DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

SABBAVARAM, VISAKHAPATNAM, A.P., INDIA

PROJECT TITLE:

GENDER DISCRIMINATION

SUBJECT:

SOCIOLOGY

NAME OF THE FACULTY:

MR. LAKSHMIPATI RAJU SIR

NAME OF THE CANDIDATE:KARNATI SARVAGNA

ROLLNO:2018043
SEMESTER:I

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Mr. Lakshmipati Raju
Sir who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic (Gender
Discrimination), which also helped me in doing a lot of Research and I came to know about
so many new things I am really thankful to them.
Secondly I would also like to thank my friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project
within the limited time frame.

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PROJECT SUMMARY:
Gender discrimination is the age old evil existing in the society .There are adequate
legislations in India which not only removes the discrimination against women but also
empowers the women. The Constitution itself makes room for the discriminatory laws in
favour of the women who are considered the weaker sex, disadvantaged and discriminated in
the male dominated society. The action wise plan of the Government in preventing the
discrimination has proved the legislations as a failure. The existence of these laws only in the
books is the major problem in India. The Supreme Court, however, has taken initiatives too
and in some cases issued directions to the Government as well. But the implementation of
these legislations in actual sense is very much necessary to remove the discrimination in the
society.

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CONTENTS
1.INTRODUCTION: TO GENDER DISCRIMINATION

2.CAUSES OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION

3.STATISTICS ON GENDER DISCRIMINATION

4.LAWS AND LEGISLATIONS ON GENDER DISCRIMINATION

AIMS OF THE STUDY/SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

Aim of our study is to know the current situation regarding gender discrimination and it cause
effects and changes since years.

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 RESEACH METHODOLOGY
Doctrinal

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Wide

INTRODUCTION:
Gender discrimination is the idea and situation that women and men are not equal. Gender
discrimination refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals wholly or partly due
to their gender. Gender discrimination stems from distinctions, whether empirically grounded

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or socially constructed. Women lag behind men in many domains, including education, labor
market opportunities and political representation and in pay. Gender discrimination in India
refer to health, education, economic and political inequalities between men and women in
India
Gender discrimination, and their social causes, impact India's sex ratio, women's health over
their lifetimes, their educational attainment, and economic conditions. Gender discrimination
in India is a multifaceted 1issue that concerns men and women. Some argue that various
gender equality indices place men at a disadvantage. However, when India's population is
examined as a whole, women are at a disadvantage in several important ways. In India,
discriminatory attitudes towards either sex have existed for generations and affect the lives of
both sexes. Although the constitution of India grants men and women equal rights, gender
disparities remain.

Research shows gender discrimination mostly in favour of men in many realms including the
workplace. Discrimination affects many aspects in the lives of women from career
development and progress to mental health disorders. While Indian laws on rape, dowry and
adultery have women's safety at heart, these highly discriminatory practices are still taking
place at an alarming rate, affecting the lives of many today. There are a number of images of
Indian women, sometimes complementary and sometimes contradictory. She is revered as a
Goddess; but at the same time, her birth is not much preferred. She is considered as an
embodiment of sakti, but at the same time she is considered as the one to be protected all
through in her life-by father, husband and son respectively. She is worshipped as a Goddess
but instances of treating her as slave are not unknown. She is honoured as a mother and loved
as a child. But as a wife and of one’s own age group ,for example, a friend or a collegue, the
attitude is not always positive or friendly . At times, general comments on entire women-folk
irrespective of age and accomplishment are not unknown. While the reverential feelings exist
at ideological level, she is socially treated as inferior and is assigned discriminatory values.
To understand the position of Indian women, we have to go deep into various phases of
historical background and understand the factors that shaped the societal attitude toward
women.

PRE-VEDIC PERIOD( UPTO 1400 B.C.) :

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Women empowerment by M.lakshmipathi raju

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IDENTITY WITH NATURE

Woman was identified with nature and hence with creative power. Her ability to give birth
received honour and matriarchy received recognition. Her word carried weight in family and
in society. She was expected to supplement the nature when it fails and vice versa. Her
association with nature, especially collection of roots and fruits, made her to invent
agriculture. Most of the Goddesses are either agricultural Goddesses or fertility Goddesses.
Perhaps the relative 2flexibility of the tribal life must have made the woman socially equal to
man in those days.

