This article has been written by Ms. Vaaghdevi, a student studying B.A.LLB from Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam. The author is a 1st-year law student.
Introduction:
The Indian Constitution protects the social and legal rights of women in India. In India, women were held in great regard. But in the meanwhile, the situation for women got worse. Hence to protect women’s dignity and self-respect, numerous provisions were included in the Indian Constitution. Our laws, development strategies, plans, and programs have all been created within the context of a democratic polity with the goal of advancing women in a variety of fields. The Indian Constitution not only guarantees women’s equality but also gives the State the authority to take positive discriminatory measures in their favor in order to counteract the accumulated social, economic, educational, and political disadvantages that women experience.
In order to guarantee equal rights for women, India has ratified a number of international agreements and human rights instruments. Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1993 is a significant one among them. The Constitution’s Articles 14, 15, 15(3), 16, 39(a), 39(b), and 39(c) are particularly significant in this respect.
ARTICLE 14:
Article 14 states that “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”. Equality before the law means that everyone is treated equally under the law, whereas equal protection of the law means that discrimination between similarly situated individuals is prohibited. This article ensures that women have equal legal protection and are treated equally before the law, meaning that they won’t face gender-based discrimination.
In Air India v. Nergesh Meerza case, where Regulations 46 and 47 of the Air India Employees Service Regulations, have discriminatory restrictions for male (Flight Pursers) and female (Air Hostesses). These clauses and the Managing Director’s discretionary powers in this area were contested as being in contravention of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. After hearing evidence from both sides, the Supreme Court concluded that the retirement and pregnancy clauses are unconstitutional and that they violate Article 14 of the Constitution because they are arbitrary, self-centered, and harsh. The provisions were to be repealed with immediate effect, per court ruling.
Bhanwari Devi was raped by five men in the historic case of Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan when she sought to prevent child marriage in rural Rajasthan. This prompted a group by the name of “Vishaka” to file a petition seeking for rules on workplace sexual harassment. The prestigious court provided interpretations of Articles 14, 19, and 21 before establishing Vishaka standards for a safer working environment. Despite the different laws and regulations that have been involved in the matter, a study conducted by the Research Department in 2018 found that more than 338 thousand incidences of harassment had been registered in India.
ARTICLE 15:
Article 15 states that ‘the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, or any of them. clause (3) of article 15 specifically mentions about women. It states that Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children. Hence the government may establish specific measures for women and children in accordance with Article 15(3). In order to increase women’s involvement in all activities under the State’s supervision and control, the State may adopt “special measures” that can either take the form of affirmative action or reservations. The State may set aside seats at educational institutions for certain groups, offer cost breaks, or organise specialised coaching sessions.
In Anjali Roy v. State of West Bengal case, the Court observed that Article 15(3) is an exception to Article 15(1) and enables the state to discriminate against males by making a special provision in favour of females.
In Dattatreya Motiram More v. State of Bombay case, the Bombay High Court looked to the social, historic, and economic inequality of women and upheld the reservation of seats for women in municipalities as a special provision to raise the position of women to that of men.
In Charu Khurana vs. Union of India case, where the petitioner, a Hollywood make-up artist, and hairdresser submitted an application to R-5 association to issue her a membership card to work there as a make-up artist and hairdresser. The association refused the application submitted by the petitioner as they were not giving membership to the female worker as a make-up artist and hairdresser. The court held that there can be no discrimination solely on the basis of gender. Equality cannot be achieved in any field if women will not be given equal opportunities. It was also stated that the registrar of the Trade Union should not allow or see that no other trade union should make any such provision which is inconsistent with the constitutional provisions. This was the writ petition was filed by the respondent under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.
ARTICLE 16 :
It guarantees all Indian citizens equal job opportunities at companies. Additionally, there will be no discrimination against women or on the basis of religion, caste, descent, or place of birth at employment. Women should be treated with respect in workplaces, business sectors, and politics, where they are now recognized to be capable and doing well.
In C.B. Muthamma v. Union of India case, the court considered the provision in IFS rules which stipulated that a woman would have to resign if she gets married after joining the foreign service as clearly against ‘gender justice’ (violation of Articles 14 and 15) and in defiance of Article 16 of the Constitution.
ARTICLE 39A:
It entrusts the state to implement policies for men and women to provide them sufficient means of livelihood. It also guarantees equal payment of wages for both men and women.
ARTICLE 42:
Article 42 of India’s constitution imposes an obligation on every employer to provide reasonable and humane working conditions including maternity leave. The status and treatment of women in corporate workplaces is actually quite poor, and they are often taken advantage of by their superiors and managers. The requirements of Article 42 are crucial in this situation, and it is now the employer’s responsibility to provide all employees with favourable working circumstances.
ARTICLE 51A:
Article 51A (e) is part of fundamental duties. It states 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.
ARTICLE 243:
In accordance with Article 243 of the Indian Constitution, women are guaranteed seats in gram panchayats. The ability to participate in arbitration proceedings at the municipal level has increased the social status of women in rural regions. It was granted by 7the 3rd and 74th Amendment Act 1992 by which women were granted reservation of 1/3rd of seats in local bodies of panchayats and municipalities.
CONCLUSION:
Although our constitution guaranteed social, economic, and political equality, rights, and protection to Indian women at the time of our independence, in practice we have yet to give them their due status in society. This has caused the resurgence of issue-based movements earlier in the 1970s and has recently gained momentum once again, such as the anti-dowry movement and the anti-rape movements, among others.
REFERENCES:
1.Anjali Roy v. State of West Bengal AIR 1952 Cal 825
2.Air India v. Nergesh Meerza AIR 1981 SC 1829
3. Vishaka and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan and Ors. AIR 1997 SC 3011
4.Dattatreya Motiram More v. State of Bombay AIR 1953 Bom 311
5.Charu Khurana vs. Union of India 2015 1 SCC 192
6.More, H. (2021) Women’s Empowerment: Constitutional Provisions, Article 15, The FactFactor. Available at: https://thefactfactor.com/facts/law/social-laws/womens-empowerment-article-15/15876/ (Accessed: February 10, 2023).
7.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290691292_Legal_status_and_rights_of_women_ in_Indian_constitution
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