Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi, March 8: Women in India like women around the world have been working for decades to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. The history of the women’s movement has been riddled with obstacles from the beginning, despite the fact that it is still relatively new.
Talking about the rights of women in India, Articles 15 and 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantee Indians the basic rights to live a decent life, free of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, caste, religion, or other identities. Similarly, it also ensures the welfare, representation, and well-being of women by laying forth the principles on which the state might base its legislation.
Several women’s movements and struggles led by human rights organisations with diverse communities urged the state to enact laws to protect women from various forms of violence and to address the dynamics of a time when patriarchal systems and rigid practices continue to infringe on women’s fundamental rights, affecting their daily lives. These movements had resulted in a number of laws.
That’s why in this special story of Women’s Day, we have brought important laws related to women. Somewhere these laws can be useful to you at every turn of life. Keep them in your mind and share with your friends:
Right to education
The 86th Amendment of 2002 of the Indian Constitution guarantees free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of six and fourteen.
However, in India, women’s education is far from “free” or as comprehensive and all-encompassing as the right claims to ensure. Despite the fact that the government, through numerous efforts such as like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (which aims to provide primary education to children, particularly girls from underserved rural areas), efforts to increase women’s education, and the obstacle is not always monetary and within the purview of the state.
Property rights
The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which cover Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, establish Hindu women’s property and inheritance rights in India, while Muslim women’s rights are determined by Islamic law. According to a recent Supreme Court decision, women have the same rights as males when it comes to their father’s property. The Indian Succession Act of 1925 spells forth the rules for Christian, Parsi, and Jewish women’s inheritance.
Dowry Prohibition
The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 makes it illegal to give or receive dowry. The statute makes it illegal to demand, give, or take dowry from a couple’s family, as well as to aid and abet such behaviour. It further stipulates that in the event of the woman’s death, the dowry obtained by anybody other than the lady in the marriage, the amount or property shall go to the woman and her heirs.
The statute was also revised, as were pertinent provisions of the Indian Penal Code, to protect female victims of dowry-related violence. In 2005, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act added another layer of legal protection.
Right to equal wages
The Equal Remuneration Act of 1976 is a law that mandates equal pay for men and women workers and prohibits discrimination against women in the workplace based on their gender, as well as in areas related to or incidental to their job.
As per this act, while employees are being hired for jobs that are the same or comparable in nature, no discrimination against women is permitted unless the law expressly prohibits it. This protection is also extended to acts that occur after a person has been hired, such as promotion, training, or transfer. This rule will not affect reservations provided for Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, ex-servicemen, retrenched employees, or any other class or group of people.
Maternity Benefits
The Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 contains provisions for maternity benefit claims, job security during pregnancy, after delivery or miscarriage, leaves, nursing breaks post pregnancy, and payment of medical bonus in order to regulate the employment conditions of women in an organisation during and after childbirth.
According to the act, “every woman shall be entitled to, and her employer shall be liable for, the payment of maternity benefit at the rate of the average daily wage for the period of her actual absence immediately preceding and including the day of her delivery, and for the six weeks immediately following that day.
Security against Cyber Crime
These rights have been given under section 66E of the Information Technology Act, which states that no person can take photos without anyone’s permission. The capturing, publishing or transmitting the image of a person’s private area without their consent, in circumstances violating that person’s privacy, the person is punishable by imprisonment up to three years or a fine of up to two lakh rupees, or both. Similarly, Section 67 provides protection against transmitting or publishing of obscene material in electronic form.