During the Vedic and Upanishadic period upto 500 B.C,, woman enjoyed equality, perhaps
due to the simple pastoral economy Which required equal participation. Woman was assigned
ritual equality, as the Samskaras happened to be the same and education was opened to all.
There was equal participation of women in all spheres of socio-economic life. Though there
were prayers for not less than ten sons, still there was no aversion to the birth of a girl child.
Lopamudra, Apala, Godha, Viswavara and Ghosh are but a few instances of educated
women. Sarvanukramanika, a later work, refers to twenty hymn-composing ladies. Among
the ladies of the Upanishadic age, Gargi and Mythreyi, referred in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
stand forth as scholars in Sastras. Among the eight scholars that tested Yajnavalkya’s
competence for claiming one thousand cows, as declared by king Janaka, Gargi was the only
lady and only one to question him twice. Mythreyi preferred knowledge to property. Three
women seers, Gargi Vachaknavi, Vadava Prathitheyi, and Sulabha Mythreyi are offered daily
Rishitarpana or water ablutions.

Daily and periodical sacrifices were performed jointly by the husband and wife. Sita sacrifice
at harvest times and Rudra sacrifice to ensure fecundity among the cattle could be performed
by women alone. Free mobility of women was there; marriage was not obligatory but normal.

PATRIARCHY:IDEAL OF SADHVI

In Post-Vedic period i.e., Smriti and Puranic period (500 B.C.-600 A.D.) patriarchy had been
strengthened and the construction of gender was begun. Women were subordinated in home

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Women empowerment by M.lakshmipathi raju

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and in public life, perhaps due to her biology, inconveniencing her in her steady-work. Lack
of technology, leading to repeated pregnancies might have been another possible reason for
the traditional division of labour of man taking the responsibility of bread earning and women
taking care of the home and family.

The stress on physical chastity of women gradually increased. It finally led to child
marriages, resulting in early motherhood and hence the deprival of women from Upanayana,
the initiating ceremony of education and public life. Manu advocated eight years as
appropriate age of marriage. But he gave the Option of staying in father’s house as
unmarried, in case no suitable alliance materialised. Later Smriti writers withdrew this,
saying that she should be married even if the groom was inferior to her, thus making marriage
as obligatory.

There was a noticeable change in the marriage ceremony. The earlier concept of ruling over
husband’s household now changed to that of serving it. She was to him what a pupil was to
the preceptor. She should obey, revere and worship him. Upanayana, the initiating ceremony
for education, was equated with marriage ritual by Mann and Yajnavalkya. It lowered her
position in family and in society.

Women came to be identified initially with Sudras, thus indicating her ineligibility in rituals
and in education. In course of time, the identification was extended to the inanimate thing
like property and hence need to be guarded and controlled. Institutions of family and private
property required control over women, her wealth and her sexuality. Institutions of polygamy
and prostitution further lowered the position of woman. This was accelerated by the
popularity of ascetic religions-Jainism and Buddhism, which tried to avoid women, by
identifying . them with sin and misery.

Manu stated that a wife could be superseded if she were bad, barren, bears only daughters and
quarrelsome. But, the husband, even if he were harsh, cruel and irresponsible, needs to be
revered. Manu declared that women be under the control of father, husband and son
respectively. Narada justified this on the ground that women were unable to discern what is
good and what is bad, since they had no knowledge of the Sastras. He condemned them ”as
impure as falsehood itself”. Woman denied of education and public life became objects of
ridicule. The gradual subordination of women and the emergence of duel values transformed
the natural and essential biological division into socially constructed one.

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By the time of classical period i.e., Gupta period, the glorified picture of the woman emerged.
Woman was now identified with beauty, glamour, tenderness, submissiveness and obedience.
Kalidasa’s two Raghuvamsam and Abhijnana Sakuntalam, portray the image of a respected
lady, obeying the orders of elders, husband and the society. The emphasis on chastity finally
led to the emergence of ideal wifehood, i.e., Sadhapi as opposed to patita or fallen one.
Kalidasa excuses Rama for banishing Sita on the ground that a man prefers fame and glory,
even to his own body, not to speak of a wife, who is after all, an object of sensual pleasure.
Mallinatha Suri commenting on the last verse, compares the wife with other objects of
enjoyment such as sandal paste and garlands. Instead of being a co-worker in bread-earning,
she became the sole dependent on him for survival. The enforcing agencies of patriarchical
values were the state, law (Dharma Sastras), religion and family.

MEDIEVAL PERIOD:IDENTITY WITH FAMILY HONOUR

In medieval period, the position of woman was further decreased due to the prevailing
feudalism. Woman came to be identified with family honour. Purdah or veil did become the
ideological curtain that separated her from men and outside world and confined her within
zenana. She was presented as selfless and of Sacrificing nature. Family honour demanded the
woman’s life, as in the practices of Sufi and lohar. Sati was the self-immolation of a widow
on the pyre of the deceased husband as was done in various families of upper strata. Iohar
was the genocide committed by women, in times of political defeat, as in the case of
Ranthambhor and Bobbili. Purdah, Sati, Johar, polygamy and child marriages proved to be
evils touching the women of medieval period.

