Final Abstract , Women And Legal Rights.docx

ABSTRACT On Women And Legal Rights

‘Women’ are the most significant and venerated segment of the society. Being a woman is an amalgamation of excellence in various social arenas such as in science and technology, politics, holding up the responsibility of household, holding prestigious positions in the ever-changing vigorous capital industries. In the current era, women hold nothing less than the roles and responsibilities owned by the men. If not being same in deliverance of outputs with that of a Male, women are better and successful in deliverance of outputs.

Yet it is the misfortune of the civilization as a whole that women are still considered and prejudiced to be the weaker sex in the society. The so-called modern society and liberal thought process is still barred by the orthodox mindset of certain pseudo liberals infested in the social pandemonium. Women have always strived forward towards perfection personified, yet their freedom and willpower to be the most perfect version of themselves is hampered and obstructed by the evil manifestation of male dominated social structures. To overcome this ever-growing tussle between women and attainment of basic fundamental existence in the society, the Indian legal fraternity and the Constitution of India which is the ‘grund norm' or the law of the land, has provided certain legal rights and remedies that protect a woman's rights and equality with reference to existence in the social strata. As per the constitutional provisions as per articles 131, 142, 193 and 214 of the Indian Constitution, women possess equal rights and remedies as of their male counterparts and the state must not abridge women from this equality guaranteed by the Constitution of India.

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Article 13: The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by this Part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void 2 Article 14: The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. 3 Article 19: Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc. 4 Article 21: No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law

The core and crux of this research paper is to deeply analyze the various rights and remedies conferred to women, which they should be familiar with to attain the equal position and upliftment from the social evils they suffered through.

Our research paper will mainly focus on following aspects of the legal rights of women:

Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013:- This act protects women from the sexual predators infested at workplace which use their power and position to exploit women.

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Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,19715:- The aim of the Act is to reduce the occurrence of illegal abortion and consequent maternal mortality and morbidity

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Maternity Benefit Act,1861:- This act regulates the employment of women and maternity benefits mandated by law. It basically includes maternity leave, nursing breaks, medical allowance, etc.

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Indian Divorce Act, 1969:- The Indian Divorce Act allows the dissolution of marriage, mutual consent, nullity of marriage, judicial separation and restitution of conjugal rights.

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Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961:- This said act protects women from the socially iniquitous and mala fide practice of dowry. According to this act, taking or giving of dowry at the time of the marriage to the bride or the bridegroom and their family is to be penalized.

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Special Marriage Act, 1954:- The major inputs of this act is to provide – a specific form of marriage in certain cases, provide for registration of certain marriages and, to provide for divorce and annulment of the marriage.

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The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006:-- One of the most vehement and vicious practice is that of child marriage which robs of a child from his/her innocence and

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The Act came into effect into 1972, was amended in 1975 and 2002

childhood and burdens them with the responsibility of marriage which hampers their overall physical and mental health. This act is to curd this ill practice infested in many remote parts of India. 

Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act, 1986:- To prevent the objectification of women and being presented in an indecent/vulgar form this law came into existence.

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National Commission for Women Act, 1990 6 :- The NCW represents the stature of women in India and provides a voice for their issues and concerns. The National Commission for Women Act aims to improve the status of women and worked for their economic empowerment.

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Equal Remuneration Act, 1976:--This act prevent the discrimination faced by women in workplace, wherein they are not equally remunerated for their services and efforts as with respect to their male counterparts. This act provides for payment of equal recompense to men and women workers.

Furthermore, our paper will focus on the interplay of legal rights and their attainment in the 21 st century. Various nuances of legal structure for the benefits of women would be emphasized upon in this research paper. We would also include relevant case laws with respect to the legal rights guaranteed to women by the Indian legal System.

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The National Commission for Women (NCW) is a statutory body of the Government of India, established in January 1992.