Women’s Rights in India: A Constitutional Insight

Abstract

Women as a vulnerable group of the society have been deprived, ill-treated, discriminated, exploited for a long time, and the Indian society is not an exception to this universal problem. Discrimination against women by men has been a problem throughout the human history and not vice-versa. According to Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, in India women have suffered doubly- first, generally as members of castes and classes traditionally looked down upon; and second, particularly as those with lesser status even among those castes and classes. The glaring fact that emerges from the study of social evolution of human society is that in the old feudal society, woman was always given an inferior status. Paradoxically, she was also considered as the symbol of the sanctity and purity of the family. Self sacrifice and self denied are their nobility and fortitude and yet they have been subjected to all kinds of inequities, indignities, incongruities and discrimination. The structure of the family and the social norms and values that are built around women are completely against the principle of equality guaranteed by our constitution. The system of gender based inequality, often referred to as patriarchy, does retard the growth of women’s personality and affects them mentally, socially and psychologically. The present study attempts to evaluate the nature and scope of women’s rights within the constitutional framework in India. The purpose of this study is to re-examine the provisions laid down in the Constitution to promote women empowerment and protect gender equality. The Indian courts have taken greater recourse to the constitutional provisions along with International Conventions and Treaties on gender equality for mainstreaming women’s rights. Thus, an attempt has been made to analyze the role of the Indian judiciary with regard to the protection of women’s rights in view of the objective of social justice as enshrined in the Constitution. Women's are the wealth of the nation and they have contributed in almost every field; are in front, leading the country, and source of inspiration for many. Unfortunately, in many spheres of life women is making legitimate demands for justice till date which can no longer be ignored. In this backdrop, the present study seeks to evaluate the existing legal system in India to protect women’s rights and identify the problems which are being faced by women in India.