AUTHOR: ADYASHA BEHERA, UNIVERSITY LAW COLLEGE.

“When the women are empowered, society with stability gets assured” – A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Women’s empowerment is a groundwork of social development, which aims to establish gender equality, women participation and stimulate inclusive development. From the very beginning women were discriminated against and were deprived of their social, economic and political status in the society. Law has played a pivotal role in uplifting the status of women in the society. It has helped women with the provisions so that they can ask for their rights and voice against gender discrimination. Many Acts have empowered women like Hindu Succession Act, the Dowry Prohibition Act, and also the constitutional rights. Women’s fight for equal status and opportunity have faced many challenges and are still facing it. Despite the legal provisions and modernisation in society, women empowerment is not anywhere near its goal. The lack of awareness among the women about their rights and insufficient source to enforce these rights are major drawbacks for the empowerment of women. The customs and beliefs in the rural areas makes it so difficult to educate the women about their rights. If we see from the legal point of view, then the women were provided with all the adequate rights and provisions which protects them from discrimination and not only that they also help them to participate in the society equally as the men. As we know it is senseless to see this only in the legal point of view as we know there are many stumbling blocks in the way of empowering women. So, it needs many standardized measures to ensure the provisions are known to the women and also encourage them to use them for their development. 

KEYWORDS:

Women’s Empowerment, Constitutional Provisions, Fundamental rights, Directive Principles Of State Policy, Dowry Prohibition Act, Sati Prevention Act.

Women’s empowerment means uplifting the status of the women in the society and providing them the resources and rights to voice against the discriminations they face in the society. They can get equal opportunities in the working sector, financial sector, and political sector. They can be independent and can protect themselves from being exploited.

This research paper is based on the logical analysis of personal and social experiences. In this article an attempt to set out the empowerment of women through legal provisions has been made. This very article is based on the other articles and books gathered from the internet.

1. The need for women empowerment.

2. How women empowerment helps in developing the overall development of the state.

3. What are the legal provisions available for women empowerment?

4. How efficiently the legal provisions are being used by the women.

5. How the customs and beliefs of society impact women empowerment.

Whenever we talk about women’s empowerment we focus more on the rights of the women like voting rights, educational rights, property rights. But the sole purpose of women empowerment is not about providing them with those rights but making them realise their self-worth and their capabilities to detect their own choices and rights. They should be aware of the fact that they have the same abilities as men. They should be provided with the equal respect, opportunities and rights as the men. They are no less capable than the men in doing any of the work that the society thinks that only men can do. 

Women in the medieval period were regarded as equals as the men. They were treated with great respect and were honoured by the society. Unlike now they were not discriminated against in society. But after that many evil customs were being followed in India like Sati Pratha, Dowry Pratha, Devadasi Pratha, etc. 

In the ancient text of the Vedas, the concept of humans is a bedrock for society, in taittiriya Samhita women and men were considered as the two-wheel of a cart. These lessons given by the Vedas to society were good examples of equality between men and women.

In the early Vedic period women were treated as equals but in the late Vedic period it has changed significantly and women were treated as the inferior and men were superior than them. The women were taught to marry and to be devoted to their husbands for the rest of their lives.

Women were constantly harassed for giving birth to a girl child and were always blamed for it. Female infanticide in India has a history spanning in centuries. Despite the fact that Female infanticide in India has been criminalised in the BNS (then IPC), the cases has not been reduced in the years. The Female Infanticide Prevention Act, 1870, also Act VIII of 1870 was a legislative act passed in British India, to prevent murder of female infants. 

There are many laws relating to women empowerment. Constitutional rights, fundamental rights, Dowry Prohibition Act, Sati Prevention Act, Hindu Widow Remarriage Act, and other acts aids the development of women.

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS: -

The Indian constitution has laid many provisions for the development of women and also provides them with many rights for the protection of the women. Fundamental Rights like Article 14, Article 15(1), Article 15(3) and Article 16 ensures the rights of the women. Directive principles of state policy like Article 39(a)and Article 39 (d).

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: -

Article 14 guarantees the equality before and equal protection of law which ensure equality among the men and women.

Article 15(1) provides prohibition on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth; which helps in protecting women from discrimination and exploitation.

Article 15(3) nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provisions for women and children; this helps to give more opportunities to the women.

Article 16 Equal opportunities in matters of public employment which makes sure equality despite the sex.

DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY: -

Article 39(a) states that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.

Article(d) says that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women.

HINDU SUCCESSION ACT: -

Before the amendment of Hindu Succession Act in 2005, women were not provided with rights of inheritance. Women were not a coparcener before 2005 but after the amendment women were empowered with the inheritance rights. By securing women’s right on the ancestral property, the law placed them on an equal footing with the male heirs, promoting equality within families and broader society. 

PROHIBITION OF CHILD MARRIAGE ACT: -

In India Child marriage is very common and is being practiced since the very beginning. This practice mainly affects the women as they have to leave their houses at a very young age not only that but also give birth at a very young age. This act ensured that no person below the age of 21 can get married. This helped in protection of the young girls from being exploited. This Act was introduced in the year of 2006. 

DOWRY PROHOBITION ACT: -

Many evil customs of Indian society have been significantly reduced during the years but the dowry system has been the same as before. It has changed to some extent but still its motive has not changed. Dowry Prohibition Act was introduced in the year of 1961, it has prohibited the exchange of movable or immovable property from the girl’s side to her in-laws which can be considered as the dowry.

SATI PREVENTION ACT: -

This Act prohibits the social evil practice Sati Pratha. It has been banned all over India and it has been criminalised making it a legal offence. This Act was introduced in the year of 1987. 

BETI PADHAO BETI BACHAO YOJNA: -

This is an enactment by the Government of India to strengthen the opportunity for education of women. This mandates that every girl child should complete her study and no one should be deprived of education on the basis of gender.

Shayara Bano v. Union of India (2017)

This landmark case was a milestone for women’s empowerment in India. In this case the Supreme Court, in a 5-judge bench with a 3-2 majority judgement, held triple talaq unconstitutional and void. 

Mary Roy v. State of Kerala (1986)

The Supreme Court gave a judgement that granted Syrian Christian women the right to seek an equal share in their father’s property.

Roxann Sharma v. Arun Sharma 

The Supreme Court ruled that when estranged parents are involved in a legal tussle over the custody of a child who is under the age of five years, the custody of the child will remain with the mother.

Shah Bano Begum v. Mohd Ahmed Khan 

This landmark judgement upheld the right of a divorced Muslim woman to claim maintenance. The Court held that a Muslim husband is obligated to provide maintenance beyond the iddat period if his former wife was unable to sustain herself.

Suchita Srivastava and Another v. Chandigarh Administration (2009)

This case upheld the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy. The Supreme Court held that the decision to terminate a pregnancy falls under the women’s right to privacy.

Deepika Singh v. Central Administration Tribunal (2022)

The Supreme Court held that a woman’s statutory right to avail maternity leave cannot be denied on the ground that she had previously availed child care leave for her non-biological children.

Law plays a crucial role in forwarding the development of women. There are legal provisions for every aspect of women. There are laws which provide rights to women and there are laws which protect them from being exploited. But the sole purpose of the provisions is to educate the women about their self-worth. It empowers them to voice against the discrimination and ask for equality. Through this they can demand equal opportunities in every aspect such as education, working and also in the political sector. Not only the legal provisions are required for women empowerment but the very concept that women and men are equal should be in every person’s mind. Society should accept that women and men shouldn’t be discriminated against and they should get equal respect and opportunities.