upon the heirs of the mother.
Certain exceptions
Any person who commits murder is disqualified from receiving any form of inheritance from the victim.
If a relative converts from Hinduism, he or she is still eligible for inheritance. The descendants of that
converted relative, however, are disqualified from receiving inheritance from their Hindu relatives, unless
they have converted back to Hinduism before the death of the relative.
Amendments
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005,[2] amended Section 4, Section 6, Section 23, Section 24 and
Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. It revised rules on coparcenary property, giving daughters of
the deceased equal rights with sons, and subjecting them to the same liabilities and disabilities. The
amendment essentially furthers equal rights between males and females in the legal system.
HINDU WOMEN’S RIGHT TO PROPERTY ACT, 1937

This act was brought in the light of hue and cry from the people for the unjust position of women with
regard to property rights. The act took a step forward in covering gender gap by providing a widow with
the right to inherit the same share as to the son. This right was extended to the widow of a predeceased
son of a predeceased son. It also had a provision that when a widow is governed by any law except
Dayabhaga, she would have the same interest in the property as the owner had. But the act could not
bridge the gender gap entirely because it mentioned that on acquiring the property on such situations,
Hindu women’s interest would be limited known as ‘Hindu women’s estate’, however she would have the
same right of claiming partition as a male owner.
STATUS OF WIFE UNDER PREVIOUS LAW AND CURRENT POSITION

In earlier times, a woman could assert her rights only upon her Streedhan. This included both movable and
immovable property which a woman used to get during her marriage. According to Narada, wife had the
right to enjoy the property which was gifted to her by her husband but she had no right to alienate any such
immovable property after his death. Such property was also included in Streedhan.
With the passage of time, the concept of Streedhan got two wings. The first beingSauadayika which was
acquired by her as gifts from both the sides as well as by self skills during maidenhood or widowhood. She
had the right to alienate these properties. The second being Non Saudayika, which was acquired by her as
gifts from strangers and property acquired by her own skill as a married woman. She did not have the
right to alienate them without her husband’s consent. The Privy Council coined the word ‘Women’s
estate’[x]in place of Streedhan. The difference was that it could not be alienated and on death it has to be
devolved on the heirs of the last full owner.
The present act of succession for Hindus does not give many rights to the wife on coparcenery property. She
can only get right of inheritance along with her sons and daughters in case of demise of her husband. This
right extinguishes in case she is a divorcee. But in Rudr Narain Singh v Rup Kuar], it was held that
“Immovable property given to a wife by a husband would appear to be held on terms similar to those on
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which property inherited from her husband is held, and her acts in respect of it are liable to question in a
similar manner by the next heirs.” Under the current law, the wife cannot be a coparcener since she holds
her coparcenery rights in her maternal home.
STATUS OF WIDOWS AND THE CURRENT LAW

Under classical law, on husband’s death, the widow was supposed to become Sati on the funeral pyre of
her husband. This was prevalent mostly in parts of eastern India where the Dayabhaga law was in force
which addressed the rights of women. In these parts Satiindeed was practised profusely so that the
property could be saved from the hands of the woman. Not only this, but Manu said that “If the future
husband of a maiden dies after troth verbally plighted, her brother in law shall wed her according to the
following rule”. The child begotten from such marriage would be regarded as the son of the deceased
person. The Hindu women’s right to property act, 1937 tried to put the widow in place of the husband
after her death in Mitakshara law. Widow would succeed in preference to daughters but to limited estate.
Similarly, on the death of the widow, the daughters could succeed as limited owners. Even after acquiring
such a vested interest in the property the widow would continue to be a part of the joint family. In State of
Maharashtra v Narayan Rao, it was held that the widow would get the share in the property at the time
when her husband dies but she cannot be exempted from the family without her assent as it would lead to
unintended consequences by the legislature. Although, she did not become the coparcener which would
mean that she would get the same interest but not the same right as that of her husband.
Under the old Hindu Law only the “Streedhan” was the widow’s absolute property and she was entitled to
the other inherited properties only as a life-estate with very limited powers of alienation, if at all. Even
under the 1937 Act, the concept of “limited estate” continued. Section 14 of the Hindu Succession
Act removed the disability of a female to acquire and hold property as an absolute owner, and converted
the right of a woman in any estate already held by her on the date of the commencement of the Act as a
limited owner, into an absolute owner.
The provision is retrospective in that it enlarged the limited estate into an absolute one even if the
property was inherited or held by the woman as a limited owner before the Act came into force. The only
exception, in the form of a proviso, is for the acquisitions under the terms of a gift, will or other instrument
or a decree, or order or award which prescribe a restricted estate. This would be so only if the woman has
title as well as de jure possession of the property at the time of commencement of the act. The case of
Amar Kaur v Raman Kumari best explains the right of women in ancestral property.
Under sec 3(1) of the Act, the widow under Mitakhshara law would inherit along with the male issue.
In Dayabhaga, she inherits equally with the male issue. Moreover, it covered intestate’s widow, widow of
intestate’s son and widow of predeceased son of predeceased son. This act however deprived the widow
of any agricultural land leaving her at a losing end. But an important step that was taken was the right to
claim partition.[xxiv]Although the nature of the property held by her would be “limited estate” which she
can alienate on legal necessity and only enjoy the property during lifetime.[xxv]
After the introduction of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, this “limited estate” of the widow was converted
into absolute estate. But in Commissioner of Income Tax v. Seth Govindam Sugar Mills, it was held that a
widow of a Karta cannot be the Karta after his death. In order to extend the rights of the widows, the
concept of notional partition was elaborated inGurapad Khandappa Magdum v. Hirabai Khandappa
Magdum[xxvii] that gave the widows a right to claim partition.
CHANGE IN THE STATUS OF DAUGHTERS WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW ACT
A consistent concern has been that under Mitakshara law, a son would inherit his deceased father’s
property and would also have a share in the joint family property whereas the daughter would only get a
share out of the notional partition of the deceased person. No right would be accrued to her by the virtue
of birth.
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Since the passing of the Act of 1956, right of a daughter and a married daughter was consistently agitated
upon. Some states like Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra took steps to amend the acts to liberalize the law. As
a result, the Hindu Succession Act, 2005 came in to introduce substitution in Section 6 of the Act to bring
in equality in law for both the sexes. In B. Chandrasekhar Reddy v State of Andhra Pradesh, it was held that
denying women right to coparcenary from birth would be denying them their right to equality with other
coparceners. Under the 1956 Act, under the proviso of Section 6, the representation for heirs go up to two
degrees in the male line of descent but in female line of descent it went only upto one degree.[xxxii] Apart
from that, Section 23 of the 1956 Act mentioned that women were not dispensed with the right to
residence in paternal home unless she was divorced or widowed. Moreover, she was not entitled to seek
partition of the property unless the male members took a stand.
The 2005 Amendment brought in a change that made the daughters capable of getting a birth right in the
ancestral property. If she dies intestate, then her property would devolve in accordance with section 15 of
the Act.[xxxiv] But this provision would not apply retrospectively. It also addressed the other glitches
mentioned in the previous act. The amending act also added new heirs.
Section 29 A of the Andhra Act gives the daughter the right to be the coparcener by birth. But the
contention that raised here was that whether daughters who are adopted would also be given the same
rights as the daughter who gets it by virtue of birth. But it was argued that the provision was introduced so
as to bring in daughters at par with the sons and the discrimination between an adopted daughter and a
daughter who is born in the family won’t serve the purpose of the change. Moreover marital status of a
woman cannot define her coparcener rights in the father’s property.
The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, is a law that was passed by the ‘Parliament of India’. The preamble of the
Act signifies that an Act to amend and codify the law relating to intestate succession among Hindus. The
Act lays down a uniform and comprehensive system of succession whereas attempt has been made to
ensure equality inheritance rights between sons and daughters. It applies to all Hindus including
Buddhists Jains and Sikhs. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 preserves the dual mode of devolution of
property under the Mitakshara School. The joint family still devolves by Survivorship with this important
exception that if a Mitakshara Coparcener dies leaving behind mother, widow, daughter, daughter’s
daughter, son’s daughter, son’s son’s daughter, son’s widow, son’s son’s widow, or daughter’s son his
interest in the joint family property will devolve by succession.
Succession to the property of a Hindu Male

The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 deals with the inheritance to
a) The separate properties of a Mitakshara male,
b) The separate and coparceners properties of a Dayabhaga male, and
c) The undivided interest in the joint family property of a Mitakshara Coparcener.
The Act does not apply to the property of a Hindu who is married under the Special Marriage Act to a non -
Hindu.
Heirs of a Hindu Male

The heirs of Hindu male fall under the following categories:-
1) Class I heirs,
2) Class II heirs,
3) Agnates,
4) Cognates, and
5) Government.
Class I heirs:-
The property of a Hindu Male dying intestate would be given first to heirs within Class I. They are:
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i. Mother,
ii. Widow,
iii. Daughter,
iv. Son,
v. Widow of a predeceased son,
vi. Son of a predeceased son,
vii. Daughter of a predeceased son,
viii. Widow of a predeceased son of a predeceased son,
ix. Daughter of a predeceased son of a predeceased son,
x. Son of a predeceased son of a predeceased son,
xi. Daughter of a predeceased daughter, and
xii. Son of a predeceased daughter.
Some new heirs are added by Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005. They are:
i. Son of a predeceased daughter of a predeceased daughter,
ii. Daughter of a predeceased daughter of a predeceased daughter,
iii. Daughter of a predeceased son of a predeceased daughter, and
iv. Daughter of a predeceased daughter of a predeceased son.
Shares of Class I heirs :

Section 10, Hindu Succession Act deals with the distribution of the property of the propositus, among class
I heirs. The rules are:
A.] Sons, daughters and the mother of the propositus each take one share.
For example:-
If ‘P’ dies leaving behind his Mother ‘M’, two sons S1 and S2 and two
Daughters D1 and D2, each of the above heirs will take one share, i.e., 1/5th
-‘M’ will take 1/5th ;
- D1 and D2 each will also take 1/5th &
- S1 and S2 each will take one fifth.
B.] Widow takes1 share. If there are more than one widow, all of them together take one
Share and among themselves they divide it equally.
For example:-
‘P’ dies leaving behind a widow, ‘W’ and three daughters ‘D’, ‘D1’, and
‘D2’. Here each will take one share, i.e. 1/4th to each.
-‘W’ will take 1/4th,
-‘D’, ‘D1’ &‘D2’ each will take 1/4th .
C.] Among the heirs of the branches of a predeceased son, son of a predeceased son of a
Predeceased son and predeceased daughter, so here the doctrine of representation applies
i.e. heirs in each branch would take the same share which their parent would have taken.
So, we see above three rules in the following example:

If ‘P’ dies leaving behind son ‘S’, widow of a predeceased son ‘S1’, ‘SW’,
Predeceased daughter’s son and daughter ‘DS’ and ‘DD’, predeceased son’s
Predeceased son’s widow ‘SSW’, his daughter ‘SSD’ and his son ‘SSS’.
Distribution is first to be made at a place where branches come into existence.
There are four branches, each will take 1/4th share i.e.
- ‘S’ will take 1/4th .In the branch of ‘S1’ there is only one heir ‘SW’, she
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representing ‘S1’ will take 1/4th .

- In the branch of predeceased daughter, there are two heirs, they representing her
will take 1/4th and between themselves divide it equally, with result that ‘DS’
will take 1/8th and ‘DD’ will take 1/8th .
- In the branch of predeceased grandson, there are three heirs, representing him
they will take 1/4th & among themselves share it equally, with the result that
‘SSW’, ‘SSD’&‘SSS’ each will take 1/12th.
Class II heirs and their shares:

If there are no heirs in Class I, the property will given to the heirs within Class II. They are divided into
nine categories. The rule is that an heir in an earlier category excludes heirs in later category. Further all
heirs in one category take simultaneously per capita share. They are as follows:
1] Category I -
a) Father.
2] Category II -
a) Son’s daughter’s son.
b) Son’s daughter’s daughter.
c) Brother.
d) Sister.
3] Category III -
a) Daughter’s son’s son.
b) Daughter’s son’s daughter.
c) Daughter’s daughter’s son.
d) Daughter’s daughter’s daughter.
4] Category IV -
a) Brother’s son.
b) Brother’s daughter.
c) Sister’s son.
d) Sister’s daughter.
5] Category V -
a) Father’s father.
b) Father’s mother.
6] Category VI -
a) Father’s widow. [Step mother].
b) Brother’s widow.
7] Category VII -
a) Father’s brother.
b) Father’s sister.
8] Category VIII -
a) Mother’s father.
b) Mother’s mother.
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9] Category IX –
a) Mother’s brother.
b) Mother’s sister.
The rule of share in Class-II heirs is that each will take per capita including widow.
Agnates and Cognates:

Next heir of Hindu male is ‘Agnates and Cognates’. In it first preference is given to ‘Agnates’ & then
‘Cognates’. The rules for determining who are agnates & cognates are the same; so are the rules relating to
distribution of property among them.
Agnates mean when a person traces his relationship with another through males, he or she is an ‘Agnates’.
For instance brother, brother’s son, son’s son, son’s son father, father’s father, father’s mother, father’s
father’s father & mother, son’s daughter, son’s son’s daughter………. etc are agnates.
On other hand cognates means whenever in the relationship of a person with another, a female (or more
than one female) interverence anywhere in the line, one cognate to another. For instance sister’s sons &
daughters; daughter’s sons & daughters; mother’s mother & father; father’s mother’s father & mother;
mother’s father’s son & daughter………..etc are all cognates.
Government:
If a Hindu male leaves behind neither class I, nor class II, nor any agnates, nor any cognates upon his death,
then, his entire property lapses to the government. This is called as “Escheat”. When government takes his
property as heir, it takes with subject to all the obligations and liabilities of propositus.
Succession to a Mitakshara Coparcener’s Interest

The Section 6 of the Act has been extensively amended by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005;
while recognizing the rule of devolution by Survivorship among the members of the coparcener makes an
exception to the rule in the proviso.
According to proviso, if the deceased has left a surviving female relative specified in class I or a male
relative specified in that class who claim through such female relation, the interest of a deceased in
Mitakshara Coparceners property shall devolve by testamentary of instate succession under the Act and
not as Survivorship.
Certain exceptions:-
If , and the heirs are both male and female, the female heir is not allowed to request partition until the
male heir chooses to divide their respective shares. If this female heir is a daughter, she has the right to
reside in the home if she is unmarried, divorced or widowed.
After the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005; Section 6, the difference between the female and male
inheritor has been abolished . Now even female inheritor [daughter] can also claim partition of the
ancestral property.
Further any person who commits murder is disqualified from receiving any form of inheritance from the
victim.
If a relative converts from Hinduism, he or she is still eligible for inheritance.
Amendments
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, amended Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956,
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allowing daughters of the deceased equal rights with sons. In the case of coparcenary property, or a case in
which two people inherit property equally between them, the daughter and son are subject to the same
liabilities and disabilities. The amendment essentially furthers equal rights between males and females in
the legal system.
• 2. Inheritance right of women under Christian law.

