To quote Nelson Mandela, “To deny people of the human rights is to challenge their very humanity”. Human rights refer to the entitlement to a treatment that a person enjoys simply by the virtue of being a human. These rights are universal implying that they are above the contingency of belonging to a state or culture. Although the concept dates back to the 18th century, it was only recently popularised in the twentieth century. The widespread acceptance of UDHR in 1948 has changed the face of global politics shifting the nature of international politics and law from simply the interest of nation states to the claims of individuals against the state.

The conceptual framework of the evolution of human rights propose the word generation in two different ways. On one hand it refers to the historical transition and on the other it refers to the qualitative shifts. Human rights are a commitment and vision that is constantly developing in theory and practice. The first generation established principles, the second generation led to standard settings, the third generation helped coping with the new world order and fourth generation is making rights real. Human rights are deemed to be universal in application, inalienable in exercise and inherent to all people.

The right to life, integrity, liberty, and security of humans are among the first generation of human rights, often known as civil and political rights. There is a right to privacy, freedom of religion and belief, freedom of thought, speech, mobility, and political engagement, when it comes to the administration of justice. Freedom from discrimination, harassment, intimidation, torture, and other forms of coercion, among other things. Human rights of the second generation are social provisions of rights or services that allow people to reach their full potential as humans. These include the right to work, a decent wage, housing, healthcare, Social Security, and retirement benefits. These are sometimes known as affirmative rights, and require the government to take affirmative action. The concept of human rights underwent a significant transformation in the 1990s. Collective rights for the community, population, and society were introduced, alluding to collective environmental and developmental rights. The fourth generation of human rights are concerned with putting the rights into practice, a call for the international community to come together and reaffirm its commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Indian Constitution embodies fundamental human rights in the sense of civil liberties, which have a modern flavour and overtone. The Constitution should be read and understood in light of the high and noble ideal articulated in the preamble. On January 1, 1942, India ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights might not be a legally enforceable instrument, but it illustrates how India understood the nature of human rights at the time the Constitution was adopted,” the Supreme Court observed in the case of Keshvanand Bharti v. State of Kerela. Part 3 of the Indian Constitution enshrines the essence of human rights in articles 12 to 32, as well as ensuring that they are enforced through the courts. The Directive Principles establish standards for the state to follow in order to protect the welfare and basic needs of citizens and inhabitants.

The scope of human rights is growing and evolving owing to the dynamic nature of the same. The international community faces a new dawn of inclusivity wherein different and unique identities of humans claim recognition, followed by novel interpretation of human rights. Our constitution being a flexible one has been able to withstand the consistent challenges that have come its way and continues to be one of the greatest codifications.

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

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We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.

We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge