Topic-: Women Empowerment :

It’s Uses & Abuses

 Presented By
Anta Ram Pradhan
Department of legal studies

Contents
• Introduction
• Research Methodology
• Empowerment under constitutional law
• Empowerment through various special laws
• Abuses of laws
• Conclusion
• Topic- women Empowerment : It’s Uses and
abuses
• यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र देवता:।
यत्रैतास्तु न पूज्यन्ते सर्वास्तत्राफला: क्रिया:
• It means Where Women are honored, divinity blossoms there, and where ever women are
dishonored, all action no matter how noble it may be, remains unfruitful .
• Introduction:
• Most of people are saying present society is male dominated society.
• I say present society is female dominated society.
• Most of times the male persons are torture by the female counterpart .
• There is no law to protect the man
• The law was enacted to safeguard to the dignity honor of women no one should violate
and abuse the law .
• But in some cases laws are abused by the women .
• Lots of laws has been enacted by the parliament to protect and safeguard to the
interest of women .
• The government of India also framed several policy to upliftment of women.
 Research Methodology
• This study is purely based on Doctrinal Non- Empirical and
all materials collected from various Secondary sources .
• Objectives of study: This study will help to all sections of
society like women, men and all intellectual person.
• Scope of the study: This study will be focused to only
Different legislation which was enacted by Indian
parliament for giving safeguard the rights and duties of
the women and also categorically analyzed the various
judicial pronouncement of the Apex Court.
 Constitutional provision & women
Empowerment
• The constitution of India provides several provisions to safeguard the rights of women
• Under the constitutional law women have equal rights as men to enable them to take
part effectively in the administrative of the country.
• Article 14,15 (1), 15(3), 15(4) equality before law
• Equality of opportunity: article 16,39, 39(a),39(d)and 39(A)
• Article 42 directs the State to make provision for securing justice and humane conditions of
work and for maternity relief.
• Fundamental Duty
• Article 51A (e)enjoins upon every citizen to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of
women.
• Article 243 D(3) and Article 243 T(3) provide for reservation of not less than one third of
total number of seats in Panchayats and Municipalities for women to be allotted by rotation
to different Constituencies.
• Article 243 D(4)and article 243 T(4) provides that not less than one third of the total number
of officers of chairperson in the Panchayat and Municipalities at each level to be reserved
for women.
• To uphold the Constitutional mandate, the state has enacted various legislative measures
intended to ensure equal rights, to counter social discrimination and various forms of
violence and atrocities and to provide support services especially to working women.
 Women empowerment Under specific law

There are several special laws are available to give

empowerment to women like that criminal law ,
matrimonial laws as well as commercial and
labor laws .
Empowerment through various laws_: The Indian penal
code (IPC) is the preliminary law that defines and declares specific
acts as crimes, and provides for punishment for the same.
Provisions under the IPC related to violence against women are
summarized in the table below. In addition to the Indian penal
code, criminal laws have also been enacted on specific issues.
These include:
 PROVISIONS UNDER INDIAN PENAL CODE FOR EMPOWERING WOMEN
IPC Act Punishment
Sections
•
294 Obscene Acts & songs 3 months or with
fine or both
304B Dowry Death 7 years
312 Causing miscarriage 3-7 years and fine
313 Causing miscarriage without consent 10 years and fine
314 Death caused while causing miscarriage without 10 years and fine
woman's consent

315 Act done to prevent child from being born alive or to 10 years or with
cause it to be dead after its birth fine or both

354 assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to 2 years or fine or

outrage her modesty both

375- 376 Rape and Punishment for rape 7 years extend to

life

377 Unnatural offences – carnal Intercourse or anal sex 10 years or life or

 Continued
Category IPC Act Punishments
secti
ons
506 word, gesture or act intended to insult the 2 years or fine
modesty of a woman or both
Offences 493 cohabitation caused by deceitfully inducing 10 years &fine
relating to woman under belief of lawful marriage
marriages