Every law of succession defines the rules of distribution of property in case a person dies without making
a will. The Christian Law of Succession is governed by the provisions in the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
However, with respect to Indian Christians, the diversity in inheritance laws is greatly intensified by
making domicile a criterion for determining the application of laws. Till January 1986, Christians in the
State of Kerala were governed by two different Acts - those domiciled in Cochin were subject to the
application of the Cochin Christian Succession Act, 1921, while the Travancore Christians were governed
by the Travancore Christian Succession Act, 1916. These two Acts have now been repealed and the
Christians following these laws earlier are now governed by the general scheme of inheritance under the
Indian Succession Act, 1925. However, Protestant and Tamil Christians, for example, living in certain
taluks, are still governed by their respective customary laws. Christians in the State of Goa and the Union
Territories of Daman and Diu are governed by the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867, while those in Pondicherry
could be governed by the French Civil Code, 1804 (such Christians are known as “Renocants”), customary
Hindu law, or the Indian Succession Act.
Despite these variances, the overall law for Indian Christians in effect is the Indian Succession Act of 1925,
which will be dealt with in this project. It has been deemed “somewhat archaic and anachronistic” by
certain legal experts, but it continues to be the only firm law in this regard. This Act recognises three types
of heirs for Christians: the spouse, the lineal descendants, and the kindred.
Laws of succession applicable to Christians and Jews; for the intestate the governing law is the
Indian Succession Act, 1925 specifically under section 31 to 49 of the Act.
THE INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT, 1925
31. Chapter not to apply to Parsis.—Nothing in this Chapter shall apply to Parsis.
32. Devolution of such property.—The property of an intestate devolves upon the wife or husband, or
upon those who are of the kindred of the deceased, in the order and according to the rules hereinafter
contained in this Chapter. 1[***]
33. Where intestate has left widow and lineal descendants, or widow and kindred only, or widow and no
kindred.—Where the intestate has left a widow—
(a) if he has also left any lineal descendants, one-thirds of his property shall belong to his widow, and the
remaining two-thirds shall go to his lineal descendants, according to the rules hereinafter contained;
(b) 1[save as provided by section 33A], if he has left no lineal descendant, but has left persons who are of
kindred to him, one-half of his property shall belong to his widow, and the other half shall go to those who
are kindred to him, in the order and according to the rules hereinafter contained;
(c) if he has left none who are of kindred to him, the whole of his property shall belong to his widow.
[33A. Special provision where intestate has left widow and no lineal descendants.—
(1) Where the intestate has left a widow but no lineal descendants and the net value of his property does
not exceed five thousand rupees, the whole of his property shall belong to the widow.
(2) Where the net value of the property exceeds the sum of five thousand rupees, the widow shall be
entitled to five thousand rupees thereof and shall have a charge upon the whole of such property for such
sum of five thousand rupees, with interest thereon from the date of the death of the intestate at 4 per cent.
per annum until payment.
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(3) The provision for the widow made by this section shall be in addition and without prejudice to her
interest and share in the residue of the estate of such intestate remaining after payment of the said sum of
five thousand rupees with interest as aforesaid, and such residue shall be distributed in accordance with
the provisions of section 33 as if it were the whole of such intestate’s property.
(4) The net value of the property shall be ascertained by deducting from the gross value thereof all debts,
and all funeral and administration expenses of the intestate, and all other lawful liabilities and charges to
which the property shall be subject.
(5) This section shall not apply—
(a) to the property of—
(i) any Indian Christian,
(ii) any child or grandchild of any male person who is or was at the time of his death an Indian Christian,
or
(iii) any person professing the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion the succession to whose property is,
under section 24 of the Special Marriage Act, 1872 (3 of 1872) regulated by the provisions of this Act;
(b) unless the deceased dies intestate in respect of all his property.]
34. Where intestate has left no widow, and where he has left no kindred.—Where the intestate has left no
widow, his property shall go to his lineal descendants or to those who are of kindred to him, not being
lineal descendants, according to the rules hereinafter contained; and, if he has left none who are of kindred
to him, it shall go to the Government.
35. Rights of widower.—A husband surviving his wife has the same rights in respect of her property, if she
dies intestate, as a widow has in respect of her husband’s property, if he dies intestate.
36. Rules of distribution.—The rules for the distribution of the intestate’s property (after deducting the
widow’s share, if he has left a widow) amongst his lineal descendants shall be those contained in sections
37 to 40.
37. Where intestate has left child or children only.—Where the intestate has left surviving him a child or
children, but no more remote lineal descendant through a deceased child, the property shall belong to his
surviving child, if there is only one, or shall be equally divided among all his surviving children.
38. Where intestate has left no child, but grand-child or grand-children.—Where the intestate has not left
surviving him any child but has left a grand-child or grand-children and no more remote descendant
through a deceased grand-child, the property shall belong to his surviving grand-child if there is one, or
shall be equally divided among all his surviving grand-children. Illustrations
(i) A has three children, and no more, John, Mary and Henry. They all die before the father, John leaving
two children, Mary three and Henry four. Afterwards A dies intestate, leaving those nine grand-children
and no descendant of any deceased grand-child. Each of his grand-children will have one-ninth.
(ii) But if Henry has died, leaving no child, then the whole is equally divided between the intestate’s five
grand-children, the children of John and Mary.
39. Where intestate has left only great-grand-children or remoter lineal descendants.—In like manner the
property shall go to the surviving lineal descendants who are nearest in degree to the intestate, where
they are all in the degree of great-grandchildren to him, or are all in a more remote degree.
40. Where intestate leaves lineal descendants not all in same degree of kindred to him, and those through
whom the more remote are descended are dead.—
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(1) If the intestate has left lineal descendants who do not all stand in the same degree of kindred to him,
and the persons through whom the more remote are descended from him are dead, the property shall be
divided into such a number of equal shares as may correspond with the number of the lineal descendants
of the intestate who either stood in the nearest degree of kindred to him at his decease, or, having been of
the like degree of kindred to him, died before him, leaving lineal descendants who survived him.
(2) One of such shares shall be allotted to each of the lineal descendants who stood in the nearest degree
of kindred to the intestate at his decease; and one of such shares shall be allotted in respect of each of such
deceased lineal descendants; and the share allotted in respect of each of such deceased lineal descendants
shall belong to his surviving child or children or more remote lineal descendants, as the case may be; such
surviving child or children or more remote lineal descendants always taking the share which his or their
parent or parents would have been entitled to respectively if such parent or parents had survived the
intestate. Illustrations
(i) A had three children, John, Mary and Henry; John died, leaving four children, and Mary died, leaving
one, and Henry alone survived the father. On the death of A, intestate, one-third is allotted to Henry, one-
third to John’s four children, and the remaining third to Mary’s one child.
(ii) A left no child, but left eight grand-children, and two children of a deceased grand-child. The property
is divided into nine parts, one of which is allotted to each grand-child, and the remaining one-ninth is
equally divided between the two great-grand-children.
(iii) A has three children, John, Mary and Henry; John dies leaving four children; and one of John’s children
dies leaving two children. Mary dies leaving one child. A afterwards dies intestate. One-third of his
property is allotted to Henry, one-third to Mary’s child and one-third is divided into four parts, one of
which is allotted to each of John’s three surviving children, and the remaining part is equally divided
between John’s two grand-children.
(iv) A has two children, and no more, John and Mary. John dies before his father, leaving his wife pregnant.
Then A dies leaving Mary surviving him, and in due time a child of John is born. A’s property is to be
equally divided between Mary and the posthumous child.
41. Rules of distribution where intestate has left no lineal descendants.—Where an intestate has left no
lineal descendants, the rules for the distribution of his property (after deducting the widow’s share, if he
has left a widow) shall be those contained in sections 42 to 48.
42. Where intestate’s father living.—If the intestate’s father is living, he shall succeed to the property.
42. Where intestate’s father living.—If the intestate’s father is living, he shall succeed to the property.
43. Where intestate’s father dead, but his mother, brothers and sisters living.—If the intestate’s father is
dead, but the intestate’s mother is living and there are also brothers or sisters of the intestate living, and
there is no child living of any deceased brother or sister, the mother and each living brother or sister shall
succeed to the property in equal shares. Illustration A dies intestate, survived by his mother and two
brothers of the full blood, John and Henry and a sister Mary, who is the daughter of his mother but not of
his father. The mother takes one-fourth, each brother takes one-fourth and Mary, the sister of half blood,
takes one-fourth.
43. Where intestate’s father dead, but his mother, brothers and sisters living.—If the intestate’s father is
dead, but the intestate’s mother is living and there are also brothers or sisters of the intestate living, and
there is no child living of any deceased brother or sister, the mother and each living brother or sister shall
succeed to the property in equal shares. Illustration A dies intestate, survived by his mother and two
brothers of the full blood, John and Henry and a sister Mary, who is the daughter of his mother but not of
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his father. The mother takes one-fourth, each brother takes one-fourth and Mary, the sister of half blood,
takes one-fourth.
44. Where intestate’s father dead and his mother, a brother or sister, and children of any deceased brother
or sister, living.—If the intestate’s father is dead but the intestate’s mother is living, and if any brother or
sister and the child or children of any brother or sister who may have died in the intestate’s lifetime are
also living, then the mother and each living brother or sister, and the living child or children of each
deceased brother or sister, shall be entitled to the property in equal shares, such children (if more than
one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living at the
intestate’s death. Illustration A, the intestate, leaves his mother, his brothers John and Henry, and also one
child of a deceased sister, Mary, and two children of George, a deceased brother of the half blood who was
the son of his father but not of his mother. The mother takes one-fifth, John and Henry each takes one-fifth,
the child of Mary takes one-fifth, and the two children of George divide the remaining one-fifth equally
between them.
44. Where intestate’s father dead and his mother, a brother or sister, and children of any deceased brother
or sister, living.—If the intestate’s father is dead but the intestate’s mother is living, and if any brother or
sister and the child or children of any brother or sister who may have died in the intestate’s lifetime are
also living, then the mother and each living brother or sister, and the living child or children of each
deceased brother or sister, shall be entitled to the property in equal shares, such children (if more than
one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living at the
intestate’s death. Illustration A, the intestate, leaves his mother, his brothers John and Henry, and also one
child of a deceased sister, Mary, and two children of George, a deceased brother of the half blood who was
the son of his father but not of his mother. The mother takes one-fifth, John and Henry each takes one-fifth,
the child of Mary takes one-fifth, and the two children of George divide the remaining one-fifth equally
between them.
45. Where intestate’s father dead and his mother and children of any deceased brother or sister living.—If
the intestate’s father is dead, but the intestate’s mother is living, and the brothers and sisters are all dead,
but all or any of them have left children who survived the intestate, the mother and the child or children of
each deceased brother or sisters shall be entitled to the property in equal shares, such children (if more
than one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living
at the intestate’s death. Illustration A, the intestate, leaves no brother or sister but leaves his mother and
one child of a deceased sister, Mary and two children of a deceased brother George. The mother takes one-
third, the child of Mary takes one-third, and the children of George divide the remaining one-third equally
between them.
45. Where intestate’s father dead and his mother and children of any deceased brother or sister living.—If
the intestate’s father is dead, but the intestate’s mother is living, and the brothers and sisters are all dead,
but all or any of them have left children who survived the intestate, the mother and the child or children of
each deceased brother or sisters shall be entitled to the property in equal shares, such children (if more
than one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living
at the intestate’s death. Illustration A, the intestate, leaves no brother or sister but leaves his mother and
one child of a deceased sister, Mary and two children of a deceased brother George. The mother takes one-
third, the child of Mary takes one-third, and the children of George divide the remaining one-third equally
between them.
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46. Where intestate’s father dead, but his mother living and no brother, sister, nephew or niece.—If the
intestate’s father is dead, but the intestate’s mother is living, and there is neither brother, nor sister, nor
child of any brother or sister of the intestate, the property shall belong to the mother.
46. Where intestate’s father dead, but his mother living and no brother, sister, nephew or niece.—If the
intestate’s father is dead, but the intestate’s mother is living, and there is neither brother, nor sister, nor
child of any brother or sister of the intestate, the property shall belong to the mother.
47. Where intestate has left neither lineal descendant, nor father, nor mother.—Where the intestate has
left neither lineal descendant, nor father, nor mother, the property shall be divided equally between his
brothers and sisters and the child or children of such of them as may have died before him, such children
(if more than one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken
if living at the intestate’s death.
48. Where intestate has left neither lineal descendant, nor parent, nor brother, nor sister.—Where the
intestate has left neither lineal descendant, nor parent, nor brother, nor sister, his property shall be
divided equally among those of his relatives who are in the nearest degree of kindred to him. Illustrations
(i) A, the intestate, has left a grandfather, and a grandmother and no other relative standing in the same or
a nearer degree of kindred to him. They, being in the second degree, will be entitled to the property in
equal shares, exclusive of any uncle or aunt of the intestate, uncles and aunts being only in the third
degree.
(ii) A, the intestate, has left a great-grandfather, or a great-grandmother, and uncles and aunts, and no
other relative standing in the same or a nearer degree of kindred to him. All of these being in the third
degree will take equal shares.
(iii) A, the intestate, left a great-grandfather, an uncle and a nephew, but no relative standing in a nearer
degree of kindred to him. All of these being in the third degree will take equal shares.
(iv) Ten children of one brother or sister of the intestate and one child of another brother or sister of the
intestate, constitute the class of relatives of the nearest degree of kindred to him. They will each take one-
eleventh of the property.

