Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)

Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

Feminist Jurisprudence in India: Manifestation of Judicial Will to Create

A Gender-neutral Legal Regime in India
Dr. Shivani Verma
Assistant Professor, Law Centre- 1,
Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
Email Id: shivanishini@yahoomail.co.in

Abstract

Feminist jurisprudence is a school of thought that recognises the problem of discrimination against women and
understands the subordination they have been subjected to from the times immemorial. Indian society has been a
patriarchal society where women have faced gender bias in all possible spheres of life. It is time to realise that
discrimination pushes women behind which means half of the population that has equal power and efficiency is living
a life of disadvantage just because of their gender and this is what the feminist jurisprudence tries to evade. Lawmakers
and judiciary have shown some will to eradicate the gender bias, and feminist jurisprudence has evolved at a faster
pace than ever in last one decade. India has enacted many gender-neutral laws and has gone to the extent of positive
discrimination to counter the disadvantage women faces in the stereotypical society. Judiciary has also been proactive
towards women rights and equal status in all spheres of life. The paper aims to discuss this paradigm shift and evolution
of feminist jurisprudence through judicial intervention in India.
The concept of feminist jurisprudence is not a very contemporary yet the kind of support and acceptance about women
rights that we see today has never been witnessed ever before, and that is why now is the right time to strike the change
and create a gender-bias-free society.

Keywords: feminist Jurisprudence, Gender-bias, judicial activism, equality, sex.

1
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

Introduction
India, a country that believed and reflected the philosophy of “yatra naryastu Poojyante ramante tatra
devta” i.e., Gods live there, where the women are worshipped, with time, witnessed a major downfall in
the status of women in its society. Since then, women have been struggling to regain the status of equality
in society. Feminist jurisprudence is the philosophy of law that is based on complete equality of sexes,
namely, in terms of politics, economy and socio-legal structure. Feminist jurisprudence does not only
identify the gendered components but also derives the gendered implications of these components on non-
gendered laws. Law reflects social changes, and it was the patriarchal society and dominance of men over
women that mirrored in the law and law accordingly became men-centric and non-so-gender-neutral. With
time the whole world has realised the worth of women, which comprises almost half of the world population
and now was the time to work for a neutral law and that is what feminist jurisprudence supports and backs
up for.

Research Methodology
The paper is comparative research that dwells into the various feminist theories and derives not only
comparisons amongst them but also highlights how the difference in the opinion helped in transforming the
contemporary laws on Gender justice. The research methodology adopted here is socio-legal and
contextually analyse the law along with its social implications and reflections.

Feminist Jurisprudence
Feminist jurisprudence is also known as feminist legal theory, and this jurisprudence is based on a notion
that it was the law of the time that played a vital and fundamental role in women's historical subordination.
The theory of feminist jurisprudence primarily is two-fold:
• Firstly, it identifies the reasons and mechanism by which law strategically not only
implanted subordination of women in the legal regime but also concretised the belief of
women-subordination in society.
• Secondly, feminist jurisprudence works in the direction of bringing women to the
mainstream and tries to work in the direction of gender equality and gender-based non-
subordination.

2
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

Evolution of Gender-bias: Establishment of Norms and Deviations

Feminism asserts that since the time males gained the position of power in the politics, the history of
mankind was written from the perspective of men that glorified the men and their behaviour irrespective of
it having the characteristics of misuse of power for suppressing the women and treating them inferior to
men. This male-written history has created an ongoing bias in the minds of all the future generations
regarding the concepts of human nature, gender potential, and social arrangements. The reasoning,
language, logic, and structure of the law are male-created and hence, reinforce male values and prioritise
their priorities.
Law sub-consciously presents and establishes male behaviour as norm and female behaviour as deviation,
and then the perpetual validation and sanctity are granted to the behaviours accordingly strengthening the
patriarchal power and reinforcing the biases. Feminist jurisprudence acknowledges the biological difference
in the make-up of a female and a male and yet denies the logic of legal discrimination on the basis of sex.
Feminist jurisprudence advocates that gender is a man-made concept while sex is a God-made biological
composition of a human body which determines the physical appearance and reproductive capacity, but not
psychological, moral, or social traits of a human being.