Another significant evil was the increasing number of dancing-girls (Devadasis) and
prostitutes. Both the Royal Court and the Temple became patrons of these institutions. There
were inter-transfers between the two. Both the court literature and art stand forth as examples
of deteriorated taste as there was vulgarisation in art and literature.

The physical beauty of the woman had been eulogised in Kavya and Prabandha literature
while her figure had been projected in erotic manner in art. The popularity of tantric cults
further added to the speed. Thus women were divided into two distinct classes of pativratas
and patitas.

The reaction to the existing situation was voiced by the devotees of Bhakti movement. Andal,
Avvaiyar, Akka Mahadevi, Mira Bai, etc., opposed the contemporary taboos and expressed

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their protest in their writings. They opposed the image of woman being identified with home
and family, entered into public life, enriched it with their own contributions and protested
against the restrictions in a legitimate way i.e., through religion.

CAUSES OF GENDER INEQUALITY

Attaining gender justice is not an easy task in India. From time immemorial, a girl child has
been considered as an unwanted entity and a burden whom the parents would not mind doing
away with. Discrimination against women begins even before her birth. The gruesome evils
of female feticide and infanticide prove how brutal the world could be to women.

Though the Indian constitution provides equal rights and privileges for men and women and
makes equal provision to improve the status of women in society, majority of women are still
unable to enjoy the rights and opportunities guaranteed to them.

Traditional value system, low level of literacy, more house hold responsibilities lack of
awareness, non-availability of proper guidance, low mobility, lack of self confidence family
discouragement and advanced science and technology are some of the factors responsible to
create gender disparity in our society. The most important causes of gender disparity such as
poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, social customs, belief and anti-female attitude are
discussed here.

1. Poverty:

In India of the total 30 percent people who are below poverty line, 70 percent are women.
Women’s poverty in India is directly related to the absence of economic opportunities and
autonomy, lack of access to economic resources including credit , land ownership and
inheritance, lack of access to education and support services and their minimal participation
in the decision making process. The situation of women on economic front is no better and
men still enjoy a larger share of the cake. Thus poverty stands at the root of gender
discrimination in our patriarchal society and this economic dependence on the male
counterpart is itself a cause of gender disparity.

2. Illiteracy:

Despite the notable efforts by the countries around the globe that have expanded for the basic
education , there are approximately 960 million illiterate adults of whom two thirds are

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women .Educational backwardness of the girls has been the resultant cause of gender
discrimination.

The disparities become more visible between male and female literacy rate, during 2001. The
literacy rates for males increased from 56% in 1981 to nearly 76% in 2001. The
corresponding change in female literacy rate from 30 to 54%. On the whole the decline on
gender gap peaked in 1981 at 26.6% and was 21.7% in 2001 is less impressive. The interstate
variation in literacy rate for males was much lower in comparison to females. At the state
level female literacy rate varies from 35% in Bihar to 88% in Kerala In states like Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan, the female literacy rate is below
50%.

The progress towards education by girls is very slow and gender disparities persist at
primary, upper primary and secondary stage of education. Girl’s account for only 43.7% of
enrollment at primary level, 40 .9 % at upper primary level, 38.6% at secondary level and
36.9% at degree and above level. More over girl’s participation in education is still below
50% Gender differences in enrollment are prevalent in all the state at all levels. They are not
able to realize full identity and power in all spheres of life only due to illiteracy.

3. Lack of Employment Facilities:

Women are not able to resolve the conflict between new economic and old domestic roles. In
both rural and urban India, women spend a large proportion of time on unpaid home
sustaining work. Women are not able to respond to new opportunities and shift to new
occupations because their mobility tends to be low due to intra-house hold allocation of
responsibilities.

Rights and obligations within a house hold are not distributed evenly. Male ownership of
assets and conventional division of labour reduce incentives for women to undertake new
activities. In addition child bearing has clear implications for labour force participation by
women. Time spent in bearing and rearing of children often results in de-Skilling, termination
of long term labour contacts. Thus women are not being able to be economically self
sufficient due to unemployment and their economic dependence on the male counterpart is
itself a cause of gender disparity.

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4. Social Customs, Beliefs and Practices:

Women are not free from social customs, beliefs and practices. The traditional patrilineal
joint family system confines women’s roles mostly to the domestic sphere, allocating them to
a subordinate status, authority and power compared to men. Men are perceived as the major
providers and protectors of a family while women are perceived as playing only a supportive
role, attending to the hearth. Boys and girls are accordingly drained for different adult roles,
status and authority. In Indian culture since very early periods, men have dominated women
as a group and their status has been low in the family and society.