49. Children’s advancements not brought into hotchpot.—Where a distributive share in the property of a
person who has died intestate is claimed by a child, or any descendant of a child, of such person, no money
or other property which the intestate may, during his life, have paid, given or settled to, or for the
advancement of, the child by whom or by whose descendant the claim is made shall be taken into account
in estimating such distributive share.
Basic Principles of The Christian Law Of Succession
The Concept of Succession
Before venturing into a discussion on the Christian Law of Succession, we would do well to first make a
preliminary study of what exactly succession is. Succession, in brief, deals with how the property of a
deceased person devolves on his heirs. This property may be ancestral or self-acquired, and may devolve
in two ways:
1. By Testamentary Succession, i.e. when the deceased has left a will bequeathing his property to
specific heirs
2. By Intestate Succession, i.e. when the deceased has not left a will, whereby the law governing the
deceased (according to his religion) steps in, and determines how his estate will devolve.
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The Indian Succession Act, 1925

The religion of the deceased determines the succession to his estate. For example, succession among
Hindus is governed by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. As such, Christians in general are governed by the
Indian Succession Act of 1925 for succession purposes.
S. 2(d) of the Act defines an “Indian Christian” hereby: “Indian Christian” means a native of India who is, or
in good faith claims to be, of unmixed Asiatic descent and who professes any form of the Christian religion.
This was further clarified in the case of Abraham v. Abraham where the scope of this definition of an
‘Indian Christian' was delineated with regard to its actual working. This case laid down that a Hindu who
has converted to Christianity shall not be governed by Hindu law (customary or otherwise) anymore, and
any continuing obligatory force that the Hindu law may have exercised upon him stands renounced.
However, he was clearly given the option to permit the old law to continue to have an effect on him,
despite having converted out of the old religion into the new one.
In 1865, the original Indian Succession Act was passed and a new question arose as to whether, even
under the provisions of this new Act, the convert could elect to be governed by the old law. In the case of
Kamawati v. Digbijoy thereafter it was held by the Privy Council that the old law ceases to be applicable
with regard to inheritance i.e. succession. Thereafter in a recent 2001 judgement, the Allahabad High
Court reiterated that Hindu converts to Christianity will be bound solely by the succession laws governing
Christians, inclusive of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, and it will not be possible for them to elect to be
governed by the old law in this or related matters.
Will, however, the incidents of the joint family (in the case of those converting out of the Hindu religion)
continue to apply? The Courts in this regard have not been able to reach a uniform conclusion. In the case
of Francis v. Gabri the Bombay High Court held that if a family were to convert out of Hinduism into
Christianity, the coparcenary rights of that family would remain untouched. But the Madras High Court
held in the case of Francis v. Tellis that the effect of conversion out of Hinduism would be to render all
coparcenary rights thenceforth individual rights. In this case, out of two brothers, one of them converted
to Christianity. It was held that upon his death it would not be possible for the other brother to succeed to
the entire estate by way of the doctrine of survivorship.
Intestate Succession Among Indian Christians
S. 30 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 defines intestate succession thus: A person is deemed to die
intestate in respect of all property of which he has not made a testamentary disposition which is capable
of taking effect. Thus any property which has not already been bequeathed or allocated as per legal
process, will, upon the death of the owner, insofar as he is an Indian Christian, devolve as per the rules
contained in Chapter II of the Act. It would be worthwhile to note at this point that intestacy is either total
or partial. There is a total intestacy where the deceased does not effectively dispose of any beneficial
interest in any of his property by will. There is a partial intestacy where the deceased effectively disposes
of some, but not all, of the beneficial interest in his property by will.
Domicile
The Domicile of the deceased plays an integral role in determining the method of devolution of his
property. Halsbury defined ‘domicile' thus: “A person's domicile is that country in which he either has or is
deemed by law to have his permanent home.” S.5 of the Act categorically states that succession to the
movable property of the deceased will be governed by the lex loci as per where he had his domicile at the
time of his death; whereas succession to his immovable property will be governed by the law of India (lex
loci rei sital), no matter where he was domiciled at the time of his death. Also, S. 6 further qualifies this
provision by stating that a person can have only one domicile for the purpose of succession to his movable
property. It must be noted that domicile and nationality differ from each other - domicile deals with
immediate residence, whereas nationality implies the original allegiance borne by the person. S. 15 lays
down that upon and during subsistence of marriage, the wife acquires the domicile of her husband
automatically.
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Kindred Or Consanguinity
S. 24 of the Act makes an initial reference to the concept of kindred and consanguinity, defining it as “the
connection or relation of persons descended from the same stock or common ancestor.” S. 25 qualifies
‘lineal consanguinity' with regard to descent in a direct line. Under this head fall those relations who are
descendants from one another or both from the same common ancestor. Now, succession can be either
‘per capita' (one share to each heir, when they are all of the same degree of relationship) or ‘per stirpes'
(division according to branches when degrees of relationship are discrete). For Christians, if one were to
claim through a relative who was of the same degree as the nearest kindred to the deceased, one would be
deemed to stand in the shoes of such relative and claim ‘per stirpes.'
S. 26 qualifies ‘collateral consanguinity' as occurring when persons are descended from the same stock or
common ancestor, but not in a direct line (for example, two brothers). It is interesting to note that the law
for Christians does not make any distinction between relations through the father or the mother. If the
relations from the paternal and maternal sides are equally related to the intestate, they are all entitled to
succeed and will take equal share among themselves. Also, no distinction is made between full-blood/half-
blood/uterine relations; and a posthumous child is treated as a child who was present when the intestate
died, so long as the child has been born alive and was in the womb when the intestate died.
Christian law does not recognise children born out of wedlock; it only deals with legitimate marriages.
Furthermore it does not recognise polygamous marriages either. However, a decision has been made to
the effect that it does recognise adoption and an adopted child is deemed to have all the rights of a child
natural-born, although the law does not expressly say so.
The law of intestate succession under S. 32 states that: The property of an intestate devolves upon the wife
or husband or upon those who are of the kindred of the deceased, in the order and according to the rules
hereinafter contained in this Chapter. However, as aforementioned, the Act recognises three types of heirs
for Christians: the spouse, the lineal descendants, and the kindred. These shall be dealt with now.
Rights Of The Widow And Widower
S. 33, S. 33-A, S. 34 of the Act govern succession to the widow. Together they lay down that if the deceased
has left behind both a widow and lineal descendants, she will get one-third share in his estate while the
remaining two-thirds will go to the latter. If no lineal descendants have been left but other kindred are
alive, one-half of the estate passes to the widow and the rest to the kindred. And if no kindred are left
either, the whole of the estate shall belong to his widow. Where, however, the intestate has left a widow
but no lineal descendants, and the net value of his property does not exceed five thousand rupees, the
whole of the property will go to the widow - but this provision does not apply to Indian Christians.
S. 35 lays down the rights of the widower of the deceased. It says quite simply that he shall have the same
rights in respect of her property as she would in the event that he predeceased her (intestate).
Rights Of Children And Other Lineal Descendants
If the widow is still alive, the lineal descendants will take two-thirds of the estate; if not, they will take it in
whole. Per capita (equal division of shares) applies if they stand in the same degree of relationship to the
deceased. This is as per Sections 36-40 of the Act. Importantly, case law has determined that the heirs to a
Christian shall take his property as tenants-in-common and not as joint tenants.
Also, the religion of the heirs will not act as estoppel with regard to succession. Even the Hindu father of a
son who had converted to Christianity was held entitled to inherit from him after his death.
As per S. 48, where the intestate has left neither lineal descendant, nor parent, nor sibling, his property
shall be divided equally among those of his relatives who are in the nearest degree of kin to him. If there
are no heirs whatsoever to the intestate, the doctrine of escheat can be invoked by the Government,
whereupon the estate of the deceased will revert to the State.
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Testamentary Succession Among Indian Christians

A will is the expression by a person of wishes which he intends to take effect only at his death. In order to
make a valid will, a testator must have a testamentary intention i.e. he must intend the wishes to which he
gives deliberate expression to take effect only at his death.
Testamentary Succession is dealt with under Part VI of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. According to S. 59,
every person of sound mind, not being a minor, may dispose of his property by will. The explanations to
this Section further expand the ambit of testamentary disposition of estate by categorically stating that
married women as also deaf/dumb/blind persons who are not thereby incapacitated to make a will are all
entitled to disposing their property by will. Soundness of mind and freedom from intoxication or any
illness that render a person incapable of knowing what he is doing are also laid down as prerequisites to
the process.
Part VI of the Act encompasses 134 Sections from S. 57 to S. 191, that comprehensively deal with all issues
connected with wills and codicils, and the making and enforcing of the same, including capacity to make a
will, formalities needed for wills, bequests which can be validly made etc.
Conclusion And Suggestions
It has been argued by several prominent Christian lawyers and legal writers that “laws with regard to
touchy issues like succession, etc. should reflect customs and practices for their acceptance and
sustenance.” While the improvements introduced by the Indian Succession Act, 1925 with regard to
women's property rights have been welcomed, since “the majority of Christians do not seem to be opposed
to giving equal share to women in the matter of intestate succession,” there is also a faint vein of
resentment with regard to the total repeal of the Travancore Christian Succession Act 1792 since it was
considered to be an overall well-balanced legislation.
As these problems are still alive, it has become necessary to look for some solutions in the constitutional
context. “While in view of [the] distinction between legislative and judicial functions, the legislature
cannot by a bare decision, without more, directly overrule, reverse or override a judicial decision, it may at
any time in exercise of the plenary powers conferred on it by Articles 245 and 246 of the Constitution
render a judicial decision ineffective by enacting a valid law on a topic within its legislative field
fundamentally altering or changing with retrospective, curative, or neutralising effect the conditions on
which such decision is based.” With this in mind, the Travancore-Cochin Christian Succession (Revival and
Validation) Bill, 1996 was put forth. Unfortunately, all it looked to was a rehashing of the earlier law, and
not an arrangement for the validation of past transactions, which is in fact more significant.
Indian Christians number more than 2,00,00,000 - two crores - of the population of this country. It is
important that their rights and wishes be considered with regard to application of laws to their
community.
• 3. Inheritance right of women under Parsi law.

Laws of succession applicable to Parsis; for the intestate succession the governing law is the Indian
Succession Act, 1925 specifically under section 50 to 56 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
• 1[50. General principles relating to intestate succession.—For the purpose of intestate succession
among Parsis—
• (a) there is no distinction between those who were actually born in the lifetime of a person
deceased and those who at the date of his death were only conceived in the womb, but who have
been subsequently born alive;
• (b) a lineal descendant of an intestate who has died in the lifetime of the intestate without leaving
a widow or widower or any lineal descendant or 2[a widow or widower of any lineal descendant]
shall not be taken into account in determining the manner in which the property of which the
intestate has died intestate shall be divided; and
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• (c) where a 3[widow or widower of any relative] of an intestate has married again in the lifetime of
the intestate, 4[such widow or widower] shall not be entitled to receive any share of the property
of which the intestate has died intestate, and 4[such widow or widower] shall be deemed not to be
existing at the intestate’s death.
• 1[51. Division of intestate’s property among widow, widower, children and parents.—
• (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the property of which a Parsi dies intestate shall be
divided,—
• (a) where such Parsi dies leaving a widow or widower and children, among the widow or widower,
and children so that the widow or widower and each child receive equal shares;
• (b) where such Parsi dies leaving children, but no widow or widower, among the children in equal
shares.
• (2) Where a Parsi dies leaving one or both parents in addition to children or widow or widower
and children, the property of which such Parsi dies intestate shall be so divided that the parent or
each of the parents shall receive a share equal to half the share of each child.]
• THE INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT, 1925 (SECTION - 51 TO 56)
• SECTION -51. Division of intestate’s property among widow, widower, children and parents.—
• (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the property of which a Parsi dies intestate shall be
divided,—
• (a) where such Parsi dies leaving a widow or widower and children, among the widow or widower,
and children so that the widow or widower and each child receive equal shares;
• (b) where such Parsi dies leaving children, but no widow or widower, among the children in equal
shares.
• (2) Where a Parsi dies leaving one or both parents in addition to children or widow or widower
and children, the property of which such Parsi dies intestate shall be so divided that the parent or
each of the parents shall receive a share equal to half the share of each child.]
• THE INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT, 1925
• 52. [Repealed.]1
• 53. Division of share of predeceased child of intestate leaving lineal descendants.—In all cases
where a Parsi dies leaving any lineal descendant, if any child of such intestate has died in the
lifetime of the intestate, the division of the share of the property of which the intestate has died
intestate which such child would have taken if living at the intestate’s death shall be in accordance
with the following rules, namely:—
• (a) If such deceased child was a son, his widow and children shall take shares in accordance with
the provisions of this Chapter as if he had died immediately after the intestate’s death: Provided
that where such deceased son has left a widow or a widower of a lineal descendant but no lineal
descendant, the residue of his share after such distribution has been made shall be divided in
accordance with the provisions of this Chapter as property of which the intestate has died
intestate, and in making the division of such residue the said deceased son of the intestate shall not
be taken into account.
• (b) If such deceased child was a daughter, her share shall be divided equally among her children.
• (c) If any child of such deceased child has also died during the lifetime of the intestate, the share
which he or she would have taken if living at the intestate’s death, shall be divided in like manner
in accordance with clause (a) or clause (b) as the case may be.
• (d) Where a remoter lineal descendant of the intestate has died during the lifetime of the intestate,
the provisions of clause (c) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the division of any share to which he or
she would have been entitled if living at the intestate’s death by reason of the pre-decease of all the
intestate’s lineal descendants directly between him or her and the intestate.
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• 1[54. Division of property where intestate leaves no lineal descendant but leaves a widow or
widower or a widow or widower of any lineal descendant.—Where a Parsi dies without leaving
any lineal descendant but leaving a widow or widower or a widow or widower of a lineal
descendant, the property of which the intestate dies intestate shall be divided in accordance with
the following rules, namely:—
• (a) if the intestate leaves a widow or widower but no widow or widower of a lineal descendant, the
widow or widower shall take half the said property;
• (b) if the intestate leaves a widow or widower and also a widow or widower of any lineal
descendant, his widow or her widower shall receive one-third of the said property and the widow
or widower of any lineal decendant shall receive another one-third or if there is more than one
such widow or widower of lineal descendants, the last mentioned one-third shall be divided
equally among them;
• (c) if the intestate leaves no widow or widower, but one widow or widower of a lineal descendant,
such widow or widower of the lineal descendant shall receive one-third of the said property or, if
the intestate leaves no widow or widower but more than one widow or widower of lineal
descendants, two thirds of the said property shall be divided among such widows or widowers of
the lineal descendants in equal shares;
• (d) the residue after the division specified in clause (a), or clause (b) or clause (c) has been made
shall be distributed among the relatives of the intestate in the order specified in Part I of Schedule
II; and the next-of-kin standing first in Part I of that Schedule shall be preferred to those standing
second, the second to the third and so on in succession, provided that the property shall be so
distributed that each male and female standing in the same degree of propinquity shall recieve
equal shares;
• (e) if there are no relatives entitled to the residue under clause (d), the whole of the residue shall
be distributed in proportion to the shares specified among the persons entitled to receive shares
under this section.]
• 55. Division of property where intestate leaves neither lineal descendants nor a widow or widower
nor a widow of any lineal descendant.—When a Parsi dies leaving neither lineal descendants nor a
widow or widower nor 1[a widow or widower of any lineal descendant], his or her next-of-kin, in
the order set forth in Part II of Schedule II, shall be entitled to succeed to the whole of the property
of which he or she dies intestate. The next-of-kin standing first in Part II of that Schedule shall be
preferred to those standing second, the second to the third, and so on in succession, provided that
the property shall be so distributed that 2[each male and female standing in the same degree of
propinquity shall receive equal shares].
• 56. Division of property where there is no relative entitled to succeed under the other provisions
of this Chapter.—Where there is no relative entitled to succeed under the other provisions of this
Chapter to the property of which a Parsi has died intestate, the said property shall be divided
equally among those of the intestate’s relatives who are in the nearest degree of kindred to him.]
• 4. Inheritance right of women under Muslim law.

