Tag: Equal Law

Changing Status of Women in Modern India

Article

September 4, 2021
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6 min
2 years
1,122 word

Tagged Equal Law, Equality, Gender Inequality, Male Dominated, Men Society

Changing Status of Women in Modern India

Women are the Building Block of Family. They are the thread that ties up the whole family. Women build Family, Family builds Home, Home a Society, and at last Society transforms Nation.

Women are the Building Block of Family. They are the thread that ties up the whole family. Women build Family, Family builds Home, Home a Society, and at last Society transforms Nation.

AUTHOR : Diya Mittal (Trinity Institute)

Introduction

“To awaken the people, it is the women who must be awakened. Once she is on the move, the family moves, the village moves, the nation moves.”

~PANDIT JAWAHARLAL NEHRU

Women are the Building Block of Family. They are the thread that ties up the whole family. Women build Family, Family builds Home, Home a Society, and at last Society transforms Nation. According to Hindu Mythology, Goddess Laxmi and Saraswati don’t come in Houses where women are ill treated. State can only be developing when the status of all genders will improve, Country cannot progress unless the condition of women rises.

Women in Earlier Phase

Since the beginning of time women were considered as inferiors. Even though they are not physically stronger than men, they are emotionally much stronger than men. Indian society became male dominated society and women were considered as men’s slaves. Gradually they become weaker in the society because men used to keep women beneath their thumb. They were coerced to heed man blindly as a dumb cattle living under four walls of house. Earlier the elders of the family were not happy with the birth of a female child and on the other hand they became so happy if the child born was male. They thought male children will become a source of money whereas female children will prove consumers of money. They were forced to live under the influence of parents before marriage whereas under influence of husbands after marriage. They were only perceived as Homemakers of the Family. Women were the unfortunate victim of patriarchal society which has harboured the violence against women in the shapes of customs and norms like female infanticide, sati system, domestic violence, dowry and many more.

Women in Recent Phase

The gradual positive swift in the Indian society have been proved to be favourable for the Women status. Now the women are raising their voice and helping in shaping the fortune of the country. From the position of a Homemaker to the field of life there is no sphere which remains unvanquished by Indian women.

Notable Positive Changes took place in society are-

Women are excelling in every arena: Politics, Business, Administrators, Doctors, Engineers, Sports and much more.
Female activists are also come forward over issues as Female infanticide, Gender Discrimination, Women’s safety, Dowry. Many Female writers also emerged in society.
Women also hold Right to Speech and Expression and Right to Equality.
They have freedom to choose their life partners of their own will.
They are getting a chance to complete their education at a degree level.
Government has also set up a legal age for girls to get married i.e. 18. They are discouraged to marry at an early phase of life.
Females are entitled to a maximum of 12 weeks of Maternity leave.
Gender Prediction Test to reveal the sex of foetus has made illegal.
Many Schemes has also started by government to encourage parents having female child and to get rid of malpractices like female infanticide.
Various Scholarships are also provided to women to achieve in the academic arena.
Government, NGOs, State Governments, and Self Help Groups are also offering financial support in Higher Education, Business Start ups and any other initiatives.
Reservation is also provided in educational institutions, job positions and Parliament.
They are also enjoying the ‘Ladies First Facility’ in different fields.
The Government of India declared 2001 as the year of women’s empowerment. The National Policy for the empowerment of women was also passed in 2001.

Government Initiatives for Women

Legislative Measures enacted by Government are as follows-

The Special Marriage Act, 1954
The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006
The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971

Schemes and Programmes operated by different Department and Ministries are as follows-

Mahila Samridhi Yojana, 1993
Indira Mahila Yojana, 1993
Ujjawala, 2007
Swadhar, 1995
Dhanalakshmi, 2008
Sabla scheme, 2010
Integrated Rural Development Programme
Indira Priyadarshini Yojana

Darker Side

Despite all the transformation that took place in today’s era women’s condition still needs a lot to be improved. On the one hand women are touching the heights of sky and on other they are still the victims of Male Dominated Society. All laws that have been passed today need to be implemented in Person’s mentality rather than only just on paper. Despite passing the Equal Remuneration Act, female are still not paid equal for their work. Heinous Crimes like Rape, Acid attack, Sexual Molestation are still prevailing in our Society and as a consequence parents fear to send their daughters outside alone. They don’t prefer to send their daughters far to build a career as roads are not safe for women especially at night. Families still want to bless their sons. Rural areas are more prone than urban zones. Evil practices like Dowry, Female Foeticide, and Domestic Violence are in larger figures than urban counterparts. Women are also found less educated in Rural Zones.

Measures should be taken to uplift the status of women in society are as follows :-

More emphasis on Martial Arts should be done.
Ultrasound and Scan centres carry out diagnostic techniques that reveal the sex of foetus should be liable for heavy punishments.
Laws need to be made stricter for crime committers.
Legal age for girls to get married should be raised to 21.
Marital Rape should be made a Criminal offence.
Heavy damages should be imposed on shops selling acid that don’t have license.

Conclusion

“There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing.’’

~Swami Vivekananda

Steady transformation in the status of women has been taking place as compared to the early era but still a lot more remains to be achieved. Now women come out from the four walls of their house and play multi- dimensional roles. They have occupied the dignified position in Family and Society. However Crime free society for women is still a challenge. Article 15 ensuring Right to Equality needs to be implemented properly. They should be made bold and Self reliant. Instead of tolerating them, they should take stand against injustice. Women’s day is not celebrated to exalt the charm of women but to create awareness about women’s safety in public.