The preference for sons and disfavour towards daughter is complex phenomenon that still
persists in many places. Sons especially in the business communities are considered to be
economic, political and ritual assets where as daughters are considered to be liabilities. Thus
anti female social bias is the main cause of gender disparity in our society.

The boy receives a ceremonial welcome on his birth where as everyone is sad at the birth of a
girl child. The preference for male child is due to lower female labour participation,
prevalence of social evils like dowry and many others causes. The typical orthodox mentality
is present even in this modern era leading to sex determination tests and abortion in an illegal
way.

Parents often think that teaching a girl child to manage the kitchen is more important than
sending her to school. Many feel that it is an unnecessary financial burden to send a girl child
to school as subsequently she will be married off and shifted to some other family. This
orthodox belief of parents is responsible for gender disparity.

5. Social Altitude:

Though many social activists and reformers carried their crusade against all social odds to
restore honour and dignity to women, attitudinal disparities still hunt our rural masses.

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Despite pronounced social development and technological advancement, women in our
society still continue to be victims of exploitation, superstition, illiteracy and social atrocities.

The social stigma that women are housekeepers and should be confined to the four walls of
the house is perhaps a viable cause of gender disparity. They should not raise their voice
regarding their fortune for the sake of the prestige of the family. In patriarchal society a lot of
weight age is given to men.

In the health and nutritional field, male members of family are supposed to take fresh and
nutritious food in comparison to women because either they are earning members or head of
the family or they are supposed to be more important than female members. This type of
social attitude is conducive to create the problem of gender discrimination.

6. Lack of Awareness of Women:

Most of the women are unaware of their basic rights and capabilities. They even do not have
the understanding as to how the socio-economic and political forces affect them. They accept
all types of discriminatory practices that persist in our family and society largely due to their
ignorance and unawareness.

Article 15 of the Indian constitution states that the state shall not discriminate any citizen on
the grounds of only sex. The irony is that there still is widespread discrimination which is a
form of injustice to women. Hence at the onset of the new millennium let this generation be a
historic example by putting an end to the gender – based discriminations by unfurling the flag
of gender justice in all our action and dealings.

As Desai has stated, if women get equal opportunities like men, they can work in every field
like men. Today if she lags behind a little, it is not her fault but the fault of traditions which
have suppressed them for centuries , owing to this, her own thoughts like also hang around
only familial life and her nearest environment also does not provide favourable conditions for
her devotion in the outside work. In order to change the situation along with economic

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growth social progress is also greatly required. Hence the need of the hour is to effectively
combat gender disparity as to promote gender equality by sufficiently empowering the
women.

Gender Inequality Index (GII)

The GII is an inequality index. It measures gender inequalities in three important aspects of
human development—reproductive health, measured by maternal mortality ratio and
adolescent birth rates; empowerment, measured by proportion of parliamentary seats
occupied by females and proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and older with
at least some secondary education; and economic status, expressed as labour market
participation and measured by labour force participation rate of female and male populations
aged 15 years and older. The GII is built on the same framework as the IHDI—to better
expose differences in the distribution of achievements between women and men. It measures
the human development costs of gender inequality. Thus the higher the GII value the more
disparities between females and males and the more loss to human development.

The GII is computed using the association-sensitive inequality measure suggested by Seth
(2009), which implies that the index is based on the general mean of general means of
different orders—the first aggregation is by a geometric mean across

dimensions; these means, calculated separately for women and men, are then aggregated
using a harmonic mean across genders. india is ranked 127 in 2017

We can have data without information but we cannot have information without
data,” Daniel Keys Moran once said. For creating effective public policy, states need to
spend a significant amount of time extracting empirical data on the social and
economic status of its people. India’s growth performance in recent years suffers from a
peculiar socio-economic problem that defies the conventional wisdom addressing
distributive benefits of higher economic growth. As the rate of aggregate growth over the
last decade has significantly risen across the country, relational inequalities surfacing from
traditionally-established social hierarchies have further proliferated. The charts below
highlight the magnitude of gender inequality in India, based on various indicators.

Population growth

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In terms of the overall working age population ratio, there is a higher percentage of
women than men. This presents a greater opportunity for growth-related benefits, by
creating more jobs for women (aged 15-64) across all sectors. However, relational
inequalities in facilitating access to opportunities, including basic economic facilities and
protective social security, make it extremely difficult for women to gain access to higher-
income opportunities.

Access to education

Over the last few decades, with multiple state-led child education programmes targeting
school enrolment levels, the enrolment rate for females have gone up in the primary
schooling system, supplemented with a drop in the child dropout ratio for girls. This has
been seen as the effect of efforts made by both state and non-state actors.