Laws of succession governing Muslims; for non-testamentary succession the The Muslim Personal
Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 is applicable and where a muslim has died testate, the issue
has to be governed under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 where a Will relates to immovable
property situate within the State of West Bengal, and that of Madras and Mumbai Jurisdiction.
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Women and inheritance

In Islam, women are entitled the right of inheritance. In general circumstances, though not all, Islam allots
women half the share of inheritance available to men who have the same degree of relation to
the decedent. For example, where the decedent has both male and female children, a son's share is double
that of a daughter's. Additionally, the sister of a childless man inherits half of his property upon his death,
while a brother of a childless woman inherits all of her property. However, this principle is not universally
applicable, and there are other circumstances where women might receive equal shares to men. For
example, the share of the mother and father of a childless decedent.. Also the share of a uterine brother is
equal to the share of a uterine sister, as do the shares of their descendants.
There are some who say women are entitled to equal inheritance in Islam.
Some times women get double the share then that of men, for example if there are only parents and
husband, husband will receive half, father gets 1/6 and mother gets 2/6. This is according to Ibne Abbas's
interpretation of verses 11, 12 of sorat an nisa. Also the Qur'an does not discriminate between men and
women in cases of kalalah relation Kalalah describes a person who leaves behind neither parents nor
children; it also means all the relatives of a deceased except his parents and children, and it also denotes
the relationships which are not through [the deceased’s] parents or children. Islamic scholars hold that the
original reason for these difference is the responsibilities allotted to spouses. A husband in Islam must use
his inheritance to support his family while a wife has no support obligations. Additionally, Arab society
traditionally practiced the custom of bride price or dower rather than dowry; i.e., the man paid a gift to his
wife or her family upon marriage, rather than the opposite, placing a financial burden on men where none
existed on women. This custom was continued but changed materially by Islam. The divine injunction
stipulated that the dowry (mahr) is due to the wife only not her family. It can also be deferred thereby
reducing the burden if the husband is unable to afford the requested dowry at the time of the marriage.
The wife can defer it till a stipulated date or it can become a debt on the estate when the husband dies. And
give their dowries willingly to women (as an obligation), but if they, of their own accord, remit a portion of
the dowry, you may enjoy it with pleasure.
Intestate succession – In absence of a will

The Muslim law of succession has been derived from the rules found in the Quran. There belonged to
property of deceased, four successive duties to be performed by the Qazi:.
 His funeral ceremony and burial without superfluity of expense yet without deficiency.
 The discharge of his just debts from the whole of his remaining effects
 The payment of his legacies out of a third of what remains after his debts are paid.
 The distribution of the residue amongst his successors
As regards the administration of the estate of a deceased person, the Muslim Law has been superseded in
India by the Indian Succession Act, 1925, and such administration is carried out by the executors or
administrators under the provisions of the Act.
It is to noted that the provisions of the Indian Succession Act prevail so far the claim to the property is
concerned even if they come in conflict with the Mohammedan Law.
• 5. Movement towards uniform Civil Code.

Uniform Civil Code – the women’s movement perspective
The BJP has once again raised the issue of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for all Indian citizens, posed in a
way that presents the BJP as ‘secular’ and pro-women, and opponents as communal or ‘pseudo-secular’
and anti-women. Since Independence, there has been very little change in the contours of the debate in the
public domain, both within the BJP as well as among public intellectuals not necessarily aligned with the
Hindu Right. The only change that has come about since the 1990s is that the UCC is now also posed as a
‘women’s rights’ issue and not only as a matter of national integrity, which requires the eradication of
multiple legal systems. This new equation of ‘women’s rights’ with the UCC is at least partly a result of the
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interventions by the women’s movement in the debate in the 1990s. However, within BJP (and
mainstream) discourse, it is assumed that only minority women need saving, for ‘we Hindus’ have already
given ‘our’ women equal rights.
The women’s movement has developed this debate in complex and multiple directions over the decades,
which this essay will briefly outline.
The debate over the UCC in contemporary India is produced by the tension between two notions of rights
in the Fundamental Rights (Part III) of the constitution. The bearer of rights is both the individual citizen
and the collectivity – the former is the subject of Articles 14 to 24 which ensure the individual’s rights to
equality and freedom and the latter of Articles 25 to 30 which protect religious freedom and the
educational and cultural rights of minorities [1]. It is from the latter that religious communities derive the
right to be governed by their own ‘Personal Laws’. Since these Personal Laws cover matters of marriage,
property inheritance and guardianship of children, and since all Personal Laws discriminate against
women, the tension in Part III of the constitution can be read as a contradiction between the rights of
women as individual citizens and those of religious communities as collective units of a democracy.
However, the implication that uniform laws for all citizens is the properly modern goal for a nation-state,
is reflected in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV of the Constitution), which calls upon the
state to bring about a UCC.
While the demand for a UCC is claimed on grounds of national integrity and women’s rights, resistance to
the UCC from self-styled community leaders comes on the grounds that its imposition would destroy the
cultural identities of minorities, the protection of which is crucial to democracy. However, both positions
are deeply problematic for feminists.
Was the Hindu law really ‘reformed’?

The argument that presents national integrity as the rationale for a UCC, and its conflation with ‘women’s
rights’, is unacceptable for two reasons.
First, the fundamental problem with the ‘national integrity’ argument emerges from the recognition of the
homogenizing thrust of the Hindu Code. The entity of the ‘nation’ was constructed through the assertion of
a dominant voice and the marginalization and exclusion of a multiplicity of other interests and identities,
and is not a value that feminists can espouse.
Second, we need to address the explicit assumption that while Hindus have willingly accepted reform, the
‘other’ communities continue to cling to diverse and retrogressive anti-women laws, threatening the
integrity of the nation state.
It is misleading to claim that Hindu Personal Law was reformed. It was merely codified, and even that was
in the face of stiff resistance from Congress leaders. In fact, the proposed Bill meant to overhaul laws
relating to marriage and inheritance was dropped on the eve of the first general elections – (Ambedkar
famously resigned as Law Minister on this issue) – and it was only in 1955-56 that parts of it were pushed
through by Nehru as the Hindu Marriage Act, the Hindu Succession Act, the Hindu Minority and
Guardianship Act and the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act.
What the Hindu Code achieved was the codification of the vast and heterogeneous practices of
communities termed ‘Hindu’ if they were not Muslim/Parsi/Christian, bringing them into conformity with
what was assumed to be the ‘Indian’ and ‘Hindu’ norm – that is, North Indian, upper-caste practices. Other
practices that did not match this norm were explicitly dismissed during the debates in Parliament as being
un-Indian. These new Acts were by no means an unqualified advance for women’s rights. On the contrary,
codification put an end to the diversity of Hindu laws practiced in different regions, in the process
destroying existing, more liberal customary provisions in many cases.
Conversely, there are features of Muslim Personal Law that are better for women than Hindu Personal
Law – the Muslim marriage as contract protects women better in case of divorce than the Hindu marriage
as sacrament; the Muslim law of inheritance protects women’s rights better than Hindu law, and the right
of mehr, which gives Muslim marriage the status of a civil contract, is the exclusive property of the wife.
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Thus, the anodyne statement sometimes offered by BJP leaders that a UCC will take into account ‘positive
features’ of all Personal Laws is untenable in practice, because for instance, mehr cannot be introduced
into Hindu marriages, nor the Hindu sacramental marriage made into a contract, though both of these are
positive aspects of Muslim law vis-à-vis Hindu law.
The myth of the polygamous Muslim man
As for that straw man, Muslim polygamy, the fact is that Muslim men who marry more than once are
legally bound to fulfill responsibilities towards all the women concerned, while Hindu men who contract
bigamous relationships (an extremely common phenomenon), escape this responsibility in their ‘non-
legal’ second or third marriages.
In 1974, a government survey found that 5.6% of Muslim men were were in bigamous or polygamous
relationships, as were 5.8% of upper-caste Hindus. In terms of numbers, this makes a huge difference.
Flavia Agnes points out:
Statistics continue to indicate that bigamy among Hindu men (which includes, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and
other denominations) is, in fact, higher than it is among Muslims. In 1974, a government survey found
Muslims to account for 5.6 per cent of all bigamous marriages, with upper-caste Hindus accounting for 5.8
per cent. The difference may appear to be small but in real terms it is big. The 1971 census records 45.3 crore
Hindus and six crore Muslims. Allowing for women and children to make up 65 per cent of each group, as
many as one crore Hindu men had more than one wife in 1971, compared to 12 lakh Muslim men.
Sociologist Nirmal Sharma points out that while a Hindu man will desert his lawfully wedded wife to live
with another, the multiple wives of Muslim men are entitled to equal legal and social rights. “Closet bigamy
in Hindus is worse than open polygamy among Muslims,” he says.
This is why feminist lawyer Flavia Agnes urges that attempts to codify the Muslim law to bring in legal
monogamy ‘should not end up in subjecting Muslim women to a plight which is similar to that of the Hindu
second wife. This is an important concern which needs to be taken on board while suggestingreforms
within personal laws.’
Why community rights are equally unacceptable
On the other hand, feminists cannot accept the unqualified rights of communities to their cultural identity,
although the providing of space for such identity is crucial for a democratic polity. For one thing, the
‘community’ identity that is claimed today as natural and prior to all other identity is no more primordial
than the nation is. The colonial government in consultation with self-styled community leaders, organized
vastly heterogeneous family and property arrangements within the ambit of four religious Personal Laws,
Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Parsi. These Personal Laws today being defended by self-styled community
leaders in the name of tradition and religious freedom, are thus, colonial constructions of the 19 th and
20th centuries.
Feminists also reject community rights over ‘their’ women because the gender discriminatory provisions
of the Personal Laws are based on the same logic of exclusions that characterise the coming into being of
the nation.
The Uniform Civil Code of Goa
A quick look at the experience of Goa is useful, as the Civil Code of Goa is often touted by the BJP as an
example of a UCC that works. This put in place by the Portuguese colonial authorities and is neither
‘uniform’ nor gender-just. Albertina Almeida has pointed out that marriage laws differ for Catholics and
people of other faiths, and this affects the laws governing Catholics after they marry. If the marriage is
solemnised in church, the Church can annul the marriage at the instance of one of the parties, as is
permitted in church law.
In addition, the ‘customs and usages’ of the Hindus of Goa are also recognised. ‘Limited’ polygamy has
been allowed to Hindus and bigamy has been recognised to have civil effects. Other inequalities – on issues
of adoption and the rights of illegitimate children – are also allowed for in these laws. When it comes to
taking an oath in court, differences on the basis of caste have been accepted.
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The positive aspect of Goa’s Civil Code is the Community Property Law, which guarantees each spouse
50% of all assets owned and due to be inherited at the time of marriage. Not only does a woman own half
the property of her husband, and vice versa, but each partner must take the spouse’s permission before
disposing of any of those assets. However, this provision can be sidestepped in practice, given the power
relations in a marriage, and it has not made any impact on the incidence of domestic violence.
It has also been pointed out that the supposed shared income between the spouses is welcome in higher
income brackets with one principal earner, because it can result in lower taxes on the joint income.
Clearly, if gender justice is not placed at the centre of this discussion, both uniformity as well as its dilution
only reinforces patriarchy as well as majoritarianism.
The women’s movement and the UCC – seven decades of a debate
The response of the women’s movement to the UCC has taken different forms from the first articulation in
1937 of the demand for a Uniform Civil Code for all religious communities, by the All India Women’s
Conference. This demand continued to be made by larger sections of the women’s movement till the late
1980s. By the early 1990s however, there was considerable rethinking on the issue.
By 1995, what emerged was a broad range of positions, from the continued demand for a UCC, to outright
rejection of such a move, and calling instead for reforms within Personal Laws. The general consensus in
the women’s movement by the end of the 1990s was that the campaign for gender-just laws should be
conducted at three levels:
1. a) Support for and initiation of attempts to bring about reform within Personal Laws
2. b) bringing about legislation in areas that are not covered by either secular or Personal Laws – such
as domestic violence and right to matrimonial home – thus avoiding a direct confrontation with
communities and communal politics, and
3. c) in the long term, setting up a comprehensive gender-just framework of rights covering not just
areas covered by Personal Laws, but also the ‘public’ domain of work (crèches, equal wages,
maternity benefits etc) which should be available to all citizens.
In the first two areas listed above, there have been distinct achievements. Divorce law for Indian
Christians was made more gender just through sustained engagements within the community by
feminists, resulting in the passing of the Indian Divorce (Amendment) Act of 2001. Different versions of
model nikahnamas that protect the rights of women, have been prepared by Muslim reform groups,
though these have yet to be accepted by the community leaders. Interestingly, there have been positive
outcomes from even the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act of 1986 that was passed to
override the Supreme Court decision in the Shah Bano case which asserted that Muslim women were
covered by Section 125 of the CrPC, thus entitling them to maintenance under a secular provision. The
Muslim Women Act of 1986 took Muslim women out of the purview of this secular provision, provoking
outrage from the women’s movement and anti-patriarchal voices from the Muslim community, but studies
of the working of the Act in the three decades since its passing, show that Muslim women have benefited
from its creative interpretation by courts.
The tactic of focusing on areas not covered by Personal Laws has resulted in the Domestic Violence Act
(2005) which gives women protection from domestic violence and rights to the matrimonial home, and in
amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act (2006) that have enabled people of all communities to adopt
children legally. The provisions of the Domestic Violence Act are often interpreted by courts in a manner
that goes against a wife seeking to use it, but it remains nevertheless, an important legislation.
Four features of the debate within the women’s movement at this stage
It is significant that the term ‘uniform’ has been dropped altogether as a positive value from the
debates within the movement, even in the positions which reiterate the need for state legislation. Thus, in
the proposals made by Saheli and People’s Union for Democratic Rights (Delhi), for a compulsory code, or
by Forum Against Oppression of Women (Bombay) for an optional code or by the Working Group on
Women’s Rights (Delhi) for a negotiable common code, the terms used are ‘common’, ‘gender-just’ or
‘egalitarian’ codes, and not ‘uniform’ codes. This overall disavowal of uniformity by the 1990s is
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significant in that it marks the women’s movement’s recognition of the need to rethink both the Nation as
a homogeneous entity, and of the legitimacy of the state to bring about social reform [2].
Uniformity as a value is compatible paradoxically, both with ‘secularism’ as well as with marginalizing
minority cultures. As we see in France, where the ‘Muslim veil’ can become the problematic assertion of
religious difference, while the norm continues to be invisibly marked with the values of the dominant
community. For the BJP, it is possible to present itself as a Hindu nationalist party while simultaneously
espousing the language of abstract citizenship. Hence the label of ‘pseudo-secularist’ for those who affirm
the need for protection for minorities; or the charge that provisions like separate Personal Laws, special
status for Kashmir and minority status for educational institutions are ‘anti-secular’. Within a framework
of abstract citizenship, in other words, it becomes possible to claim that it is ‘communal’ to raise the issue
of (minority) religious identity, and ‘casteist’ to assert (‘lower’) caste identity – while the norm is assumed
to be the dominant community and caste.
The following of heterogeneous practices need not be inherently inegalitarian, nor the imposition of a
uniform law necessarily the opposite.
The women’s movement supports initiatives within communities to bring about reforms, so that the rights
of women do not become a casualty to the fear of minority communities that reform of personal laws is
only a pretext for eroding their identity in this sharply polarised polity. It is not a paradox that some
Islamic states have managed to reform laws in the interests of women. When a minority community is
threatened with annihilation, the obvious response is to close ranks. It is when a community is confident
that it can afford to be self-critical. What the women’s movement demands is the bringing about of gender
justice within both religious and secular laws.
A second important development since the 1990s is the stronger interrogation of the assumed
heteronormative family at the centre of Personal Laws. Even in the 1990s, Forum Against the
Oppression of Women had in its Optional Code, broadened the concept of family to include homosexual
relations and heterosexual couples living together outside marriage. Today, in 2014, the question of non-
heteronormative relationships is even more central for the queer feminist movement, especially in the
uncertain situation produced by the Supreme Court ruling (2013) striking down the Delhi High Court
judgement (2009) that had legalised adult consensual same-sex relationships.
Third, an issue that had been raised during the 1990s is being foregrounded – rather than valorizing
‘monogamy’, the recognition that non-monogamy even if it is illegal, is very common. The need therefore,
to reconceptualise all intimate relationships in contractual terms that protect all the women living
in them, so that men in bigamous marriages as well as in relationships that are not formal marriages, are
forced to take responsibility for all the women concerned.
A fourth and final point – the question of women’s equal rights to property may need to be
reformulated radically at this stage of the UCC debate. I suggest that the Personal Laws on succession and
property represent a point of conflict between the imperatives of the State and those of the Family. The
modern state requires legibility in order to mobilize resources towards capitalist industrialization, that is,
it must be able to ‘see’ and organize different forms of property in existence, especially land. Towards this
end, the institution of individual rights to property is crucial. All forms of property must become
completely alienable and transparent to the state – this development is essential for capitalist
transformation of the economy.
The family on the other hand, has its own imperatives of controlling name, descent and passing on of
property, a project disrupted by individual property rights. In the light of this, we must view the state’s
gradual granting of property rights to women under Hindu law – the most recent amendment in 2005
giving women rights to ancestral property as well – as more than a simple triumph of feminist demands. It
also represents the establishment of a bourgeois regime of property for the Hindu community at least in
principle, which makes land completely alienable by every separate individual owner. In the current
climate of widespread resistance to land acquisition by the state, this is a considerable achievement for the
state, as it always easier to pressurize or tempt individual owners rather than communities, to sell land.
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It is in this context that we must understand feminist legal scholar and activist Nandita Haksar’s critique of
some feminist initiatives to press for individual rights to property for tribal women over community rights
She urges the need for a struggle within tribal communities to evolve new customs that are more
egalitarian, rather than forcefully introducing from above, individual rights to property [3]. Feminist land
rights activists have also become cautious about focusing on joint titling of family plots while losing sight
of the state’s encroachment on commons and public lands. Common property, they realize, is the biggest
impediment to market relations, and they would rather work for collective ownership of the commons,
rather than for ‘women’s rights to land’ – this would necessarily be a political, anti-state struggle, allied to
other livelihood movements, and would not be a women’s struggle but a community movement.
Should the larger question of land rights and land acquisition by the state be set aside while discussing
individual women’s rights to property? Clearly, the feminist debate over the UCC has reached a new stage
of complexity, and conversations have begun afresh.
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UNIT-IV
• UNIT-IV Matrimonial relations and its consequences

