Skip to main content

Women’s rights in the context of legal safeguards and affirmative action in India

By IMPRI Team 

The three-day immersive online legal awareness and certificate training programme on “Women’s Rights, Laws and Policies in India”, organised by IMPRI Gender Impact Studies Center (GISC), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi took place on September 1, 2022 to September 3, 2022. The event was chaired by Prof Vibhuti Patel. Inaugurating the session Ms Tripta Behera, a researcher at IMPRI, welcomed the speakers and participants to the program with an introduction to the eminent panellists.
Commencing the program, the chair for the session, Prof Vibhuti Patel gave a brief about the legal safeguards and affirmative actions for women in the Indian state based on two routes, Judicial and Legislative route, through which India has asserted women’s rights. Further adding to it, she talked about India’s role in shaping the national and international policies for women’s rights and how the Indian parliament adopted the Women Empowerment policy in 2001 and committed to Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals backed by women’s rights.

Day 1 | September 1, 2022

Day 1 of the programme included expert trainers including Prof Saumya Uma, Professor, Jindal Global Law School and Director, Centre for Women’s Rights (JGLS), Adv Sanchita Ain, Advocate-on-Record, Supreme Court of India, and Prof Vishal Narain, Professor, Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon. Prof Uma based her talk on Indian Women’s Movements as a way of resistance to subordination, with the whole history divided into 4 distinct phases: the Social Reform Movement (1800s- early 1900s), the Nationalist Movement (early 1900s – 1947), post-Independence era (1947 – 1977) and Post Emergency/Contemporary period (1977 – present). She talked about how women’s participation in social movements has increased over time.
She pointed out the fact that the initial fight for women’s rights was initiated by men but with time women came to the forefront to fight for their own rights. All in all, she emphasised the indispensable role of the women’s movements in the formulation of laws, policies and institutional reforms to promote equality and inclusiveness. After this, Adv Sanchita Ain shared the presentation on ‘The Rights of Survivors of Sexual Violence under Criminal Law’. She explained, in detail the process, the procedures and the provisions that the women are entitled to but are generally unaware of. She emphasised the importance of counselling after situations of sexual assault/violence as the victim needs psychological, medical and legal support.
She went further to explain the rights and process while undergoing examination, filing the FIR, the investigation procedure and the compensation for the victim. This was an enlightening session that made women aware of their rights and gave them a new perspective on thinking the way they are conditioned by society. The comprehensive presentation by Prof Vishal Narain focused on gender relations in the context of Natural Resource Management with emphasis on water management in which he has done extensive research. He started off by explaining the difference between gender and sex and how gender is a social construct defined by the norms of State law, religion and social practices.
He further explained the different relationships that men and women have with natural resources based on these norms which need to be changed. He also brought light to the dimension of intersectionality between gender and caste and how it changes access to resources. He observed that gender norms are more fluid in the low-class groups than in the high-class groups. This subtle link between gender and natural resource management was very well brought up and explained by Prof Narain.

Day 2 | September 2, 2022

Day 2 of the program included eminent panellists Adv Dr Albertina Almeida, Lawyer and Human Rights Activist, Goa; Dr Amar Jesani, Independent Researcher and Teacher (Bioethics and Public Health), Editor, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, and Adv Dr Shalu Nigam, Advocate, Author, and Researcher, Gender and Human Rights. Starting with the session, Prof Vibhuti Patel gave a brief recap of the topics covered during the seminars on Day 1. She also provided an overview of the topics to be discussed on Day 2 of the workshop. Dr Albertina elaborated on how we should understand and use laws pertaining to sexual harassment in the workplace.
She started by explaining the historical context of the laws pertaining to sexual harassment in the workplace, through examples of cases such as the Bhanwari Devi case, Vishakha guidelines and the Nirbhaya case among others. She explained how each of these cases had different perspectives to offer on the issue. She further talked about the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and highlighted key concepts as defined by the law. She explained the major aspects of this piece of legislation and concluded with a few of its limitations. Dr Amar kicked off his presentation on ‘Abortion: Law and Ethics’ by defining the key concepts of morality and ethics.
He delved into the historical trajectory of the issue and its relation to the medical profession as well as law. Further, he explained the differences between the conservative, liberal and moderate positions on abortion and elaborated on how abortion can be or not be viewed as a woman’s right. To conclude, he discussed a few challenges and dilemmas pertaining to the issue at hand. His lecture comprehensively covered the topic of abortion from ethical, legal as well as medical perspectives. Dr Shalu in her presentation talked about how the conservative patriarchal family ideology operates and is challenged in the courts.
She started her presentation with the concept of domestic violence, the concept itself and its various dimensions. She further talked about the law pertaining to domestic violence and the international framework around it. She moved on to how the issue is dealt with within the courts and gives rise to a ‘clash of ideologies’. She concluded by emphasizing the need for courts to adapt to the changing circumstances and aspirations of the new generation of women who are no longer seeking masters, but rather partners.