However, the challenge over the last decade has been to substantially increase the female
enrolment rate in secondary and tertiary education, where one can observe a significant
gender divide, affecting the overall female literacy rates.

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The low enrolment of females in secondary and tertiary education culminates in low
bachelor-level undergraduate education attainment (aged 25+) for females, significantly
affecting their ability to find employment in the organised sector.

Healthcare

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If we observe trends in healthcare indicators like mortality rates, adolescent fertility rate,
life expectancy for females and so on, the overall situation for females continues to get
worse across India. A poorly-financed healthcare system accompanied by a limited social

security coverage system makes it extremely difficult to finance rising out-of-pocket

expenditure, particularly for women.

Employment scenario

The lag in women’s access to basic social opportunities presents an enormous challenges
for women when it comes to being absorbed by a highly-fragmented organised sector,
thereby forcing most women to work in the unorganised, informal sector. In addition,
youth unemployment rate for females (ages 12-24) too has considerably gone up over the
last decade.

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The continuous drop in the overall female labour force participation rate reflects a macro
employment policy failure. It is important to mention here that most women working in
the self-employed or unpaid household employment category are inadequately captured by
indicators measuring labour productivity. This raises fundamental questions on a gendered
understanding of what we define as “work”, which in traditional economic measurement
indices include only the monetised aspects of work as employment.

Access to basic financial services

Another interesting observation one can find in the World Bank data on gender-wise
access to financial and mobile accounts in India is a low female-male ratio in accessing
basic financial services.

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The relational inequality seems to be the case in spite of a higher rate of growth seen
across these services (like in banking and telecommunication) after the 1990s, warranting
a deeper research into the causal factors.

Instances of gender-based violence

In accounting for gender-based violence or crimes against women, a number of

recent studies document the increasing violence (or increasing reporting of such violence)
faced by women across India.

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The indicator above attempts to account for cross-country sampled responses of married
women across India to gauge the extent to which married women find physical violence
from their husband justifiable, and under what circumstance. More than 45% of the women
believe that a husband is “justified in beating his wife for either a) neglecting the children,
b) refusal to sex with him, c) going out without his permission, d) burning the food, e) as a
result of verbal argument with him”.

Tackling a deep, socially-embedded problem like gender inequality requires coordinated

social policy and long-term measures from any developing state. Apart from the need to
closely study the patterns emerging from the data highlighted here, there is an urgent need
for the Indian state and non-state actors (via greater awareness and education) to address
intra and extra-household gender inequality, measurable here through the distributional
patterns of economic and social resources between women and men. Prioritising the need

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to address gender inequality remains a critical developmental issue for the state and its
citizens.

LAWS PROTECTING WOMEN FROM GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN INDIA

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

The Constitution of India plays a pioneer role in protecting the women from discrimination
and ensuring gender justice in the present times. It can be said that the Constitution being
supreme law of the land significantly addresses the questions

related to woman and also responds to the challenges. The whole legal system is to be framed
according to the provisions of the Constitution of India. But law alone cannot change the
society in a night, but it will certainly bring positive changes and also ensure that the
discriminated cannot be dealt in any manner whatsoever.

Article 14 of the Act reads as follows:

Equality before law

The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the
laws within the territory of India Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race,
caste, sex or place of birth. Article 14, therefore, not only provides the British concept of
equality before law but also gives equal protection of law which is an American concept. The
provisions have wide connotations and very protect the women form discrimination from
their counterparts.

Article 15 reads as follows:

Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth

1.The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste,
sex, place of birth or any of them

2. No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them,
be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to

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-access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and palaces of public entertainment; or- the use of
wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out
of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public

3. Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for
women and children

Thus Article 15(1) specifically prohibits any kind of discrimination against women on the
basis of sex, caste etc. and article15(3) makes special provision for the women favouring laws
in order to protect the women and uplift them from such discrimination.

Article 16 reads as under:

Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment

1.There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or
appointment to any office under the State

2. No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth,
residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect or, any
employment or office under the State Article 16 of the Constitution provides for equality of
opportunity to all, in matters relating to public employment or appointment to any office and
specifically forbids discrimination inter-alia on the ground of sex. These articles are all
justiciable and form the basis of our legal-constitutional edifice. Not only the State is required
to protect the women from discrimination but it is the fundamental duty of every individual to
ensure that the dignity of women is protected. Article 51 A reads as follows:

It shall be the duty of every citizen of India-

(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of
India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce
practices derogatory to the dignity of women; Thus it forms part of our personal obligation to
protect the dignity of women and not to resort to any activities which are derogatory to the
women.

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, the Maternity Benefit Act,1961, the NREGA,2005, the
Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques(Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994, the Dowry

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Prohibition Act, 1961 and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act,1956 are some of the laws
related to abolish gender discrimination and to enhance women empowerment in India.