• 1. Matrimonial Property.
• In Goa, a Hindu man can remarry if his previous wife does not give birth to any male children till
the age of 30. And this law is just the tip of the sanctioned sexism across India.
• A recent UN report lists all the ways laws officially support men over women. Quartz culled
through and found the worst offenders:
• Hindu laws of inheritance: Right now different religions have different personal laws that
regulate inheritance, marriage, separation and guardianship in India. In the case of Hindus, the
property of a woman who dies without a will is handled differently from that of a man. In the
absence of spouse and children, the husband’s heirs inherit the woman’s estate.
• “Even if the deceased woman was ill treated in her marital home, her husband’s mother or father
will get her property instead of her own mother or father,” says Kirti Singh, the family and
property lawyer who authored the UN report .
• Parsi laws of inheritance: Despite shrinking numbers, Parsis still penalize those who marry
outside their community—and it’s allowed. A non-Parsi woman who is either a wife or widow of a
Parsi cannot inherit. Their children still can, although those born to a Parsi woman married to a
non-Parsi man are not considered part of the community.
• Prohibition of Child Marriage Act: The marriage of a 1-year-old or 10-year-old is valid. The law
only prevents the marriages of children; it does not render them illegal once they actually happen.
According to the UN, this is one of the main reasons why the custom still flourishes in rural ares.
• The married children, however, have the right to declare it void. A woman can call off a marriage
until she turns 20, whereas a man has till age 23.
• Age of consent: Sexual intercourse with a girl below the age of 18 is considered rape. But since
child marriages are not illegal, a man can legally have sex with his wife even if she is a minor, as
long as she is above the age of 15. Further, marital rape is not criminalised in India.
• Rape of a separated wife: The rape of a separated wife carries lesser punishment than the rape of
any other woman. Forced sexual intercourse with the former is punishable with two to seven years
of imprisonment. Prison sentence for the rape of any other woman ranges from seven years to life.
• Marriageable age: The minimum age for marriage for a boy is 21, but 18 for a girl. This is a legal
extension of the patriarchal mindset that believes that a wife should always be younger than the
man.
• Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act: Women are still not equal guardians of their children. A
father is considered the “natural guardian” of a child, although the custody of offspring under the
age of 5 will ordinarily be awarded to the mother.
• The Goa Law on polygamy: A law recognises the second marriage of “Gentile Hindu” man of Goa
if his previous wife does not have any children before age 25 or if she does not have a male
children by 30.
• The new BJP government has promised a uniform civil law applicable to all Indians, irrespective of
religion. But it also holds up Goan Cvil Codeas the model to be enforced all over the country. This
polygamy provision hardly makes it upstanding.
• 1
• No right to marital property: Upon separation or divorce, an Indian woman is the entitled only to
maintenance from her husband. She has no right on the assets, such as house or commercial
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property, bought in her husband’s name during the marriage. So if she leaves him or gets divorced,
even years after the marriage, she is potentially without assets. Indian government policies do not
consider the work done at home by a woman as having an economic value.
• There are occasional silver linings: Provisions in the Goa Civil Code allow each spouse 50% share
in their marital property after divorce.
• 2. Separation of property.
The recent decision by the Union Cabinet to make further amendments to the Marriage Laws Amendment
Bill, 2010 that will guarantee a women’s right to 50% of residential property in the case of divorce is an
important step for ensuring women’s economic security and equality in marriage and divorce proceedings.
While there are few statistics on divorce in India, international evidence demonstrates that divorce can
have a negative impact on women’s economic security. A study undertaken in the US found that after
divorce adjusted household income for women dropped on average by 26 percent while for men it
dropped on average by 15 percent for men. A similar study found that divorced women are more likely to
receive public assistance than men and are also more likely to be poor than divorced men.
In India, the financial impact of divorce can be devastating. Indian women are less likely to receive
inheritance than men, have fewer and generally lower paying employment opportunities and are often
prevented from working due to family or social expectations or in order to take on childbirth and childcare
roles. Therefore, in the case of divorce women will have less opportunity to gain meaningful employment
that ensures her economic security. This is particularly the case if the division of property favours men.
Current divorce legislation that gives women access to residential property but does not state how this
property should be divided is inadequate to ensure women and children receive a fair proportion of
property in the case of divorce. In many cases men have more access to legal information and
representation which results in them receiving an unequal proportion of residential property.
The new legislation will ensure that women have access to 50% of movable assets and will give the court
the responsibility of dividing these assets between the parties. Some people have voiced concern about the
law and argue it will increase divorce rates and encourage people to marry wealthier parties and then
claim for divorce. However, the court system is given the responsibility of ensuring that property divisions
are appropriate. Furthermore, the new laws will protect women from economic insecurity and poverty
and to provide them with the opportunity to divorce in the case of domestic violence or unhappy
marriage.
The new amendments to the Marriage Laws Amendment Bill are in line with other legislation such as the
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act which ensures women’s right to residence. The Act gives
women the right to remain in shared housing during a domestic violence case – regardless of whether she
has any title on the property. They also reflect the notion of Ardhagen which presents a married man and
women as being two halves of one being. In this sense women are equal partners and participants in the
marriage and, therefore, she should naturally receive 50% of property if the marriage is dissolved.
The new legislation also provides more security for women who are left with the sole responsibility for
caring for children. These women have less opportunity to gain employment as their husbands and often
receive little financial support from their husbands after divorce. The term dead beat dad’s is used in the
United States to refer to fathers who do not provide adequate financial support for the raising of their
children. In India the alimony clause is extremely weak making it easy for fathers to dodge their financial
responsibilities and placing the financial burden of childrearing on women who are generally financially
worse, have less secure accommodation and have fewer employment opportunities. By guaranteeing
women the right to 50% of property the legislation ensures women have some financial security which
can assist with the maintenance of children.
At an international level the division of property and assets generally takes into consideration a range of
factors including the assets that each party bring to a marriage including inheritance, the income each
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party brings to a marriage, the unpaid work each party completes throughout the marriage, the number of
children and the party who will have primary responsibility for childcare after the divorce, the length of
marriage and the capacity for each party to earn an income after the marriage.
India must follow a similar system when dividing of property. Given that each case will be different there
needs to be flexibility in the law to enable each situation to be assessed individually. The law should
ensure that property and assets are divided equally between parties unless there is a specific case for one
party to receive more than the other.
Division of property law needs to take into consideration what assets each party brings into the marriage
including inheritance and must allow for the fact that women are less likely to receive inheritance than
men. It must also consider the income that each party brings into the marriage taking into account the
potential restrictions on women’s paid employment due to family or social expectations, lack of
employment opportunities for women and inequalities in women and men’s wages. It must make
allowance for the unpaid work undertaken by each party throughout the marriage and ensure this is
valued as equal to economic employment and must also consider the number of children in the family and
which party will take on the primary caring role after the marriage. Finally, the length of marriage and the
capacity of each party to earn an income after the marriage must also be considered when dividing
property.
The decision of the Union Cabinet to guarantee women’s right to 50% of residential property will ensure
women’s financial security in the case of divorce, will empower women who experience domestic violence
to file for divorce and enshrines in the law women’s equality within a marriage. These are all positive steps
for Indian women.
(NOTE- ABOVE LEGAL STATUS OF SEPARATION OF PROPERTY IS UPDATED TILL YEAR 2013)
• 3. Maintenance of different system of personal law.

Obligation of a husband to maintain his wife arises out of the status of the marriage. Right to maintenance
forms a part of the personal law. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), right of
maintenance extends not only to the wife and dependent children, but also to indigent parents and
divorced wives. Claim of the wife, etc., however, depends on the husband having sufficient means. Claim of
maintenance for all dependent persons is limited to Rs 500 per month. Inclusion of the right of
maintenance under the Code of Criminal Procedure has the great advantage of making the remedy both
speedy and cheap. However, divorced wives who have received money payable under the customary
personal law are not entitled to maintenance claims under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Under Hindu Law, the wife has an absolute right to claim maintenance from her husband. But she loses her
right if she deviates from the path of chastity. Her right to maintenance is codified in the Hindu Adoptions
and Maintenance Act, 1956 (78 of 1956). In assessing the amount of maintenance, the court takes into
account various factors like position and liabilities of the husband. It also judges whether the wife is
justified in living apart from husband. justifiable reasons are spelt out in the Act. Maintenance pendente
lite (pending the suit) and even expenses of a matrimonial suit will be borne by either, husband or wife, if
the either spouse has no independent income for his or her support. The same principle will govern
payment of permanent maintenance. Under the Muslim Law, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on
Divorce) Act, 1986 protects rights of Muslim women who have been divorced by or have obtained divorce
from their husbands and provides for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
This Act inter alia provides that a divorced Muslim woman shall be entitled to
(a) reasonable and fair provision and maintenance to be made and paid to her within the iddat period by
her former husband;
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(b) where she herself maintains children born to her before or after her divorce, a reasonable and fair
provision and maintenance to be made and paid by her former husband for a period of two years from the
respective dates of birth of such children
(c) an amount equal to the sum of mehr or dower agreed to be paid to her at the time of her marriage or at
any time thereafter according to the Muslim Law and
(d) all property given to her before or at the time of marriage or after her marriage by her relatives or
friends or by husband or any relatives of the husband or his friends. In addition, the Act also provides that
where a divorced Muslim woman is unable to maintain herself after the period of iddat the magistrate
shall order directing such of her relatives as would be entitled to inherit her property on her death
according to the Muslim Law, and to pay such reasonable and fair maintenance to her as he may determine
fit and proper, having regard to the needs of the divorced woman, standard of life enjoyed by her during
her marriage and means of such relatives, and such maintenance shall be payable by such relatives in
proportion to the size of their inheritance of her property and at such periods as he may specify in his
order.
Where such divorced woman has children, the Magistrate shall order only such children to pay
maintenance to her, and in the event of any such children being unable to pay such maintenance, the
magistrate shall order parents of such divorced woman to pay maintenance to her. In the absence of such
relatives or where such relatives are not in a position to maintain her, the magistrate may direct State
Wakf Board established under Section 13 of the Wakf Act, 1995 functioning in the area in which the
woman resides, to pay such maintenance as determined by him.
The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 recognizes the right of wife to maintenance-both alimony
pendente lite and permanent alimony. The maximum amount that can be decreed by court as alimony
during the time a matrimonial suit is pending in court, is one-fifth of the husband's net income. In fixing
the quantum as permanent maintenance, the court will determine what is just, bearing in mind the ability
of husband to pay, wife's own assets and conduct of the parties. The order will remain in force as long as
wife remains chaste and unmarried.
The Indian Divorce Act, 1869 inter alia governs maintenance rights of a Christian wife. The provisions are
the same as those under the Parsi law and the same considerations are applied in granting maintenance,
both alimony pendente lite and permanent maintenance.
Maintenance under Hindu law:

Maintenance is a right to get necessities which are reasonable from another. it has been held in various
cases that maintenance includes not only food, clothes and residence, but also the things necessary for the
comfort and status in which the person entitled is reasonably expected to live. Right to maintenance is not
a transferable right.
Maintenance without divorce

The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.Maintenance, in other words, is right to livelihood when
one is incapable of sustaining oneself. Hindu law, one of the most ancient systems of law, recognises right
of any dependent person including wife, children, aged parents and widowed daughter or daughter in law
to maintenance. The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, provides for this right.
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Maintenance as main relief: for wife