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What is Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India – An Overview

Article / Law

August 7, 2021
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7 min
2 years
1,248 word

Tagged Citizen, Equal Law, Law, Religion, UCC

What is Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India – An Overview

Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a proposal in India (also in other countries) to make and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion or any other thing in matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption. UCC is defined in our Constitution under Article 44.

AUTHOR : SHOBHIT KUMAR

First of all, I want to elaborate the abbreviation UCC, UCC means Uniform Civil Code. Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a proposal in India (also in other countries) to make and implement personal laws of citizens which apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion or any other thing in matters of marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption. UCC is defined in our Constitution under Article 44 of Part 4 (Directive Principles of State Policy); it states that, “it is the duty of the state to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India”. In other words we can say that it means One Country One Rule. After the revocation of Article 370, the central family law Acts were extended to Jammu and Kashmir. In my opinion, this is another step towards implementing UCC throughout India.

We can find the roots of UCC in British period. In 1835, British government submitted its report stressing the need for uniformity in the codification of Indian law. After recommendation, a bill was then adopted in 1956 as the Hindu Succession Act, it was for Hindus only, and however, there were separate personal laws for Muslim, Christians and Parsi. The honorable courts have often said in their judgments that the government should move towards a uniform civil code. The Shah Bano case is well known in this regard, but the courts have made the same point in several other major judgments. So, this is a brief history or concept of Uniform Civil Code.

Let’s discuss the advantages of UCC. The UCC aims to provide protection to vulnerable sections as envisaged by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar sir, including women and religious minorities, while also promoting nationalistic favor through unity.

The Uniform Civil Code simplifies the complex laws around marriage ceremonies, inheritance, succession, adoptions making them one for all. The same civil law will then be applicable to all citizens irrespective of their faith. When enacted the code will work to simplify laws that are segregated at present on the basis of religious beliefs like the Hindu code bill, Sharia law, and others.

The most important two aspects of Modern day India will be largely addressed by UCC. First is Secularism, which is the objective enshrined in the Preamble, a secular republic needs a common law for all citizens rather than differentiated rules based on religious practices. Second is Gender Justice, India has separate sets of personal laws for each religion governing marriages, divorce, succession, adoption and maintenance. However, the rights of women are usually limited under religious law, be it Hindu or Muslim. The practice of triple talaq is a classic example.

If a uniform civil code is enacted, all personal laws will cease to exist. It will do away with gender biases in Muslim law, Hindu law and Christian law that have been often challenged by women on the ground that they violate the right to equality. In this way, we can make a broad picture of the modern day need of Uniform Civil Code.

After discussing various plus points, let us discuss the disadvantages of UCC. From the start, exceptions in existing family laws are there. Such as, central family laws are imposed in the whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir, later these were exempted in the Union Territory of Pondicherry, in Goa, Daman and Diu, north-eastern states of Nagaland and Mizoram, emanates from Articles 371A and 371G of the Constitution, decreeing that no parliamentary legislation will replace the customary law and religion-based system for its administration.

After Constitutional exemption UCC is an issue of Communal Politics, the demand for a uniform civil code has been framed in the context of communal politics. A large section of society sees it as majoritarianism in the form of social reform.

Lastly there is a Constitutional Hurdle, Article 25 of Indian constitution, which seeks to preserve the freedom to practice and propagate any religion, generates conflict and also the concepts of equality enshrined under Article 14 of Indian Constitution. There are various constitutional articles which can stop UCC implementation.

Article 15 says, there will be no discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 25 describes freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion, subject to reasonable restrictions on the grounds of public order, health and mortality.

Article 25 (b) provides for regulating secular activities associated with religious practices, social welfare and reform.

Article 26 is related to Right to establish and administer religious institutions.

Article 27 prohibits the state from levying a tax, proceeds of which are used for the benefit of a particular religion.

Last but not the least, Article 28 deals with the issue of religious instruction in educational institutions.

In this way, we can say that implementing UCC will not be so easy.

As we saw that, UCC has various plus points but also it can generate a large scale outrage in the name of Communal discrimination. We should find out some way forward. The country or we can say the government should follow a collaborative approach, the government and society will have to work hard equally to build trust, but more importantly, make common cause with social reformers rather than religious conservatives.

Rather than an omnibus approach, the government could bring separate aspects such as marriage, adoption, succession and maintenance into a uniform civil code in stages.

And the other thing is the government would also do well to complement the overdue move towards a uniform civil code with a comprehensive review of several other laws in the context of gender justice.

Bringing Jammu and Kashmir into the country’s mainstream of family laws is an exercise that needs to be undertaken also for Goa, Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Nagaland and Mizoram; it will help the government to make UCC more successful in the country.

India has a unique blend of codified personal laws of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Parsis. There exists no uniform family-related law in a single statute book for all Indians which is acceptable to all religious communities who live in India. However, a majority of them believe that UCC is definitely desirable and would go a long way in strengthening and consolidating the Indian nationhood. The differences of opinion are on its timing and the manner in which it should be realized.

Instead of using it as an emotive issue to gain political advantage, political and intellectual leaders should try to evolve a consensus. The question is not of minority protection, or even of national unity, it is simply one of treating each human person with dignity, something which personal laws have so far failed to do.

Another important fact to keep in mind is that Goa is the only Indian state to have a UCC in the form of common family law. The Portuguese Civil Code that remains in force even today was introduced in the 19th century in Goa and wasn’t replaced after its liberation.

Even according to experts Modi govt has been working for a Uniform Civil Code. In the 2019 Independence Day speech there were two special mentions: 1st was abrogation of Article 370 and the 2^nd was population control and for that UCC is very much important.

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