Although these principles are strictly not justiciable, the Supreme Court of India, through its
judicial activism, has infused dynamism into these non-justiciable provisions and issued
directions to the state to implement them. The 73rd and 74thAmendments (1993) to the
Indian Constitution have served as a major breakthrough towards enhancing the women’s
participation in democratic process.

The Supreme Court in Muthamma v. Union of India and Air India v Nargesh Mirza struck
down discriminatory service conditions requiring female employees to obtain government
permission before marriage and denying married and pregnant women the right to be
employed. In Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, the Supreme Court observed that Equality in
employment can be seriously impaired when women are subjected to gender-specific
violence, such as sexual harassment in the workplace. And therefore issued guidelines to
ensure women have equal working conditions and are protected from sexual harassment.In
Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. Ltd v . Audrey D’Costa the Court observed that there was
discrimination in payment of wages to lady stenographers and such discrimination was being
perpetuated under the garb of a settlement between the employees and the employer. The
Court finally not only made it mandatory to pay equal remuneration to lady stenographers as
their male counterparts but also observed that the ground of financial incapability of the
management cannot be a ground to seek exemption from the Equal Remuneration Act,1976.
Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005 is a piece of central legislation that was brought into
force in all our states. The Act confers equal rights of inheritance to Hindu women along with
men, thus achieving the constitutional mandate of equality. Interpretation of the Guardianship
law in the light of Article 15 by the Supreme Court in GithalHariharan v. Reserev Bank of
India could equate the position of mother to that of father in the matter of guardianship.

BAN ON PRENATAL DIAGNOSTIC TESTING

Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT)Act, 1994 is an Act of the

Parliament of India enacted to stop female foeticides and arrest the declining sex ratio in
India.The act banned prenatal sex determination. This process began in the early 1990s when
ultrasound techniques gained widespread use in India. There was a tendency for families to
continuously produce children until a male child was born. Foetal sex determination and sex
selective abortion by medical professionals has today grown into a Rs. 1,000 crore industry

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(US$ 244 million). Social discrimination against women and a preference for sons have
promoted. According to the decennial Indian census, the sex ratio in the 0-6 age group in
India went from 104.0 males per 100 females in 1981, to 105.8 in 1991, to 107.8 in 2001, to
109.4 in 2011. The ratio is significantly higher in certain states such as Punjab and Haryana
(126.1 and 122.0, as of 2001).

Objectives

The main purpose of enacting the act is to ban the use of sex selection techniques before or
after conception and prevent the misuse of prenatal diagnostic technique for sex selective
abortion.

Salient features

Offences under this act include conducting or helping in the conduct of prenatal diagnostic
technique in the unregistered units, sex selection on a man or woman, conducting PND test
for any purpose other than the one mentioned in the act, sale, distribution, supply, renting etc.
of any ultra sound machine or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of the foetus.

Main provisions in the act are:

The Act provides for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception. It regulates
the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques, like ultrasound and amniocentesis by allowing
them their use only to detect:

1. genetic abnormalities

2. metabolic disorders

3. chromosomal abnormalities

4. certain congenital malformations

5. haemoglobinopathies

6. sex linked disorders.

No laboratory or centre or clinic will conduct any test including ultrasonography for the
purpose of determining the sex of the foetus. No person, including the one who is conducting

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the procedure as per the law, will communicate the sex of the foetus to the pregnant woman
or her relatives by words, signs or any other method.

Any person who puts an advertisement for pre-natal and pre-conception sex determination
facilities in the form of a notice, circular, label, wrapper or any document, or advertises
through interior or other media in electronic or print form or engages in any visible
representation made by means of hoarding, wall painting, signal, light, sound, smoke or gas,
can be imprisoned for up to three years and fined Rs.10,000.

Compulsory Registration: The Act mandates compulsory registration of all diagnostic

laboratories, all genetic counselling centres, genetic laboratories, genetic clinics and
ultrasound clinics.

Pre-conception sex selection: Recently developed techniques of sex at the time of conception
like Ericsson method (X and Y chromosome separation) and pre-implementational genetic
diagnosis (PGD) are also brought under the ambit of the law.

Maintenance of Records: All Genetic Counseling Centers, Genetic Laboratories, Genetic

Clinics and Ultrasound clinics, irrespective of whatever they are involved as regards
diagnosis for gynecological or other purposes, would now have to maintain records of all the
tests conducted by them.