The relief of maintenance is considered an ancillary relief and is available only upon filing for the main
relief like divorce, restitution of conjugal rights or judicial separation etc. Further, under matrimonial laws
if the husband is ready to cohabit with the wife, generally, the claim of wife is defeated. However, the right
of a married woman to reside separately and claim maintenance, even if she is not seeking divorce or any
other major matrimonial relief has been recognised in Hindu law alone. A Hindu wife is entitled to reside
separately from her husband without forfeiting her right of maintenance under the Hindu Adoptions and
Maintenance Act, 1956. The Act envisages certain situations in which it may become impossible for a wife
to continue to reside and cohabit with the husband but she may not want to break the matrimonial tie for
various reasons ranging from growing children to social stigma. Thus, in order to realise her claim, the
Hindu wife must prove that one of the situations (in legal parlance 'grounds') as stated in the Act, exists.
Grounds for award of maintenance

Only upon proving that at least one of the grounds mentioned under the Act, exists in the favor of the wife,
maintenance is granted. These grounds are as follows:
a. The husband has deserted her or has willfully neglected her;
b. The husband has treated her with cruelty;
c. The husband is suffering from virulent form of leprosy/venereal diseases or any other infectious
disease;
d. The husband has any other wife living;
e. The husband keeps the concubine in the same house as the wife resides or he habitually resides with the
concubine elsewhere;
f. The husband has ceased to a Hindu by conversion to any other religion;
g. Any other cause justifying her separate living;
Bar to relief
Even if one of these grounds exists in favour of the wife, she will not be entitled to relief if she has indulged
in adulterous relationship or has converted herself into any other religion thereby ceasing to be a Hindu. It
is also important to note here that in order to be entitled for the relief, the marriage must be a valid
marriage. In other words, if the marriage is illegal then the matrimonial relationship between the husband
and wife is non-existent and therefore no right of maintenance accrues to wife. However, thanks to judicial
activism, in particular cases the presumption of marriage is given more weightage and the bars to
maintenance are removed.
Other dependents who can claim maintenance

Apart from the relationship of husband and wife other relations in which there is economic dependency
are also considered to be entitled to maintenance by the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.
Accordingly a widowed daughter-in-law is entitled maintenance from her father-in-law to the extent of the
share of her diseased husband in the said property. The minor children of a Hindu, whether legitimate or
illegitimate, are entitled to claim maintenance from their parents. Similarly, the aged and infirm parents of
a Hindu are entitled to claim maintenance from their children. The term parent here also includes an
issueless stepmother.
Maintenance Under Muslim Law

Under the "Women (Protection Of- Rights On Divorce) Act, 1986" spells out objective of the Act as "the
protection of the rights of Muslim women who have been divorced by, or have obtained divorce from, their
husbands." The Act makes provision for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It is apparent
that the Act nowhere stipulates that any of the rights available to the Muslim women at the time of the
enactment of the Act, has been abrogated, taken away or abridged. The Act lays down under various
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sections that distinctively lay out the criterion for women to be granted maintenance. Section (a) of the
said Act says that divorced woman is entitled to have a reasonable and fair provision and maintenance
from her former husband, and the husband must do so within the period of idda and his obligation is not
confined to the period of idda.
it further provides that a woman , if not granted maintenance can approach the Wakf board for grant as
under section (b)which states that If she fails to get maintenance from her husband, she can claim it from
relatives failing which, from the Waqf Board.
An application of divorced wife under Section 3(2) can be disposed of under the provisions of Sections 125
to 128, Cr. P.c. if the parties so desire. There is no provision in the Act which nullifies orders passed under
section 125, Cr. P.c. The Act also does not take away any vested right of the Muslim woman.
All obligations of maintenance however end with her remarriage and no claims for maintenance can be
entertained afterwards. The Act thus secures to a divorced Muslim woman sufficient means of livelihood
so that she is not thrown on the street without a roof over her head and without any means of sustaining
herself.
Protection to Divorced Women Sub-section (1) of Section 3 lays down that a divorced Muslim
woman is entitled to:
(a) a reasonable and fair provision and maintenance to be made and paid to her within the iddat period by
her former husband;
(b) where she herself maintains the children born to her before or after the divorce.
Maintenance Under Christian Law

A Christian woman can claim maintenance from her spouse through criminal proceeding or/and civil
proceeding. Interested parties may pursue both criminal and civil proceedings, simultaneously, as there is
no legal bar to it. In criminal proceedings, the religion of the parties does not matter at all, unlike in civil
proceedings.
If a divorced Christian wife cannot support her in the post divorce period she need not worry as a remedy
is in store for her in law. Under S.37 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869, she can apply for alimony/
maintenance in a civil court or High Court and, husband will be liable to pay her alimony such sum, as the
court may order, till her lifetime. The Indian Divorce Act, 1869 which is only applicable to those persons
who practice the Christianity religion inter alia governs maintenance rights of a Christian wife. The
provisions are the same as those under the Parsi law and the same considerations are applied in granting
maintenance, both alimony pendente lite and permanent maintenance. The provisions of THE INDIAN
DIVORCE ACT, 1869 are produced herein covered under part IX -s.36-s.38
IX-Alimony
S.36. Alimony pendente lite. -In any suit under this Act, whether it be instituted by a husband or a wife,
and whether or not she has obtained an order of protection the wife may present a petition for alimony
pending the suit.
Such petition shall be served on the husband; and the Court, on being satisfied of the truth of the
statements therein contained, may make such order on the husband for payment to the wife of alimony
pending the suit as it may deem just:
Provided that alimony pending the suit shall in no case exceed one fifth of the husband's average net
income for the three years next preceding the date of the order, and shall continue, in case of a decree for
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dissolution of marriage or of nullity of marriage, until the decree is made absolute or is confirmed, as the
case may be.
37. Power to order permanent alimony -The High Court may, if it thinks fit, on any decree absolute
declaring a marriage to be dissolved, or on any decree of judicial separation obtained by the wife, and the
District judge may, if he thinks fit, on the confirmation of any decree of his declaring a marriage to be
dissolved, or on any decree of judicial separation obtained by the wife,
Order that the husband shall, to the satisfaction of the Court, secure to the wife such gross sum of money,
or such annual sum of money for any term not exceeding her own life, as, having regard to her fortune (if
any), to the ability of the husband, and to the conduct of the parties, it thinks reasonable; and for that
purpose may cause a proper instrument to be executed by all necessary parties.
Power to order monthly or weekly payments. -In every such case, the Court may make an order on the
husband for payment to the wife of such monthly or weekly sums for her maintenance and support as the
Court may think reasonable:
Provided that if the husband afterwards from any cause becomes unable to make such payments, it shall
be lawful for the Court to discharge or modify the order, or temporarily to suspend the same as to the
whole or any part of the money so ordered to be paid, and again to revive the same order wholly or in part
as to the Court seems fit.
38. Court may direct payment of alimony to wife or to her trustee. -In all cases in which the Court makes
any decree or order for alimony, it may direct the same to be paid either to the wife herself, or to any
trustee on her behalf to be approved by the Court, and may impose any terms or restrictions which to the
Court seem expedient, and may from time to time appoint a new trustee, if it appears to the Court
expedient so to do.
Alternatively, as previously mentioned S.125 of Cr.P.C., 1973 is always there in the secular realm
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), right of maintenance extends not only to the wife
and dependent children, but also to indigent parents and divorced wives. Claim of the wife, etc., however,
depends on the husband having sufficient means. Claim of maintenance for all dependent persons was
limited to Rs 500 per month but now it has been increased and the magistrate can exercise his discretion
in adjudging a reasonable amount. Inclusion of the right of maintenance under the Code of Criminal
Procedure has the great advantage of making the remedy both speedy and cheap
Order For Maintenance of Wives, Children And Parents

S.125.Order for maintenance of wives, children and parents.- (1) If any person having sufficient means
neglects or refuses to maintain-
(a) his wife, unable to maintain herself, or
(b) his legitimate or illegitimate minor child, whether married or not, unable to maintain itself, or
(c) his legitimate or illegitimate child (not being a married daughter) who has attained majority, where
such child is by reason of any physical or mental abnormality or injury unable to maintain itself, or
(d) his father or mother, unable to maintain himself or herself,
a Magistrate of the first class may, upon proof of such neglect or refusal, order such person to make a
monthly allowance for the maintenance of his wife or such child, father or mother, at such monthly rate
not exceeding five hundred rupees in the whole, as such Magistrate thinks fit, and to pay the same to such
person as the Magistrate may from time to time direct:
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Provided that the Magistrate may order the father of a minor female child referred to in clause (b) to make
such allowance, until she attains her majority, if the Magistrate is satisfied that the husband of such minor
female child, if married, is not possessed of sufficient means.
Explanation- For the purposes of this Chapter, -

(a) "minor" means a person who, under the provisions of the Indian Majority Act, 1875(9 of 1875) is
deemed not to have attained his majority;
(b) "wife" includes a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and
has not remarried.
(2) Such allowance shall be payable from the date of the order, or, if so ordered, from the date of the
application for maintenance.
(3) If any person so ordered fails without sufficient cause to comply with the order, any such Magistrate
may, for every breach of the order, issue a warrant for levying the amount due in the manner provided for
levying fines, and may sentence such person, for the whole or any part of each month's allowance
remaining unpaid after the execution of the warrant, to imprisonment for a term which may extend to one
month or until payment if sooner made:
Provided that no warrant shall be issued for the recovery of any amount due under this section unless
application be made to the Court to levy such amount within a period of one year from the date on which it
became due:
Provided further that if such person offers to maintain his wife on condition of her living with him, and she
refuses to live with him, such Magistrate may consider any grounds of refusal stated by her, and may make
an order under this section notwithstanding such offer, if he is satisfied that there is a just ground for so
doing.
Explanation- If a husband has contracted marriage with another woman or keeps a mistress, it shall be
considered to be just ground for his wife's refusal to live with him.
(4) No wife shall be entitled to receive an allowance from her husband under this section if she is living in
adultery, or if, without any sufficient reason, she refuses to live with her husband, or if they are living
separately by mutual consent.
(5) On proof that any wife in whose favour an order has been made under this section is living in adultery,
or that without sufficient reason she refuses to live with her husband, or that they are living separately by
mutual consent, the Magistrate shall cancel the order. The objective of this section as expressed by Krishna
Iyer, J. is to ameliorate the economic condition of neglected wives and discarded divorcees
Proceedings under S.125 are not civil, but criminal proceedings of a summary nature. But these criminal
proceedings are of a civil nature. Thus, clause (3) of S.126 which empowers that Court to make such
orders may be just.
It should be kept in view that the provision relating to maintenance under any personal law is distinct and
separate. There is no conflict between the two provisions. A person may sue for maintenance under s.125
of Cr.P.C. If a person has already obtained maintenance order under his or her personal law, the magistrate
while fixing the amount of maintenance may take that into consideration while fixing the quantum of
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maintenance under the Code. But he cannot be ousted of his jurisdiction. The basis of the relief, under the
concerned section is the refusal or neglect to maintain his wife, children, father or mother by a person who
has sufficient means to maintain them. The criterion is not whether a person is actually having means, but
if he is capable of earning he will be considered to have sufficient means. The burden of proof is on him to
show that he has no sufficient means to maintain and to provide maintenance.
Maintenance Under Parsi Law:

Parsi can claim maintenance from the spouse through criminal proceedings or/ and civil proceedings.
Interested parties may pursue both criminal and civil proceedings, simultaneously as there is no legal bar
to it. In the criminal proceedings the religion of the parties doesn't matter at all unlike the civil
proceedings.
If the Husband refuses to pay maintenance ,wife can inform the court that the Husband is refusing to pay
maintenance even after the order of the court. The court can then sentence the Husband to imprisonment
unless he agrees to pay. The Husband can be detained in the jail so long as he does not pay. The Parsi
Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 recognizes the right of wife to maintenance-both alimony pendente lite
and permanent alimony. The maximum amount that can be decreed by court as alimony during the time a
matrimonial suit is pending in court, is one-fifth of the husband's net income. In fixing the quantum as
permanent maintenance, the court will determine what is just, bearing in mind the ability of husband to
pay, wife's own assets and conduct of the parties. The order will remain in force as long as wife remains
chaste and unmarried.
S.40. Permanent alimony and maintenance

(1) Any Court exercising jurisdiction under this Act may, at the time of passing any decree or at any time
subsequent thereto, on an application made to it for the purpose by either the wife or the husband, order
that the defendant shall pay to the plaintiff for her or his maintenance and support, such gross sum or such
monthly or periodical sum, for a term not exceeding the life of the plaintiff as having regard to the
defendant?s own income and other property, if any, the income and other property of the plaintiff, the
conduct of the parties and other circumstances of the case, it may seem to the Court to be just, and any
such payment may be secured, if necessary, by a charge on the movable or immovable property of the
defendant.
(2) The Court if it is satisfied that there is change in the circumstances of either party at any time after it
has made an order under sub-section (1), it may, at the instance of either party, vary, modify or rescind
any such order in such manner as the Court may deem just.
(3) The Court if it is satisfied that the partly in whose favour, an order has been made under this section
has remarried or, if such party is the wife, that she has not remained chaste, or, if such party is the
husband, that he had sexual intercourse with any woman outside wedlock, it may, at the instance of the
other party, vary, modify or rescind any such order in such manner as the Court may deem just.
• 4. Division of assets on divorce.