Day 3 | September 3, 2022

Day 3 of the program included eminent panellists Prof Bijayalaxmi Nanda, Principal, and Professor of Political Science, Miranda House, University of Delhi, Ms Urvashi Prasad, Director, Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office, NITI Aayog and Dr Nivedita Haran, Former Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala. Kickstarting the session, Prof Patel gave an overview of the previous days and shared the themes for Day 3. Prof Bijayalaxmi in her lecture talked about the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, of 1994 and its role in countering gender discrimination. She started with some important trends regarding the sex ratio and what those trends mean. She highlighted the role played by womens’ movements in India in dealing with issues such as female foeticide and infanticide.
She also talked in detail about policy responses that can help deal with the issue of sex ratio imbalance. She concluded with how three are important in empowering women – Assets, Agency and Age Security. Ms Urvashi Prasad gave valuable insights regarding the gender policy framework in India and the challenges that need to be addressed. She gave a detailed description of the four broad areas of policy framework including Women’s Labour Force Participation Policies, Education Policies, Health and Nutrition Policies and Policies related to Women’s Safety Issues. She elaborated on the existing policies and stated that although governmental policy plays an enabling role in implementing these policies it cannot be effective in isolation and thus, needs participation from the private sector and society.
She stated that the lower participation rate of women in the labour market is the result of societal attitudes towards women. She also talked about the changing focus of policies in the education sector towards lowering the dropout rate of girl children from secondary and higher secondary education. She further stated the need not to view women’s health requirements as just limited to childbearing but also to give importance to non-communicable diseases and mental health problems in women. While concluding her talk, she emphasised the need for effective allocation and use of funds and the simultaneous participation by the private sector and society with the government for these policies to work in an efficient way.
Dr Nivedita Haran commenced with her presentation on the perspectives on legal challenges for women in bureaucracy by talking about the need for such legal rights as the number of women coming out of homes to enter the workplaces rises at a time when with technological advancement newer ways of sexual harassment cases are also on the rise with cyber-crimes gaining the centre stage. Her discussion was mainly based on the challenges faced by women employees from grade 3 or 4 levels in the government offices like personal assistants or secretaries who are not vociferous about the situations they face in the workplaces because of the prevalence of the political power hierarchies. She narrated two instances that she encountered while working in a government office as an IAS officer and while in the office of the United Nations.
She also talked about the formulation of the POSH Act 2013 as an aftermath of the Vishakha judgement. Closing the 3-Day informative session, the chair, Prof Vibhuti Patel gave her concluding remarks and thanked all the eminent panellists. She underlined many essential points that had been brought up by Nivedita Haran and stressed the need for women employees to come out with complete facts rather than ignoring workplace harassment just because of the power dynamics. She mentioned the important learnings and points that all nine sessions brought together and the need for the right perspective-building in the context of gender equality. In her powerful concluding remarks, she said, “ Knowledge empowers but the use of knowledge for gender equality brings social transformation.” The training program ended with a vote of thanks by Dr Suravie Ghimiray, IMPRI on behalf of IMPRI Gender Impact Studies Center (GISD).
---  
Acknowledgement: Vithita Jha and Fiza Mahajan, research interns at IMPRI

Comments

TRENDING

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee  Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar*  Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

EVMs: Govt must prove beyond reasonable doubt it's upholding mandate for free, fair polls

By Jerald D’souza  With the growth of India’s population, concerns about electoral fraud associated with ballot papers, also began to escalate. In 1989, the People’s Representation Act was amended to enable EVMs to prevent electoral fraud. In 1998, EVMs made their debut during legislative assembly elections and for the first time for general elections in 2004. However, criticisms against the EVMs and questions about their integrity have been raised by political parties, civil society and the general population. On 2 February 2024, there was a noteworthy demonstration of dissent where numerous individuals, including Ambedkarite advocates, legal professionals, and other members of civil society  convened at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the prohibition of EVMs. In 2024, the Supreme court had slapped down a petition to return to paper ballots on the basis that machines give “absolutely accurate results” unless human bias maligns them. The court stated that it was open to testi...

This Indian British Marxist blamed USSR's collapse in 1991 on Khrushchev's 'revisionism'

By Harsh Thakor*  Harpal Singh Brar, British Indian Marxist scholar and communist leader, has passed away in Chandigarh. He was 85. He was a lifelong supporter of socialism, Marxism, and the working class. He will be remembered among British Communists.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter ChassĂ© & Dr David Leffler*  In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). 

Chalapathi's death in encounter suggests Maoists' inability to establish broader mass support

By Harsh Thakor* The Maoist movement experienced a significant loss during the Ramagudem encounter on January 21, with the death of Chalapathi (Pratap), a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist). His death, along with 15 others, marks a major setback for the movement. Reports suggest that his location was revealed to security forces through a selfie with his wife.

Why do we mostly resist and refrain from communicating on sanitation topic?

By Nikhil Kumar, Mansee Bal Bhargava* According to UN SDG Progress report (2022), at the present moment no targets for SDG 6 are expected to be met by 2030. In 2022, 2.2 billion people had no access to safe drinking water and 3.5 million lacked safe sanitation. Approximately 50% of the world’s population was reported to have been under resourced in enough water for part of the year and a quarter of that population was living under “extremely high” water stress. Add to it, droughts have affected over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021.

CCG raises concerns over Indian State of Forest Report 2023 in open letter to environment minister

By A Representative  The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former civil servants, has expressed serious concerns over the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 in an open letter to the Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change. The group has criticized the report's delayed release, flawed methodology, and misleading claims regarding the state of India's forests.

Govt of India asked to work for release of 217 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistan since 2021

By A Representative  Members of the fishing communities from Gujarat and Diu, Union Territory, held a press conference in Ahmedabad, urging the Union Government to take proactive measures to secure the release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Pakistan. Presently, 217 Indian fishermen, mostly from Gujarat and Diu, are held in Pakistan’s Malir Jail. Of these, 53 have been incarcerated since 2021 and 130 since 2022.

Operation Kagar represents Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism: Resistance continues

By Harsh Thakor Operation Kagar represents the Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism, which claims to embody the struggles and aspirations of Adivasis. Criminalized by the state, the Maoists have been portrayed as a threat, with Operation Kagar deploying strategies that jeopardize their activities. This operation weaves together economic, cultural, and political motives, allegedly with drone attacks on Adivasi homes.