Implications of the amendment of 2003 are:

1. Amendment of the act mainly covered bringing the technique of pre conception sex
selection within the ambit of the act

2. Bringing ultrasound within its ambit

3. Empowering the central supervisory board, constitution of state level supervisory board

4. Provision for more stringent punishments

5. Empowering appropriate authorities with the power of civil court for search, seizure and
sealing the machines and equipments of the violators

6. Regulating the sale of the ultrasound machines only to registered bodies

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THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE

(PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) ACT, 2013

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal)

Act, 2013 is a legislative act in India that seeks to protect women from sexual harassment at
their place of work. It was passed by the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian
Parliament) on 3 September 2012. It was passed by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the
Indian Parliament) on 26 February 2013. The Bill got the assent of the President on 23 April
2013. The Act came into force from 9 December 2013. This statute superseded the Vishakha
Guidelines for prevention of sexual harassment introduced by the Supreme Court of India. It
was reported by the International Labour Organization that very few Indian employers were
compliant to this statute. Most Indian employer’s have not implemented the law despite the
legal requirement that any workplace with more than 10 employees need to implement it. The
government has threatened to take stern action against employers who fail to comply with
this law.

Objectives of the Act:

To provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace and for the
prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.

It addresses:

1. Sexual harassment results in violation of the fundamental rights of a woman to equality

under articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India and her right to life and to live with
dignity under article 21 of the Constitution and right to practice any profession or to carry on
any occupation, trade or business which includes a right to a safe environment free from
sexual harassment;

2. The protection against sexual harassment and the right to work with dignity are universally
recognised human rights by international conventions and instruments such as Convention on
the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, which has been ratified on
the 25th June,1993 by the Government of India;

3. To make provisions for giving effect to the said Convention for protection of women
against sexual harassment at workplace.

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Background and provisions:

According to the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India:

The Act will ensure that women are protected against sexual harassment at all the work
places, be it in public or private.This will contribute to realisation of their right to gender
equality, life and liberty and equality in working conditions everywhere. The sense of
security at the workplace will improve women’s participation in work, resulting in their
economic empowerment and inclusive growth.

The Act uses a definition of sexual harassment which was laid down by the Supreme Court of
India in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997). Article 19 (1) g of the Indian Constitution
affirms the right of all citizens to be employed in any profession of their choosing or to
practice their own trade or business.

Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan established that actions resulting in a violation of one’s rights
to ‘Gender Equality’ and ‘Life and Liberty’ are in fact a violation of the victim’s fundamental
right under Article 19 (1) g. The case ruling establishes that sexual harassment violates a
woman’s rights in the workplace and is thus not just a matter of personal injury.

Under the Act, which also covers students in schools and colleges as well as patients in
hospitals, employers and local authorities will have to set up grievance committees to
investigate all complaints. Employers who fail to comply will be punished with a fine of up
to 50,000 rupees.

The legislative progress of the Act has been a lengthy one. The Bill was first introduced by
women and child development minister Krishna Tirath in 2007 and approved by the Union
Cabinet in January 2010. It was tabled in the Lok Sabha in December 2010 and referred to
the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources Development. The committee’s
report was published on 30 November 2011. In May 2012, the Union Cabinet approved an
amendment to include domestic workers. The amended Bill was finally passed by the Lok
Sabha on 3 September 2012. The Bill was passed by the RajyaSabha (the upper house of the
Indian Parliament) on 26 February 2013. It received the assent of the President of India and
was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, Section-1, dated the 23rd April
2013 as Act No. 14 of 2013

Major Features:

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The Act defines sexual harassment at the work place and creates a mechanism for redressal of
complaints. It also provides safeguards against false or malicious charges.

The definition of “aggrieved woman”, who will get protection under the Act is extremely
wide to cover all women, irrespective of her age or employment status, whether in the
organised or unorganised sectors, public or private and covers Clients, customers and
domestic workers as well.

While the “workplace” in the Vishaka Guidelines is confined to the traditional office set-up
where there is a clear employer-employee relationship, the Act goes much further to include
organisations, department, office, branch unit etc.in the public and private sector, organized
and unorganized,hospitals, nursing homes, educational institutions, sports institutes,stadiums,
sports complex and any place visited by the employee during the course of employment
including the transportation. Even non-traditional workplaces which involve tele-commuting
will get covered under this law.

The Committee is required to complete the inquiry within a time period of 90 days. On
completion of the inquiry, the report will be sent to the employer or the District Officer, as
the case may be, they are mandated to take action on the report within 60 days.

Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or

branch with 10 or more employees. The District Officer is required to constitute a Local
Complaints Committee at each district, and if required at theblock level.The Complaints
Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering evidence.The Complaints
Committees are required to provide for conciliation before initiating an inquiry, if requested
by the complainant.Penalties have been prescribed for employers. Non-compliance with the
provisions of the Act shall be punishable with a fine of up to INR 50,000. Repeated violations
may lead to higher penalties and cancellation of licence or registration to conduct business.