• When couples split, what is left of their home is a set of walls and roofs - a house, which may in all
likelihood be mortgaged. When you split from your spouse, how do you take care of what is most
often the family's biggest investment?
• Assets are one of the main reasons for dispute when a couple separates. The country's lawmakers
are considering granting women the right to their husbands' residential property if they part ways,
irrespective of whether it was acquired before or after marriage. In the current draft of the
proposed amendment, the wife's share will be decided by the court.
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However, under the current laws, a woman seeking divorce is not entitled to any share in the
husband's property. The ownership rests with the person who is holding the title. "If the property
is bought by the husband while the two were together and he holds the title, the wife can make a
claim if she can prove her equity in the property," says Kaviraj Singh, managing partner, Trustman,
a New Delhi-based law firm.
• A lot of people buy property with own money but register it in the name of their wives to benefit
from the lower property registration fee for women. In such a case, the wife can continue to retain
ownership.
"In case a property is purchased and paid for by one person and the title is held by the other, the
person in whose name the property is will be considered its legal owner," says Singh.
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• However, if the other person can prove in the court that he/she funded the purchase, even though
the title is held by the spouse, he/she can claim the property.
An inherited property remains with the person to whom it has been transferred.
The ownership of properties comes into the picture only when there is no agreement between the
husband and the wife on who will get what. Nowadays, both husbands and wives contribute to the
family's investment kitty. In a smooth divorce, they can divide the property based on ownership,
individual contribution and mutual understanding.
Joint Properties
If the property has been bought from contributions made by both you and your spouse, it's best to
share it on the basis of individual equity. Revisit bank accounts and determine individual
contributions towards down-payment and monthly instalments to arrive at the share of each
spouse. You can then get the value of the property assessed to arrive at the individual stakes.
"If the property in held jointly, you need to do the paperwork to transfer it to one person. Here,
one needs to factor in stamp duty and registration costs as well. Alternatively, if both have
contributed, you can consider selling it and dividing the proceeds," says Sumit Vaid, founder and
chief executive, Freedom Financial Planners.
Profit from a house sold after being held for three years attracts long-term capital gains tax,
while any gain from an early sale is included in the taxable income. If you sell a property within
five years of purchase, you will have to factor in the reversal of tax deductions that you might have
claimed.
Sell and move out:

Sell the property and share the proceeds based on individual equity. If you have an outstanding
loan on the property, that will have to be first paid off or deducted from the proceeds.
House retained by one spouse:

If one of you is going to retain the property, the person who retains it can buy out the other
person's share on the basis of its market value.
House remains a joint property:

Deferring sale/transfer of property held jointly makes financial sense if you want to minimise the
tax implications and benefit from any appreciation. Do have the liabilities and claims properly
drafted in your separation agreement.
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UNIT-V
• Unit-V Social Welfare Laws for Women and Non-implementation

of protective labour legislation.
Women constitute half the population of the society and it is presumed that best creation belong to the
women. But it is a harsh reality that women have been ill-treated in every society for ages and India is no
exception. Women are deprived of economic resources and are dependent on men for their living.
From the cradle to grave, females are under the clutches of numerous evils such as discriminations,
oppressions, violence, within the family, at the work places and in the society. In order to improve the
condition of women in India, Legislature enacted the large volume of enactments pertaining to industry or
work which contain special provisions for women such as: The Workmen Compensation Act, 1923;
Payment of Wages Act, 1936; Factories Act, 1948; Maternity Benefit Act, 1961; Minimum Wages Act, 1948;
Employees State Insurance Act 1948 and Pensions Act, 1987; etc.
PROVISIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN UNDER LABOUR LAW

Under the Industrial laws the women have been bestowed the special position in the view of their unique
characteristics, physically, mentally and biologically. Some of the Acts related to employment were
enacted during British period as well as after independence. The main objectives for passing these laws
are to enable the women to increase their efficiency, to increase their participation in useful services, to
ensure their infant welfare and to provide equal pay for equal work. The important labour legislations
covering the women are:
1. The Factories Act, 1948

The Factories Act is a part of labour welfare legislations wherein measures have been laid down to be
adopted for the health, safety, welfare, working hours, leave and employment of young persons and
women. Exclusive provisions for women have also been incorporated in the Act keeping in view their soft
and tender personalities.
Provisions for welfare of women:
· Prohibition of employment of women during night hours
· Prohibition of work in hazardous occupations.
· Prohibition of employment of women in pressing cotton where a cotton opener is at work
· Fixation of daily hours of work at nine.
· Fixation of maximum permissible load.
· Provision for crèche
In every factory where more than 30 women workers are ordinarily employed, there shall be a suitable
room for the use of children under the age of six years of such women.
· Provision for washing and bathing facilities. The Act provides for separate and adequately
screened washing and bathing facilities for women.
· Provisions for toilets. The factories Act must make it obligatory for any factory owner to maintain
an adequate number
· of latrine and urinals separate for women.
· Provisions for rest rooms and canteens.
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· Provisions for mandatory benefits.
All the above provisions are simultaneously provided under The Plantations labour Act 1951, The Mines
Act 1952, The Beedi and Cigar workers (conditions of Employment) Act 1966, The Contract Labour
(Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 and The Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and
condition of services) Act 1979.
2. The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948

The Employees’ State Insurance Act, one of the most important social legislation in India, it has been
enacted to provide for various benefits in different contingencies. Under this Act, insured women workers
get sickness benefit, disablement benefit, medical benefit and funeral expenses along with insured men
workers. However, in addition to these benefits, insured women workers also get maternity benefit in case
of certain contingencies arising out of pregnancy, confinement, miscarriage, sickness arising out of
pregnancy, premature birth of child or miscarriage and death. The duration of maternity benefit available
to insured women in case of confinement is 12 weeks, of which not more than 6 weeks shall precede the
expected date if confinement. The maternity benefit is paid subject to the condition that the insured
women do not work for remuneration on the days in respect of which the benefit is paid, In the event of
the death of an insured woman, the maternity benefit is payable to her nominee or legal representative for
the whole period if the child survives, and if the child also dies, until the death of the child.
The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 provides a scheme under which the employer and the employee
must contribute a certain percentage of the monthly wage to the Insurance Corporation that runs
dispensaries and hospitals in working class localities. It facilitates both outpatient and in-patient care and
freely dispenses medicines and covers hospitalization needs and costs. Leave certificates for health
reasons are forwarded to the employer who is obliged to honour them. Employment injury, including
occupational disease is compensated according to a schedule of rates proportionate to the extent of injury
and loss of earning capacity. Payment, unlike in the Workmen’s Compensation Act, is monthly. Despite the
existence of tripartite bodies to supervise the running of the scheme, the entire project has fallen into
disrepute due to corruption and inefficiency. Workers in need of genuine medical attention rarely
approach this facility though they use it quite liberally to obtain medical leave. There are interesting cases
where workers have gone to court seeking exemption from the scheme in order to avail of better facilities
available through collective bargaining.
3. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

Economic dependence of women is what gives rise to their subordination in society today. Hence to
remove such subordination and lay the foundation of equality women too must be made economically
independent and must take an active role in all sectors of business today. Problem faced by women in the
economic sphere of life are mostly relating to unequal wages and discrimination resulting from their
biological role in nature of childbearing. To curb such problems and protect the economic rights of women
the legislature introduced the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 and Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
A maternity benefit is one that every woman shall be entitled to, and her employer shall be liable for, the
payment of maternity benefit, which is the amount payable to her at the rate of average daily wages for the
period of her actual absence. The Maternity Benefit Act aims to regulate of employment of women in
certain establishment for certain periods before and after childbirth and provides for maternity and
certain benefits.
Women can claim benefits under the act everywhere except in factories and the other establishment
where the Employee’s State Insurance Act is applicable. Women who are employed, whether directly or
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through a contractor, have actually worked in the establishment for a period of at least 80 days during the
12 months are eligible to claim the benefits under this act. Cash benefits to women who are absent from
work during the maternity leave, are not be less than two-thirds of her previous earnings.
Discharge or dismissal during maternity leave is considered to be void. When pregnant women absents
herself from work in accordance with the provision of this act, it shall be unlawful for her employer to
discharge or dismiss her during, or on account of, such absence, or give notice of discharge or dismissal in
such a day that notice will expire during such absence or vary to her disadvantage any of the conditions of
her services. Dismissal or discharge of a pregnant woman shall not disentitle her to the maternity benefit
or medical bonus allowable under the act except if it was on some other ground.
Failure to pay maternity benefits or discharge or unemployment of woman due to maternity will result in
imprisonment of the employer for not less than three months which may extend to one year and a fine of
rupees two hundred which may extend to five thousand.
In Air India v. Nargesh Mirza [AIR 1981 SC 1829; 1981 (4) SCC 335], the Supreme Court struck down the
provision of rules which stipulated termination of service of an air hostess on her first pregnancy as it
arbitrary and abhorrent to the notions of a civilized society.
The ongoing argument in some circles is that the wage differential between women and men is caused by
the need to compensate the higher labour costs employers incur by hiring women, in accordance with
special laws to protect maternity. Employers prefer to hire a male instead of female, without the burden of
these additional monetary costs. This is however not enough as many employers do not hire married
women or dismiss them before pregnancy. The act provides some protection to women economically
especially today in an age where single mothers are becoming more prevalent it gives them stability in
their lives to have their wages and the security of returning to a steady job. My personal views are that this
act is not enough to guarantee women equality and economic security but it is definitely a starting step
and though there are several bridges to cross.
4. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

Equal pay for equal work for women and men is a vital subject of great concern to society in general and
employees in particular. There was a common belief that women are physically weak and should be paid
less than their male counter parts for the same piece of work. Women all over the world, had till recently
been very much in articulate and were prepared to accept lower wages even when they were employed on
the same jobs as men. Even in the economically and socially advanced countries where remarkable
progress has been made, discrimination still exists. In India, in the initial stages when legislation for the
protection of workers was hardly thought of, factory owners taking advantage of the backwardness and
poverty, recruited women on a large scale at lower wages and made them work under inhuman condition.
International Labour Organization has evolved several conventions to provide protection to employed
women. A number of ILO conventions have been ratified by India and some of these though not ratified
have been accepted in principle. The principle of ILO has been incorporated in the constitution of India in
the form of Article 39, which directs the states to secure equal pay for equal work for both men and
women. To give effect to this constitutional provision the parliament enacted the Equal Remuneration Act,
1975.
Under this law, no discrimination is permissible in recruitment and service conditions except where
employment of women is prohibited or restricted by the law. The situation regarding enforcement of the
provisions of this law is regularly monitored by the Central Ministry of Labour and the Central Advisory
Committee.
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5. The Workmen Compensation Act, 1923

In any industrial society the problem of labour management relations becomes so important that some
sort of social insurance becomes necessary to provide adequate protection from losses caused to the
labourers by accidents. With a view to improve the condition of the workmen some social insurance
legislations have been enacted. The Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923 is one of the earliest pieces of
labour legislation, adopted to benefit the labourers. It covers all cases of accident ‘arising out of and in the
course of employment’ and the rate of compensation to be paid in a lump sum, is determined by a schedule
proportionate to the extent of injury and the loss of earning capacity. The younger the worker and the
higher the wage, the greater is the compensation subject to a limit. The amount of compensation payable
depends in case of death on the average monthly wages of the deceased workman and in case of an injured
workman both on the average monthly wages and the nature of disablement. The Act intended to ensure
the rehabilitation of the workman himself or of his dependent. The dependent can claim compensation in
both cases i.e. death or injury. This law applies to the unorganised sectors and to those in the organised
sectors who are not covered by the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 which is conceptually considered
to be superior to the Workmen’s Compensation Act.
6. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948

The minimum wages Act was passed for the welfare of labours. This Act has been enacted to secure the
welfare of the workers in a competitive market by providing for a minimum limit of wages in certain
employments. The Act provides for fixation by the central government of minimum wages for
employments detailed in the schedule of the Act and carried on by or under the authority of the central
government, by railway administrative or in relation to a mine, oilfield or major port, or any corporation
established by a central Act, and by the state government for other employments covered by the schedule
of the Act. The object of this Act is to prevent exploitation of the workers and for this purpose it aims at
fixation of minimum wages which employer must pay.
The Act contemplates that minimum wages rates must ensure not only the mere physical need of the
worker which would keep him just above starvation but must ensure for him not only his subsistence and
that of his family but also preserve his efficiency as a worker. It would therefore, provide not merely for
the bare subsistence of his life but the preservation of the workers and so must provide for some measure
of education, medical requirements and amenities.
7. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005

Recently, the Government of India enacted National Rural Employment Guarantee Act whereby anyone
who is willing to provide manual unskilled labour will be offered wage employment for 100 days. This Act
provides the enhancement of the livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by
providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every
household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
Priority is given to women in the allocation of work. Gender equality is one of the core elements of this
poverty reduction plan which stipulates that at least one third of the labour force should be women with
equal wages for both men and women. Various gender related objectives such as provision of hygienic
work environments, safe drinking water, and childcare facilities at the work-site, distance of work-place
not exceeding two miles from home, health care and nutrition are emphasized.
Women engaged in agricultural farming have to spend long hours under the hot sun but are invariably
paid less than their male counterparts. Women’s participation in the labour force with no wage
discrimination and direct control of resources and assets can substantially enhance her health, child
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welfare and socioeconomic status. This employment policy if properly implemented can certainly bring
momentous changes in the lives of women.
The employment scheme undoubtedly has a positive impact on gender equity and power equation within
the household. An alternative model of development must focus on the enhancement of living standards of
rural India where majority of the population resides.
8. The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970

Provisions of crèches were made where twenty or more women are ordinarily employed as contract
labour. Female contract labour is to be employed by any contractor between 6.00 A.M. and 7.00 P.M. only
with the exception of mid-wives and nurses in hospitals and dispensaries.
PRESENT STATUS OF WOMEN AT WORK

1) Participation of women in the workforce in 2008 is only:
·19.7% in the urban sector, and
· 37.6% in the rural sector.
2) Women’s wage rates are, on an average:
· only 75 % of men’s wage rates, and
· constitute only 25% of the family income
3) In no Indian State do women and men earn equal wages in agriculture.
• Maternity
benefits Act
• Equal
remuneration
Act
• Factories Act
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• 1. Maternity benefits Act.

Introduction
The Maternity Benefit Act, aims to regulate of employment of women employees in certain establishments
for certain periods before and after child birth and provides for maternity and certain other benefits.
The Act extends to the whole of India and is applicable to:

1. Every factory, mine or plantation (including those belonging to Government) and
2. An establishment engaged in the exhibition of equestrian, acrobatic and other performances,
irrespective of the number of employees, and
3. To every shop or establishment wherein 10 or more persons are employed or were employed on
any day of the preceding 12 months.
The State Government may extend the Act to any other establishment or class or establishments;
industrial, commercial, agricultural or otherwise.
However, the Act does not apply to any such factory/other establishment to which the provisions of
the Employees’ State Insurance Act are applicable for the time being.
But, where the factory/establishment is governed under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, and the
woman employee is not qualified to claim maternity benefit under section 50 of that Act, because her
wages exceed Rs. 3,000 p.m. (or the amount so specified u/s 2(9) of the ESI Act), or for any other reason,
then such woman employee is entitled to claim maternity benefit under this Act till she becomes qualified
to claim maternity benefit under the E.S.I. Act.
WHAT IS MATERNITY BENEFIT?
Every woman shall be entitled to, and her employer shall be liable for, the payment of maternity benefit,
which is the amount payable to her at the rate of the average daily wage for the period of her actual
absence.
Period For Which Benefit Allowed
The maximum period for which any woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit shall be 12 weeks in all
whether taken before or after childbirth. However she cannot take more than six weeks before her
expected delivery.
Prior to the amendment of 1989, a woman employee could not avail of the six weeks’ leave preceding the
date of her delivery; she was entitled to only six weeks leave following the day of her delivery. However,
by the above amendment, the position has changed. Now, in case a woman employee does not avail of six
weeks’ leave preceding the date of her delivery, she can avail of that leave following her delivery, provided
the total leave period, i.e. preceding and following the day of her delivery does not exceed 12 weeks.
Who is Entitled to Maternity Benefit
1. Every woman employee, whether employed directly or through a contractor, who has actually
worked in the establishment for a period of at least 80 days during the 12 months immediately
preceding the date of her expected delivery, is entitled to receive maternity benefit.
2. The qualifying period of 80 days shall not apply to a woman who has immigrated into the State of
Assam and was pregnant at the time of immigration.
3. For calculating the number of days on which a woman has actually worked during the preceding
12 months, the days on which she has been laid off or was on holidays with wages shall also be
counted.
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4. There is neither a wage ceiling for coverage under the Act nor there is any restriction as regards
the type of work a woman is engaged in.
Notice For Maternity Benefit
A woman employee entitled to maternity benefit may give a notice in writing (in the prescribed form) to
her employer, stating as follows:
1. that her maternity benefit may be paid to her or to her nominee (to be specified in the notice);
2. that she will not work in any establishment during the period for which she receives maternity
benefit; and
3. that she will be absent from work from such date (to be specified by her), which shall not be
earlier than 6 weeks before the date of her expected delivery.
The notice may be given during the pregnancy or as soon as possible, after the delivery.
On receipt of the notice, the employer shall permit such woman to absent herself from work after the day
of her delivery. The failure to give notice, however, does not disentitle the woman to the benefit of the Act.
Restriction on Employment of Pregnant Women
1. No employer should knowingly employ a woman during the period of 6 weeks immediately
following the day of her delivery or miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy. Besides, no
woman should work in any establishment during the said period of 6 weeks.
2. Further, the employer should not require a pregnant woman employee to do an arduous work
involving long hours of standing or any work which is likely to interfere with her pregnancy or
cause miscarriage or adversely affect her health, during the period of 1 month preceding the
period of 6 weeks before the date of her expected delivery, and any period during the said period
of 6 weeks for which she does not avail of the leave.
Discharge or Dismissal to be Void
When a pregnant woman absents herself from work in accordance with the provisions of this Act, it shall
be unlawful for her employer to discharge or dismiss her during, or on account of, such absence, or give
notice of discharge or dismissal in such a day that the notice will expire during such absence or to vary to
her disadvantage any of the conditions of her services.
Dismissal or discharge of a pregnant woman shall not disentitle her to the maternity benefit or medical
bonus allowable under the Act except if it was on some other ground.
Other Benefits
LEAVE FOR MISCARRIAGE AND ILLNESS
In case of miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy, a woman shall, on production of the

