Vinita Raghav is a practising advocate, a feminist and a humanitarian in the legal field, working to help and uplift females in association with multiple organizations.
Every year, the 8th March makes me think why there is a need of having a women’s day at all, do we have a men’s day too? There isn’t a need! After being marginalized, dominated, and exploited for ages, the women were left with such a frame of mind which was against their selves. They would support males in their subjugation consciously or unconsciously. Patriarchy at a global level made the unequal and asymmetrical relation between a man and a woman a norm at all levels, more pinchingly, at familial as well as social level. We are still trying to fill the gap which had been caused by millennia and knowledge is always the best tool to start with anything so let’s start with the background of Women’s day.
If we talk about India, It is pertinent to remind us all that ancient India was way more progressive and liberal than any other part of the world at that time. But political and social changes in the medieval period with Turkish and then Mughal rule brought a loss of freedom and the women were suppressed, subjugated and treated like a commodity. Sati Pratha, Child marriage, the Purda system, polygamy, female infanticides, domestic violence and sexual harassment were among the many evils of foreign rules in a country which earlier believed in______: “Where women are honoured, there the deities are pleased; God dwells where women are respected/ worshipped”. In the West, women up to the eighteenth century were challenged with expressing themselves within a patriarchal system that generally refused to grant merit to women’s views. Women who spoke out against the patriarchal system of gender roles, or any injustice, ran the risk of being exiled from their communities, or worse; vocal unmarried women were the targets of witch-hunts. These witch hunts especially targeted non-Christian, pagan women.
Awareness and a shout for equal rights was raised on March 8, 1857, following a march in New York City’s Lower East Side to protest child labour, and sweatshop working conditions, and demand women’s suffrage. Beginning in 1910, March 8 became annually observed as International Women’s Day. But that did not provide much to women in reality and from 1960 women’s Liberation movement started campaigns for women’s rights in the western world in 1966 National Organization for Women (NOW) was created to bring about equality for all women leading to landmark changes for women all over the world.
In India, a movement for the liberation of women that started somewhere in 1825 with the Brahmo Samaj by Raja Ram Mohan Rai led to many important changes in our country and society. With the changing times, women in India have been accorded many rights and opportunities, even today when we have entered 76 years of our freedom from British rule, Indian women are fighting and carving out a niche for themselves in every field and every perspective.
Post-independence India saw movements and legal changes in favour of women. Today, the women are entitled to equality and freedom by our constitution. Any discrimination on the base of sex, status, caste, religion or any other is prohibited in India. Commission of (Sati Prevention) Act: Initially banned by Governor General Lord William Bentick in 1829 and further after the independence Sati Prevention Act 1988 was enacted which very effectively controlled the issue. The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, of 2005 eliminated the discriminatory practices against daughters by granting all daughters equal rights of inheritance and also, the liability as sons, to their father’s property and also a share in the mother’s property. The Shariat, however, was left untouched and no change could be brought in the case of Muslim women.
With the new opportunities, new challenges also crop up and women have to deal with the people at the workplace besides the ones at home. To deal with the workplace, Factories Act 1948 lays down the condition for arranging basic amenities like separate toilets/urinals for women working therein. And wherever 30 or more women are working, a suitable room for children should be provided and maintained within the factory premises. Further, we have an Equal Remuneration Act that provides for equal remuneration for equal work of similar nature and prohibits discrimination in matters of recruitment of men and women. To ensure the protection and safety of women while they are at work, we have the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act. Further to ensure the well-being of women at home, we have Section 498A in the Indian Penal Code and The Protection Of Women From Domestic violence Act, which protects women from violence at the hands of the men in their home, be it her, husbands/son/ brother/brother-in-law, father-in-law or her father and penalizes the offenders. While we are talking about laws let me count the very important Act Hindu Marriage Act and The Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929) which was recently amended (Child marriage prohibition Bill 2021) which makes child marriage an offence punishable under the Act and now the minimum age for marriage is 21 years for male and 18 years for females as per the Act. Second marriage during the lifetime of the first wife is punishable with imprisonment for up to seven years. For protection from social vice like dowry, we have Dowry Prohibition Act which prohibits demanding, receiving and even giving the dowry.
Special marriage Act 1954: This Act safeguards and provides a right to the woman and man (equally) to marry in any caste/ religion. Right to Maintenance: Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, puts an obligation on the husband to maintain her divorced wife. The Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act 2005 also provides for the maintenance of the victim of domestic violence The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 facilitates maintenance to Hindu women only, whereas the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939 covers only Muslim women. In short, irrespective of caste/religion every woman is entitled to maintenance under Indian Law. Indian Divorce Act, of 1969 allows the dissolution of marriage and restitution of conjugal rights on the application of a wife or a husband. Hindu Marriage Act as well as Muslim Family Law also provides for the same Family Courts to be established to file, hear, and dispose of such cases. Medical termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 – The Act aims to reduce the occurrence of illegal abortion and consequent maternal mortality and morbidity. There is also the Maternity Benefits Act of 1861 for working women. This act regulates the employment of women and maternity benefits mandated by law which include maternity leave, nursing breaks, medical allowance, etc. Furthermore, during the period of her pregnancy, a woman shall not be required to do any job of arduous nature.
Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act, 1986: This Act prohibits indecent representation of women through advertisement or in publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other obscene manner.
Confidentiality: Under no circumstances the identity of a victim of sexual offences can be released to control the social victimization and ostracism of the victim of sexual offences. Every woman has the right to live in dignity, free of fear, coercion, violence and discrimination. Our law very well respects women’s dignity and modesty. The criminal law provides for the punishments for offences committed against women like Sexual Harassment (Sec. 354A), assault with intent to disrobe her (Sec. 354B) or to outrage her modesty (Sec. 354), Voyeurism (Sec. 354C), Stalking (354D) etc. In case the woman herself is accused of an offence and arrested, she is to be dealt with decency and basic human rights have to be accorded to her. And last but not the least, the Legal Services Authorities Act provides free legal aid to every woman irrespective of her financial status. It is irrefutable that progress has been made, and that women today are better off than we were some years back. So this Women’s day, let’s celebrate the spirit of womanhood with the knowledge of our rights because we are meant to bounce back with full vigour and beauty from any and every disheartening situation as this is what it is to be a woman.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
