MODULE 4[B]: CRITICAL

ANALYSIS OF PREVAILING SPECIAL

STATUTES FOR THE PROTECTION OF
WOMEN IN INDIA
1. INTRODUCTION

In Indian society, women occupy a vital position. They have a great role in society. Since
Vedic Period women were worshipped as Devi. But, nowadays the position of women has
been changed. Today, they are becoming the most vulnerable section as far as their safety and
security is concerned. Crimes against women occur every minute in India. Women are not
safe, whether it is in their houses, public places or at work place.

In our country, several legislations enacted for the benefit of women. Different Acts
passed by the Union Governments and the States give special protection to women. Even The
Constitution of India provides provision for women. The Constitution of India guarantees the
right to equality to women. Article 15(1) prohibits the State from discriminating on the basis
of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 15(3) allows the State to make special
provisions for women.

2. PREVAILING LAWS IN INDIA FOR THE PROTECTION

OF WOMEN:

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Besides constitutional provisions, there are several prevailing laws in India. The laws for the
protection of women in India can be divided into two categories: a) Women – specific
legislation and b) Women – related legislation.

The examples of women- specific legislations are-

➢ The Dowry Prohibition Act,1961

➢ The Indecent Representation of Women(Prevention) Act,1986
➢ The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act,1987
➢ The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,2005
➢ The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act,2013
➢ Muslim Women (Protection of rights on divorce) Act,1986
➢ National Commission for Women Act,1990
➢ The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act,1956

The women – related legislations are -

➢ Indian Penal Code,1860 (section 498A, 304B, 376)

➢ The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 125 -128)

2.1. The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

The act was enacted by the Parliament in The twelfth Year of the Republic of India.
The main object of this Act is to prohibit the giving or taking of dowry.

Section 2 of this Act provides the definition of “dowry” which means any property or
valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly. Section 3 deals with
penalty for giving or taking dowry. As per this section if any person gives or takes or abets
the giving or taking of dowry, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall
not be less than five years and fine shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees or the
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amount of the value of such dowry, whichever is more. As per section 4, if any person
demand dowry he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not less than
six months.

2.2. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence,2005

This Act was enacted to protect women from domestic violence. The Act provides a
definition of "domestic violence", with this definition being broad and including not only
physical violence, but also other forms of violence such as emotional/verbal, sexual, and
economic abuse.

The salient features of the Act are follows

➢ "Domestic violence" includes actual abuse or the threat of abuse that is physical,
sexual, verbal, emotional and economic.
➢ The Act provides for appointment of Protection Officers and NGOs to provide
assistance to the women.
➢ Non-compliance or discharge of duties by the Protection Officer is also sought to be
made an offence under the Act.

2.3.The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,

Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

The Act is enacted to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace
and for the prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.

·Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee .

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 ·The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering evidence.

·Penalties have been prescribed for employers. Non-compliance with the provisions of

the Act shall be punishable with a fine of up to ₹ 50,000.

·Government can order an officer to inspect workplace and records related to sexual

harassment in any organization .

3. PROVISIONS OF IPC FOR THE PROTECTION OF

WOMEN

Dowry death –As per sub-section 2 of 304B whoever commits dowry death shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which
may extend to imprisonment for life.

Punishment for rape – section 376 says that whoever, except in the cases provided for
in sub- section (2), commits rape shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment of either
description for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to
imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

Cruelty by husband or relatives of husband – As per section 498A whoever, being husband or
the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and also be liable to fine.

4. EFFECTS OF THE PREVAILING LAWS

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In India there exist several laws for the protection of women. But, in reality there is lack of
enforceability of those laws.

Violence against women occurs throughout the life cycle of women. Most of the data are
believed to be unreliable as many cases go unreported.

Cases of violence against women are steadily increasing in the country. According to the
National Crime Record Bureau, India, there is one dowry death in the country every 78 h, one
act of sexual harassment every 59 min, one rape every 34 min, one act of torture every 12
min and almost one in every three married women experienced domestic violence.

Here, we can see the report of NCRB -

Year Reported dowry deaths

2008 8,172

2009 8,383

2010 8,391

2011 8,618

2012 8,233

source -NCRB

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Year Reported Rapes

2008 21,467

2009 21,397

2010 22,172

2011 24,206

2012 34,707

2013 36,735

2014 34,651

Source: NCRB

year Reported cruelty by husband or relative

2008 81,344

2009 85,546

2010 94,041

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2011 99,135

2012 106,527

2013 111,866

2014 122,877

2015 113,403

Source: NCRB

From the above reports we can see that the crimes against women increase steadily.
Though, the report of NCRB says that the rate of conviction is lower than rate of reported
crimes. However, many cases go unreported.

5. HOW TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The solutions of violence against are followings:-

1) Patriarchy:- patriarchy has been cited as the main cause of the violence. Our society is
dominated by male . In our society women are dominated by male. So, we have to change the
mindset of our whole society towards women.

2) Change in the socioeconomic status of women: Women in our country have poor
socioeconomic status as compared to male. In most cases women who are housewives face
violence by their husband. So, there is need for the change of socioeconomic status of women
to prevent crimes against them.
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3)Early marriage : Early marriage with or without consent of the girl, constitutes a form of
violence by their husbands or by their relatives. Nearly 12% were married by age 12, 26% by
age 15, 24% married by age 18.

4) Custom Of Dowry : The custom of dowry still prevalent in Indian marriages. And
this custom causes dowry deaths. So, the dowry system should be abolished properly.

5) Legal Awareness :There is lack of legal awareness about the rights of women
protection. Govt. should take necessary step to increase legal awareness for women
protection.

6) Code of Conduct: There is need for a Code of Conduct for the protection of
women. This code should be enacted in every institution so that everybody give
respect to the women.

7) New Legislation : New legislations should be introduced by the Govt. which deals
with the enforcement of punishment for any crimes against women.

8) Enforceability of existinglaws : The existing laws should be enforced properly by

the administration and police. There is lack of enforceability.

9) Pace in judiciary :The judicial system of India has very long process. In case of
crimes against women there is needed more pace in the system

6. CONCLUSION

Though, in India there are several laws for the protection of women but there is lack
of proper enforceability. And also the conviction rate is very low. Women in our
country are mostly unaware of their rights because of illiteracy and oppressive
tradition.

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