prescribed proof, be entitled to leave with wages at the rate of maternity benefit, for a period of 6 weeks
immediately following the day of her miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy.
LEAVE FOR TUBECTOMY OPERATION
In case of tubectomy operation, a woman shall, on production of prescribed proof, be entitled to leave with
wages at the rate of maternity benefit for a period of two weeks immediately following the day of
operation.
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LEAVE FOR ILLNESS
Leave for a maximum period of one month with wages at the rate of maternity benefit are allowable in
case of illness arising out of pregnancy, delivery, premature birth of child, miscarriage or medical
termination of pregnancy or tubectomy operation.
MEDICAL BONUS
Every woman entitled to maternity benefit shall also be allowed a medical bonus of Rs. 250, if no pre-natal
confinement and post-natal care is provided for by the employer free of charge.
Duties of Employers
Important obligations of employers under the Act are:
1. To pay maternity benefit and/or medical bonus and allow maternity leave and nursing breaks to
the woman employees, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
2. Not to engage pregnant women in contravention of section 4 and not to dismiss or discharge a
pregnant woman employee during the period of maternity leave.
Right of Employees
Important rights of an employee are:
1. To make a complaint to the Inspector and claim the amount of maternity benefit improperly with
held by the employer.
2. To appeal against an order of the employer depriving her of the maternity benefit or medical
bonus or dismissing or discharging her from service, to the competent authority, within 60 days of
the service of such order.
Penalties For Contravention of Act by Employer
For failure to pay maternity benefit as as provided for under the Act, the penalty is imprisonment upto one
year and fine upto Rs. 5000. The minimum being 3 months and Rs. 2000 respectively.
For dismissal or discharge of a woman as provided for under the Act, the penalty is imprisonment upto
one year and fine upto Rs. 5000. The minimum being 3 months and Rs.2000 respectively.
disentitle the woman to the benefit of the Act.
• 2. Equal remuneration Act.

• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (Act no. 25 of 1976) consists of three chapters. The Act was
enacted with the object to provide for equal remuneration to Men and Women workers for
prevention of sex discrimination against women in matters of employment. The Act was intended
to enact by Parliament on twenty seventh year of Republic of India. Article 39 of the Indian
Constitution requires State to direct its policy for securing equal pay for equal work for men and
women. President of India promulgated an Ordinance in this regard on 26th September, 1975. The
Act extends to whole of India.
• Section 2 provides for definitions of several terms including appropriate government, employer,
worker, etc. And Section 3 of the Act provides for effect of the Act over other laws for the time
being in force. In short, if the any other laws or regulations seem inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act, the provisions of this Act should only survive.
• Chapter II of the Act is very much important so far as it relates to Equal remuneration to men and
women worker and relevant matters. Section 4 of the Act specks for duty of Employer not to pay
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any remuneration to any worker less than those which are paid to the worker of opposite sex for
similar nature of work performed by him. Section 5 of the Act prohibits discrimination in
recruiting men and women worker for the similar nature of work. However, such discrimination
could only be made when there is prohibition or restriction under any law as to employment of
women on any work.
• Section 6 of the Act makes provisions as to development of women by providing them increasing
employment opportunities. Section specks for constitution of Advisory Committees to advise
Government regarding extend of number of women workers in establishments. Section 7 of the
Act empowers Government as to appointment of Authorities for dealing with claims and
complaints. Further sub sections dealt with powers, procedures, etc. of such Authorities in dealing
with such complaint or claims.
• Now, Chapter III of the Act dealt with miscellaneous provisions. Likewise Section 8 of the Act dealt
with duty of Employers to maintain registers or other documents relating to workers employed
under them. Section 9 of the Act empowers Government as to appointment of Inspectors for
investigating compliance of provisions of this Act and Rules if any by employers.
• Section 10 of the Act makes penal provisions, where any employer is in default in doing something
required under the Act, should be liable under the Act for penal actions against him. Such actions
include imprisonment and fine. Further, Section 11 of the Act describes offences by companies and
persons liable thereto.
• The Act was amended by Act of 1987 and Section 12 was substituted as to Cognizance and trail of
offences committed under this Act. Section specifies that, such cognizance or actions could be
taken by the Courts, only when any complaint is made by appropriate government or person
aggrieved by offence. Further, Section 13 of the Act empowers Central Government to make Rules
relevant to the purposes of this Act and more particularly the Section provides for a list of matters
where Central Government required to make Rules. Moreover, Central Government is also
empowered under Section 14 of the Act to direct State Government on relevant matters for the
purpose of this Act.
• Section 16 of the Act empowers Government to make declaration as to any differences being
carried on in payment of remunerations to the men and women in any establishment based on
factor other than sex or gender. Moreover, in such cases Employer should not be held responsible
under this Act.
• The Central Government implemented this Act relating to employment being carried on under its
sphere or authority like, employment in Postal Department of India, Railway, etc. The Central
Government implemented this Act at State sphere where employments are carried on by State
Governments like Travelling, Electricity departments, etc. where enforcement of this Act is done by
officials of the State Labour Departments.
• The Equal Remuneration Rules, 1976 were framed by Central Government on 11th March, 1976
under the provisions of this Act. The Rules further provides for complaints and claims under the
Act and also provides for different forms as specimen of such complaints or claims. The question of
validity of these Rules was decided in Minerva Talkies Vs. State of Karnataka (1988).
• 3. Factories Act.
What restrictions are imposed to women workers under Factories act 1948?
A women worker has all the provisions of the Factories Act regarding employment and work of adult male
workers apply to adult female workers except the following provisions which apply to adult female
workers only:
a. A women worker shall not be allowed to work on or near machinery in motion
b. A women worker shall be prohibited of employment near cotton-openers.
c. A company who has more 30 women workers need to facilitate Crèches
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d. A woman shall not be allowed to work in a factory for more than 48 hours in any week or 9 hours in any
day.
e. A woman shall be allowed to work in a factory only between the hours of 6 A.M. and 7 P.M.
Section 66 in The Factories Act, 1948

66. Further restrictions on employment of women.—
(1) The provisions of this Chapter shall, in their application to women in factories, be supplemented by the
following further restrictions, namely:—
(a) no exemption from the provisions of section 54 may be granted in respect of any woman;
(b) no woman shall be 1[required or allowed to work in any factory] except between the hours of 6 A.M.
and 7 P.M.: Provided that the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, in respect of
2[any factory or group or class or description of factories,] vary the limits laid down in clause (b), but so
that no such variation shall authorize the employment of any woman between the hours of 10 P.M. and 5
A.M.; 3[(c) there shall be no change of shifts except after a weekly holiday or any other holiday.]
(2) The State Government may make rules providing for the exemption from the restrictions set out in
sub-section (1), to such extent and subject to such conditions as it may prescribe, of women working in
fish-curing or fish-canning factories, where the employment of women beyond the hours specified in the
said restrictions is necessary to prevent damage to, or deterioration in, any raw material.
(3) The rules made under sub-section (2) shall remain in force for not more than three years at a time
• 4. Inequality in the work place.

GENDER DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination
is asociological termreferring to treatment taken toward or against a person of acertain group that is taken
in consideration based on class or category. Gender discriminationrefers to beliefs andattitudesin relation
to thegender of a person. It is defined as adverse actionagainst another person that would not have
occurred had the person been of another sex. It is the practice of letting a person's sex unfairly become a
factor when deciding who receives a job, promotion, or other employment benefit. It most often affects
women who feel they have beenunfairly discriminated against in favor of a man.
Types of Gender Discrimination
There are two main categories of gender discrimination:
•Disparate treatment
•Disparate impact
The first category, disparate treatment, is simply treating an employee differently (disparately) because
of her or his gender. For example - an employee may be discriminated against by beingasked
discriminatory questions during a job interview, an employer did not hire, promote or wrongfully
terminated an employee based on his or her gender, or employers pay unequally based on gender.
Disparate impact is a more complex concept. It regards company policies or practices thatexclude
persons of one gender from a job or from promotions although the policy or practice wasnot designed to
do so. There is a disparate impact on one gender. An example is the policy of many fire departments that
had strength requirements for hiring firefighter that far exceeded thestrength needed by an individual to
work effectively as a firefighter. Such excessive strengthrequirements had a disparate impact on women,
many of whom had enough strength to be a goodfirefighter, but not enough strength to meet
the department's requirement.
Discrimination at work can come from either the employee or from the colleague side. Discrimination by
colleagues can happen to new employees. They may face sarcastic stares or constant digs made at them by
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their colleagues during initial weeks. However, if it persists for along time, it can affect not only the
employee but also the employer. The effect on the employee can be huge or meager but the impact on
organization remains for a longer time. An employee who is being discriminated witnesses
non cooperation from peers and negative feedbacks form subordinates. Discrimination leads
to psychological and emotional disturbance, resulting indemoralization and descend in performance
standards. It brings down the overall performance, and fuels more discrimination, which in turn increases
the number of gaps in one's work further.Discrimination at workplace also affects the society. The socio-
economic inequalities getwidened and social cohesion and solidarity are eroded. It results in wastage of
human talent and resources. The main indicator which indicates that gender discrimination has occurred
in the hiring process involves the qualifications of the job applicants. While a slight difference in
qualifications between a female and a male candidate does not automatically indicate gender bias (if a
lesser qualified male candidate is hired instead of a female candidate), that is, a drastic difference in
qualifications has almost always been upheld by the courts as a sure sign of gender discrimination.
EXAMPLE-
*Discriminatory question during a job interview.
*Not hire, promote or wrongfully terminate.
*unequal pay
*refusal for credit or loan.
*fire female employees as soon as they got pregnant.
*workplace harassment of different types, etc.
• 5. Additional burden of domestic responsibilities.

• Double burden is a term used to describe the workload of men and women who work to earn
money, but also have responsibility for unpaid, domestic labor. This phenomenon is also known as
the "The Second Shift" as in Arlie Hochschild's book of the same name. In heterosexual couples
where both partners have paid jobs, women often spend significantly more time on household
chores and caring work, such as childrearing or caring for the sick, than men. This outcome is
determined in large part by traditional gender roles that have been accepted by society over time.
Labor market constraints also play a role in determining who does the bulk of unpaid work.
• Efforts have been made to document the effects of this double burden on couples placed in such
situations. Many studies have been done tracing the effects of the gendered division of labor and in
most cases there was a notable difference between the time men and women contribute to unpaid
labor.
• Some more recent studies dismiss the idea of a double burden as a myth and conclude instead that
"on average, women and men across Europe do the same total number of productive work hours,
once paid jobs and unpaid household work are added together – roughly eight hours a day."
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Causes of the double burden-

Gender ideology-("Gender ideologies are linked to beliefs about appropriate behaviour for men and
women")
Labor market constraints-("Women are disproportionately represented in informal work and

concentrated among lower-quality jobs within self-employment.")
Societal pressures
There are various societal pressures that combine to create the double burden, including some economic
thinking of domestic work, thoughts about net household gain, and the perceived notion that women are
more likely to ask for maternity leave than men.
Political pressure
One of the political pressures, it is suggested by Susan Himmelweit is the issue of whom to empower.
When there are considerations of policies, politicians usually only consider work as paid labor, and do not
take into account the interdependence between unpaid work and paid work. It is also often common to
think that women make economic decisions similarly to men. Another political issue surrounding the
double burden is what sort of policies directly or indirectly affect those who do domestic work. Some
policies that companies have, such as a lower rate for part-time workers or firing workers when they get
pregnant can be seen as disempowering women.
Separate notion of paid work vs. unpaid work

As the term double burden might suggest, when people consider paid work vs. unpaid work, they often
consider them as two separate entities - that the man or woman is doing one or the other, but not at the
same time. In reality, men and especially women often undertake both paid and unpaid labor
simultaneously, creating the issue of work intensity, where the person undertakes many activities at the
same time in order to compensate for the time necessary to accomplish many things in one day. Household
surveys often only let people write down one thing that they are doing at any given time, and do not take
into consideration that they may be cooking while cleaning, or sewing while taking care of the children.
Because of this, the time taken for child care and other domestic activities may be underestimated.
This coping mechanism of undertaking two or more tasks at once can especially be seen in women in
developing countries
Increased nuclearization of family

Due to the increasing trend of decreased fertility rate, there has been an increased nuclearization of the
family, where families have less immediate relatives to depend on in times of need. Because of this
phenomenon, families do not have an extended family to depend on when they need a caretaker or
someone to do domestic work, and must turn to market substitutes or a member of the immediate family
doing both domestic and paid work instead.
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Types of double burdens[edit]

Work vs. family
Family vs. school
Single vs. married parents
Single parent double burdens
Married parent double burdens
Middle-class vs. poor families[edit]
Effects of double burden[edit]

Health effects
Stress
Mortality rate
Absences due to sickness
Loss of sleep
Work intensity
Economic effects
Solutions to the double burden

Family-friendly initiatives
Government initiatives
Child care facility
Workplace initiatives
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PAPER-III LAW OF CRIMES-I (PENAL CODE)

• UNIT-I Women in Pre-Independence India

DEFINITION AND CONCEPT OF GENDER INEQUALITY

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. Reforms regarding women in 19 century-

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Gender equality, also known as sex equality, gender

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UNIT-II Women in Post-Independence India

Women in the immediate post-Independent period