HINDU SUCCESSION ACT, 1956 :

The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to amend and
codify the law relating to intestate or unwilled succession, among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains,
and Sikhs. The significant amendment related to removal of discrimination was made in the
year 2005 by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005.

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Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, 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.

MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW (SHARIAT) APPLICATION ACT OF 1937

The inheritance rights are governed by Sharia and the share of females are less than males as
mandated by Quran.

EQUAL REMUNERATION ACT, 1976

It is the duty of employer under the Act to pay equal remuneration to men and women
workers for same work or work of a similar nature. No employer can, while making
recruitment for the same work or work of a similar nature, or in any condition of service
subsequent to recruitment such as promotions, training or transfer, make any discrimination
against women except where the employment of women in such work is prohibited or
restricted by or under any law for the time being in force.

CRIMINAL LAW (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2013

The Cabinet Ministers on 1 February 2013 approved for bringing an ordinance, for giving
effect to the changes in law as suggested by the Verma Committee Report. According to
former Minister of Law and Justice, Ashwani Kumar, 90 percent of the suggestions given by
the Verma Committee Report have been incorporated into the Ordinance. The ordinance was

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subsequently replaced by a Bill with numerous changes, which was passed by theLok Sabha
on 19 March 2013

New offences:

This new Act has expressly recognised certain acts as offences which were dealt under
related laws. These new offences like, acid attack, sexual harassment, voyeurism, stalking
have been incorporated into the Indian Penal Code:

1. Section 326A- Acid attack- Imprisonment not less than ten years but which may extend to
imprisonment for life and with fine which shall be just and reasonable to meet the medical
expenses and it shall be paid to the victim.

2. Section 326B-Attempt to Acid attack- Imprisonment not less than five years but which
may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

3. Section 354A - Sexual harassment- Rigorous imprisonment up to five years, or with fine,
or with both in case of offence described in clauses (i) & (ii)Imprisonment up to one year, or
with fine, or with both in other cases

- It only protects women. Provisions are:

- physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures; or

4. a demand or request for sexual favours; or

5. making sexually coloured remarks; or

6. forcibly showing pornography; or

7. any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conductof sexual nature.

Section 354B - Act with intent to disrobe a woman- Imprisonment not less than three years
but which may extend to seven years and with fine. Only protects women against anyone who
“Assaults or uses criminal force to any woman or abets such act with the intention of
disrobing or compelling her to be naked.

Section 354C- Voyeurism- In case of first conviction, imprisonment not less than one year,
but which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine, and be punished on a
second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment of eitherdescription for a term which

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shall not be less than three years, but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be
liable to fine. Only protects women. By implication, women may prey voyeuristically upon
men with impunity. The prohibited action is defines thus: “Watching or capturing a woman in
“private act”, which includes an act of watching carried out in a place which, in the
circumstances, would reasonably beexpected to provide privacy, and where the victim’s
genitals, buttocks or breasts are exposed or covered only in underwear; or the victim is using
a lavatory; or the person is doing a sexual act that is not of a kind ordinarily done in public.”

Section 354D- Stalking- Imprisonment not less than one year but which may extend to three
years, and shall also be liable to fine Only protects women from being stalked by men. By
implication, women may stalk men with impunity. The prohibited action is defined thus: “To
follow a woman and contact, or attempt to contact such woman to foster personal interaction
repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman; or monitor the use by a
woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication. There are
exceptions to this section which include such act being in course of preventing or detecting a
crime authorised by State or in compliance of certain law or was reasonable and justified.

WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL

Women’s Reservation Bill or the Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, is a pending bill in
India which proposes to amend the Constitution of India to reserve 33 per cent of all seats in
the Lower house of Parliament of India, the Lok Sabha, and in all state legislative assemblies
for women. The seats to be reserved in rotation will be determined by draw of lots in such a
way that a seat shall be reserved only once in three consecutive general elections. The Upper
House Rajya Sabha passed the bill on 9 Mar 2010. As of February 2014, the Lower House
Lok Sabha has not yet voted on the bill. If the Lok Sabha were to approve the bill, it would
then have to be passed by half of India’s state legislatures and signed by the President.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.WOMEN EMPOWERMENT BY DR.LAKSHMIPATHI RAJU

2.SOCIOLOGY BY S.R. MYNENI

3. https://thewire.in/economy/ten-charts-gender-inequality

4. http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-gii

5.https://www.worldwidejournals.com/paripex/recent_issues_pdf/2015/September/September
_2015_1492176817__30.pdf

6.http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/india-2/gender-discrimination-in-india-6-major-
causes/47671

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