Origin of Feminist Jurisprudence in India

The origin of feminism in India can be divided into three phases. Women were so suppressed and used to
a submission that the feminist movement of India, fortunately, or unfortunately was initiated by men. It was
the efforts of Indian men that led to the abolishment of Sati practice in India. Freedom fighters realised that
they could not ignore the power of women, and they wanted women to be empowered so that they can be
part of the freedom fight. The upliftment of women also happened post-independence as the Constitution
of India guaranteed Equality between sexes; however, the concept of equality was not well constructed and
comprehensive it was based more on ethical grounds rather than on the basis of practice and social structure.
There was not much said about equality as the roles, functions, aims and desire of women were different.
It was after the process of globalisation and exposure to a bit of advance western society where women
were better placed than the concept of personal rights, feminism took a new shape in India.

3
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

Feminist Jurisprudence: Schools

The common objective of feminist jurisprudence is equalities amongst all the genders, yet the commitments,
reasoning and the ways to achieve this equality has been propounded in a different way by the supporters
of different feminist schools
• Traditional or Liberal Feminism
• Cultural Feminism
• Radical or Dominant Feminism

Traditional or Liberal Feminism

This school of thoughts believes that men and women are equal, and they should have equal opportunity to
make their own choices. They don’t believe that biological differences should impact the status of women
in society. Unlike other feminist schools, liberal feminism seeks equality bit through social and legal
reforms and not through revolution. The school follows the ethical, moral and political philosophy of
Liberalism, and emphasise upon the freedom with an argument that freedom can be achieved through
equality within the law.
Liberal feminist focuses upon the responsibility of the state, and according to them; it is the state that should
be a central ally to the feminist movement. The social structure is the responsibility of the state, and if in
the name of patriarchal society our systems and institutions prevent female autonomy and freedom, neglect
the needs of women, and create a preventive environment, the state must intervene. The state can rebuild a
balance by recognising the civic areas where women are not included and shifting the focus by making the
system inclusive and changing them to add women’s necessities in the law is the only way to enable
women’s autonomy (Friedan 1963). The state can achieve the balance and inclusiveness in various ways
but enacting gender-neutral law is the most powerful and effective way to do so.
Many critiques of Liberal feminism argue that liberal feminists’ work had been entirely focused on opening
up historically male spaces to women. This type of advocacy upholds the patriarchal idea that
predominantly-male activities hold more power or are simply “better.” Many feminists argue this does not
dismantle patriarchal power dynamics, but rather makes a handful of women benefit from those systems of
oppression, continuing the cycle of marginalisation (Jone, 2020).

4
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

Cultural Feminism
It recognises and understands the difference between a man and a woman. This school focuses on the
difference and celebrates them. The thinkers then categorise the gender traits and their roles in society on
the basis of biological division. Women are believed to emphasise the importance of relationships, whereas
men are believed to emphasise abstract principles of rights and logic. The objectives of this school are to
give equal recognition to women's special characteristics and their moral voice of caring and communal
values.
Cultural feminism contradicts liberal feminism and acknowledges and accepts the in-born difference
between men and women. These feminists believe that the biological difference assigns a specific and
primary rile to each sex and after determining this role, the objective must be to co-exist in a mutual-
respectful way giving each gender his due. No gender is born to dominate or subordinate the co-existence
is necessary to uphold the respect and equality on real grounds. These feminists are concerned with women
differences from men. It argues that important task for feminism is not to include women into patriarchy,
and prove that women are similar to men and can function like men and meet male norms, but to change
institutions to reflect and accommodate values that they see as women’s nurturing virtues, such as love,
empathy, patience and concern. This school believes in female nature and its validation and demand for a
treatment that appreciates these virtues rather than under-rating them. This ideology celebrates the
feminism, its nature and very essence of feminism and focuses and attempts to revalidate the concept which
cultural feminists consider undervalued female attributes. It also commends the difference of women from
men. It has its foundation in the concept of essentialist opinion regarding the inherent distinction in a man
and a woman and simultaneously asserts for not only independence but the building of institutions, also.

Radical or Dominant Feminism

This school focuses on inequality and then asserts that men, as a class, have dominated women as a class,
creating gender inequality. For this school, the question is of power, and hence it urges to abandon
traditional approaches that take masculinity as their reference point. They argue that sexual equality must
be constructed, keeping in consideration the basis of woman's difference from man. On the same lines
Professor Williams (1982), while discussing the issues that arise when the biological difference between
the men and women is analysed in the backdrop of the norms having cultural dimensions and stereotypes,
characterises them as "hard cases". As per her, “In hard cases, the issue of biological difference between
sexes gathers an overtone of societal conditions so much so that the real differences are pronounced by the
oppressive cultural norms of the time. This combination of biological and social determinants may find

5
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

expression in a popular legislative mandate. Such legislations definitely deserve deeper judicial scrutiny.
It is for the Court to review that the majoritarian impulses rooted in moralistic tradition do not impinge
upon individual autonomy. This is the backdrop of deeper judicial scrutiny of such legislation world over.
Therefore, one issue of immediate relevance in such cases is the effect of the traditional cultural norms as
also the state of general ambience in the society which women have to face while opting for employment
which is otherwise completely innocuous for the male counterpart. In such circumstances, the question
revolves around the approach of State.”

Feminist Jurisprudence in India

India is an integrated secular country encompassing many religion, and every religion has different
perceptive about genders. Personal laws reflect the religious beliefs and ideologies about the man and
woman co-existing equally and hence, feminism in India aims to define, establish, and defend equal
political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for Indian women.
In India, religions define feminism to a large extent and also help us understand the derivation of the
present-day equation between genders.

Hindu Feminism
In terms of feminism, the Hindu religion has historically and on contemporary grounds as well, established
itself as most sound and advance. The religion talks about gender equality not from the ancient times but
also through its personal laws, but this relative advancement approach is yet far away from the complete
success and oppression still has not been evaded by the law completely/ Due to various castes in the Hindu
religion, the struggle for feminism has converted into a struggle for equality of castes. It has been seen that
women from a higher caste seen to benefit more from feminism than the lower caste women.

Islamic Feminism
In the Muslim religion, the personal laws are quite oppressive, but a recent paradigm shift and judicial
intervention have caused turbulence. Feminism is no more an alien concept, and Muslim women are coming
ahead to demand equality, and they are no more willing to live in subordination.

6
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

Feminist Jurisprudence and Legislative Framework in India

Constitutional Provisions
The Constitution of India believes in equality and empowers the state to uphold this virtue and prohibit any
sort of discrimination on various grounds, sex being one of them to the extent that positive discrimination
is permitted in favour of women to neutralise the cumulative socio-economic, education and political
disadvantages faced by them. In this regard, few of the articles of the Indian Constitution are to be
considered specifically, Art. 14, Art. 15 and 15 (3), Art. 16, Art. 39 (a, b and c) and Art. 42. Few of the
Constitutional privileges granted to women:
(i) Equality before law for women as per Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
(ii) As per Article 15 (i) of the Constitution of India, the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the
grounds of race, caste, religion, place of birth, sex or any of them.
(iii) Article 15 (3) of the Constitution of India directs the State to make any special provision in favour of women
and children.
(iv) Equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the
State is guaranteed in Article 16 of the Constitution of India.
(v) The State to direct its policy towards securing for men and women equally the right to an adequate means of
livelihood and equal pay for equal work for both men and women are prescribed under Article 39(a) and Article
39(d) of the Constitution of India.
(vi) To promote justice, on the basis of equal opportunity and to provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or scheme
or in any other way to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic
or other disabilities and Article 39 (a) of the Constitution of India guarantees this.
(vii) Article 42 of the Constitution of India directs the State to make provision for securing just and humane
conditions of work and for maternity relief.
(viii) As per Article 46 of the Constitution of India, it is the responsibility of the State to promote with special
care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and to protect them from social
injustice and all forms of exploitation.
(ix) The State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people is given under Article 47 of the
Constitution of India.
(x) To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India and to renounce
practices derogatory to the dignity of women is provided under Article 51(a) (e) of the Constitution of India.
(xi) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat to be reserved for

7
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

women and such seats to be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat as per Article 243 d(3) of
the Constitution of India.
(xii) Not less than one- third of the total number of offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level to be
reserved for women as per Article 243 d (4) of the Constitution of India.
(xiii) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes
and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality to be
reserved for women and such seats to be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality, is provided
under Article 243 t (3) of the Constitution of India.
(xiv) Reservation of offices of Chairpersons in Municipalities for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled
Tribes and women in such manner as the legislature of a State may by law provide, as per Article 243 t (4)
of the Constitution of India

Legal Provisions
The states have enacted many legislative measures to ensure equality to counter all forms of social
discriminations, gender bias, atrocities and violence against women. Besides many gender-neutral laws
where various crimes are prohibited against all irrespective of their gender, Indian penal laws, specifically
prohibit crimes against women. 'Crimes against Women' are broadly classified under two categories;
namely,
(1) The Crimes Identified Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)1 and
(2) The Crimes identified under the Special Laws (SLL)2.

Judicial Intervention and Feminist Jurisprudence

Courts in India have been quite proactive in the context of feminist jurisprudence and have substantially
contributed to uplift the women of the country. The recent judicial trend reflects a strong judicial will to

1
Rape (Sec. 375, 376 of IPC), Kidnapping & Abduction for different purposes (Sec. 363-373 of IPC), Homicide for
Dowry, Dowry Deaths or their attempts (Sec. 302/304-B of IPC), Torture, both mental and physical (Sec. 498-A of
IPC), Molestation (Sec. 354 of IPC), Sexual Harassment (Sec. 509 of IPC) etc.
2
The Family Courts Act, 1954, The Special Marriage Act, 1954, The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, The Hindu
Succession Act, 1956 with amendment in 2005, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, The Maternity Benefit Act,
1961 (Amended in 1995), Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, The
Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1976, The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, The Prohibition of Child
Marriage Act, 2006, The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1983, Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition)
Act, 1986, Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987, The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
etc.

8
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

evade the suppression women have been facing in personal and social space, and the courts have not shied
away to intervene in personal laws when the question of the equality of genders.
Sexual freedom is the most important aspect of human existence, and no-one deserves subordination in this
context. Like men, women also have right to exercise her sexual freedom in her personal space, and the
Court very strongly affirmed this right of women in the matter of Joseph Shine v Union of India3, wherein
the Court placed its reliance on the right to privacy envisaged into the Article 21 and, declared Section 497
of the Indian Penal Code, that gives an exclusive right to the husband to prosecute the lover of his wife but
the similar right was not granted to the wife as a wife could not prosecute the woman with whom her
husband committed the wrong of adultery, as unconstitutional and discriminatory. A wife is not a possession
or property of a husband and Section 497 treated and projected women to be a man’s commodity, and hence
it abrogates the concept of equality prescribed under article 14 and 15 (1) and is clearly discriminatory, and
it was hence not upheld as valid, as adultery is an offence only when it happened without the consent of the
married man and the woman has no say in the matter.
Equality cannot be achieved if women are financial not independent and honourable Supreme court has
strengthened and protected a woman’s right in the context of a family and in the matter of VineetaSharma
v Rakesh Sharma4 the Court held that daughters by virtue of their birth would have equal coparcenary
rights in Hindu Undivided Family property (HUF). They cannot be excluded from inheritance, irrespective
of whether they were born before the 2005 amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Pre-amendment
of 2005 the law was discriminatory in terms of daughters claiming rights in inheritance and the inheritance
in the case of a son. While a son could claim a share in HUF property as a matter of right, a daughter, ceased
to have any such right upon her marriage as after that she was considered to be a part of her husband's
family. It was a really progressive judgment as earlier a daughter could be eligible to be a co-sharer only if
the daughter and the father, both were alive as on Sept. 9 2005 (the date of the amendment) as held in the
case of Prakash v Phulvati5 but the Court, by the virtue of the Vineeta Sharma judgment, extended this
benefit of the 2005 amendment and comprehensively legitimised the position of women establishing her as
an integral part of her father's family.
Equality amongst gender in the workplace is one of the most difficult and multi-dimensional concepts. The
factors are multiple, making the objective even more difficult and complex to achieve. Equal pay for equal
work seems like a dream when even in the twenty-first century, the women were concerned for their safety

3
2018 SCC OnLine SC 1676
4
Civil Appeal 32601/2018, 2020 SCC Online SC 641
5
AIR 2016 SUPREME COURT 769

9
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

at the workplace. Sexual harassment was targeted, and Court very sensitively not only took cognizance but
also provided measures for the safety of women at the workplace by framing very detailed guidelines in the
case of Vishakha v State of Rajasthan6. The Court directed the employers to ensure not only the safety to
women against sexual harassment but also to provide an unbiased mechanism for the redressal of such
grievances. Sexual harassment violates the gender equality and takes away the fundamental right of women
envisaged by the Constitution under the Art. 14 and 21 granting right to equality and right to life, including
the right to live in a dignified life. The guidelines of the Court given in Vishakhas’s case eventually were
transformed and formalised in legislation and enactment by the name of The Sexual Harassment of Women
at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, was passed helping the feminist movement
achieve another milestone in the way of absolute equality amongst the genders.
The feminist jurisprudence in the contemporary world is not confined in the old peripheries and domains.
Gender equality is a virtue that needs to be part of every periphery and dimension, and it was a very
advanced judgment where the Court in the matter of The Secretary, Ministry of Defence v
BabitaPuniya &Ors.7, it was held that all women army officers are eligible for permanent commissions,
allowing them to be in commanding roles, making all the women officers at par with their male counterparts
when it comes to promotions, rank, benefits and pensions, thereby fortifying their position in the defence
sector, an institution with rigid gender norms. The judgment is remarkable as it broke any stereotypes and
pre-conceived notions. The women, weaker sex as they were called, were not considered to be efficient
enough for such kind of jobs where male-dominance has taken-over for centuries, but the judgment not
only upheld the efficiency of women but also recognised them as an equal gender and not a weaker sex.
In yet another matter, judiciary took cognisance of a matter that defined the deep-rooted gender bias in the
society from centuries and in the case ShayraBano v Union of India8 the Court declared the practice of
instant Triple Talaq (Talaq-e-Bidat) is against the basic tenets of the Quran. In Muslims, the concept of
instant Talaq or Triple talaq or talaq-e-Biddat is an established Islamic practice where a man is allowed to
immediately divorce his wife simply by uttering the word, Talaq by three times. The right gives a man
absolute power over his wife and puts him in a dominant position where he can end the marriage without
his wife’s consent. In order to abolish the practice in a systematic and complete way, the Court directed the
centre to pass legislation keeping in view the judgement, which led to the Muslim Women (Protection of

6
AIR 1997 SC 3011
7
2020 SCC OnLine 200
8
(2017) 9 SCC 1

10
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

Rights of Marriage) Act, 2019. The legislation prohibits triple Talaq and makes it punishable with
imprisonment, which may extend up to three years and fine.
In another landmark judgment in the way of development of progressive feminist jurisprudence, the Court
decided to intervene into the matter of belief and opined that devotion and belief should not be a matter of
advantage confined to any one specific gender and while passing its judgment in the matter of Indian Young
Lawyers Association v State ofKerala9 (popularly known as the Sabarimala case) the Court permitted
entry to the women of all ages, and conditions into the Sabarimala Temple despite a centuries-old custom
banning the entry of menstruating women. In a secular country like India, such legal issues are very
complicated as the issues bring in play tangled implications of articles 14, 25 and 26. But the Court was
well determined and upheld the constitutional trinity of liberty, equality and dignity over patriarchy,
dominance and belief.

Conclusion
Feminist jurisprudence is a concept and an attempt to break the stereotype and overcome the suppression
and subordination that women have been facing throughout the century. The problem of gender bias is so
deep-rooted that it is very difficult to extract it out from the system completely, but the latest attempts n the
part of various government and non-government organisation shows a ray of hope. Journey to a gender-
neutral society is long but judicial will is definitely an element that can add rigour to the objective, and in
this regard, the contemporary developments are very overwhelming and cannot be ignored.

References
1. Baer, J. A. (1999) Our Lives before the Law: Constructing a Feminist Jurisprudence. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton: University
2. Bartlett, K. T. (1990). Feminist legal methods. Harvard Law Review, 103: p.p. 829–88.
3. Behuniak, S. M., (1999). A Caring Jurisprudence: Listening to Patients at the Supreme Court.
Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield:
4. Belenky, M., Clinchy, B., Goldberger, N., and Tarule, J. (1986). Women’s Ways of Knowing:
The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind. New York: Basic Books.
5. Brown, W. (1990) Consciousness razing. Nation, 250.

9
2018 SCC OnLine SC 1690

11
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

6. Cain, P. A. (1991) Feminist jurisprudence: grounding the theories. Pp. 263–80

7. Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987.
8. Cornell, D. (1991) Beyond Accommodation: Ethical Feminism, Deconstruction, and the Law.
New York: Routledge, Chapman.
9. Dalton, C. (1985) An essay in the deconstruction of contract doctrine. Yale Law Journal, 94:
997–1114.Find this resource:
10. Downs, D. A. (1996) More Than Victims: Battered Women, the Syndrome Society, and the Law.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
11. Dowry Prohibition Act, (1961).
12. Finley, L. (1986) Transcending equality theory: a way out of the maternity and the workplace
debate. Columbia Law Review, 86: 1118–82.
13. France, A. (2002) The Red Lily. Rockville, Md.: Wildside Press.
14. Friedan. B. (1963) The Feminine Mystique, Vol. I, W.W. Norton and Company. USA page 169
15. Gilligan, C. (1982) In a Different Voice. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
16. Ginsburg, R. B. (1978) Sex equality and the Constitution. Tulane Law Review, 52.
17. Goldstein, L. F. (ed.) 1992. Feminist Jurisprudence: The Difference Debate. Lanha
18. Harris, A. (1990) Race and essentialism in feminist legal theory. Stanford Law Review, 42: 581–
616
19. Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
20. Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
21. Indian Penal Code, 1860.
22. Jeffries, S.9 (2006) Are women human? Interview with Catharine MacKinnon. Guardian, Apr.
12.
23. Jone J. (2020) Liberal Feminism. Thought Co, available at thoughtco.com/liberal-feminism-
3529177. [Accessed on Dec. 16, 2020]
24. Littleton, C. A. (1987) Reconstructing sexual equality. California Law Review, 75: 1279–
337.Find this resource:
25. MacKinnon, C. A. (1987) Feminism Unmodified. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
26. Rep. L. The Equality Crisis: Some Reflections on Culture, Courts, and Feminism. 7 Women’s
Rights. L. Rep. Notes 175, 1982.
27. The Constitution of India, 1950.
28. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1976.

12
 Law Colloquy Journal of Legal Studies (LCJLS)
Volume 1, Issue 1
January 2021

29. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1983.

30. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
31. The Family Courts Act, 1954.
32. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
33. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 with amendment in 2005.
34. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (Amended in 1995).
35. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.
36. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
37. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
38. The Special Marriage Act, 1954.

13