494 Bigamy- marriage again during life time of 7 years and fine
husband or wife .
496 Going through unlawful marriage ceremony 7 years and fine
497 Adultery 5 years or fine
or both
498 Enticing , detaining a woman with a criminal Extend to 2
intention years or fine or
both
Cruelty 306 Abetment to commit suicide 10 years and
fine
Empowerment through other laws
• Besides Indian penal code other specific laws also provides empowerment to the women
. That are given below -:
(1) prevention of immoral trafficking Act 1956-:In 1956 suppression of Immoral Traffic in
Women and Girls Act known as SITA was passed. The basic objective of this Act was to
punish brothel keepers, procurers and pimps and to prevent prostitution in or in vicinity of
public places. This act amended many times by the government of India .
(2) The Dowry prohibition Act 1961 -In 1961, the Government of India passed the Dowry
Prohibition Act, making the dowry demands in wedding arrangements illegal.
However, many cases of dowry-related domestic violence, suicides and murders
have been reported. In the 1980s, numerous such cases were reported.
In 1985, the Dowry Prohibition (maintenance of lists of presents to the bride and
bridegroom) rules were framed. According to these rules, assigned list of presents
given at the time of the marriage to the bride and the bridegroom should be
maintained. The list should contain a brief description of each present, its
approximate value, the name of whoever has given the present and his/her
relationship to the person.
• The Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986: To prevent indecent representation of
women in numerous forms, Parliament passed the Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986.
The object of the Act was to prohibit indecent representation of women through advertisements
or in publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other manner.
 The protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005:The objective of the Act is to provide for more effective
protection of the rights of women guaranteed under the Constitution who are victims of violence of any kind occurring
within the family and for incidental matter
 Empowerment through labour laws:Labour laws aim at protecting and promoting workers “rights at the work place.
Provisions of labour laws on women rights have focused on improving the safety, health and welfare of women in
factories and other places of work, minimum wages, equal pay for equal work, maternity benefits, child care facilities
provisions for adequate rest and leisure, prevention of discrimination and sexual harassment at the work place. Labour
laws that protect women at the work place include: •
 The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 – Provides for equal remuneration to men and women workers for same work or
similar work, and prohibits discrimination is permissible in recruitment and service conditions expect where
employment of women is prohibited and restricted by law.
 Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 – Provides for maternity leave and benefit in order to protect the dignity of motherhood
and gender justice. It was increased 12 week paid leave to 26 week paid leave in the year of 2017
The Factories Act, 1948 – The act has many provisions protecting women at workplace, including issues pertaining to
occupational safety, provision of sanitation and crèche facilities.
 The Mines Act, 1952 – It prohibits the employment of women underground and provides for restricted timings of work
for women employed above the ground Other laws pertaining to rights of workers,.
Empowerment through Family laws
Matrimonial laws consist of a set of laws that govern family relationships and rights of spouses and children during and
subsequent to marriage. It covers aspects such as entering into marriage, divorce, maintenance, custody, succession, inheritance,
guardianship and adoption. Different matrimonial laws govern members of different religious communities, with the exception of
Special Marriage Act, which is a law common to all religious communities.
Matrimonial laws in India today are a curious mixture of laws drawn from religious texts, interpretation of those texts,
customs, traditions and principles derived from British Law. Almost all the laws are patriarchal in nature and have discriminatory
provisions against women, prescribing an inferior status to women in family and society; and attempting to control women
sexuality in subtle ways. Implementation of matrimonial laws is through Family courts in cities where these have been set up, or
by District courts in the absence of Family Courts. In a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court it was stated that a demand of
dowry amounted to cruelty, entitling the women to divorce. In other landmark judgment, on aspects of Muslim matrimonial law,
the Kerala High court stated that failure of husband to maintain his wife entitles her to divorce. In a case where the husband claim
that he ceased to be impotent, sought the court’s order to compel his wife to submit herself to him for this purpose, the court
refused to do so and protected the women’s dignity
In a case where the man breached his promise to marry the women, the court said that she was entitled to claim damages. In
another case where a Non-resident Indian {NRI} husband deserted his Indian wife, the Supreme Court made suggestions for
safeguarding the interests of woman in such situation. It was explained by the court in one case that under the Hindu Marriage
Act, the amount of maintenance fixed for the wife should be such that she can live with reasonable comfort considering her
status and the mode of life she used to when she lived with her husband. In a case where the Family Court refused custody of
minor child to the mother on grounds including that she was a working woman and has to remain away from the house during
duty hours, the Bombay High Court, on appeal, awarded the mother custody of the child, stating that there was no
disqualification in the mother, who was more educated than the father, and independent.
In Gita Hariharan vs. Reserve Bank of India, the Supreme Court stated that under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act
1956, the mother could act as the natural guardian of the minor during the father’s lifetime if the father was not in charge of the
affairs of the minor.
Empowerment through Property Rights
• In most Indian families, women do not own any property in their own names, and do not get
a share of parental property. Due to weak enforcement of laws protecting them, women
continue to have little access to land and property. In fact, some of the laws discriminate
against women, when it comes to land and property rights.
• The Hindu personal laws of mid-1956s (applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains) gave
women rights to inheritance. However, the sons had an independent share in the ancestral
property, while the daughters' shares were based on the share received by their father.
Hence, a father could effectively disinherit a daughter by renouncing his share of the
ancestral property, but the son will continue to have a share in his own right. Additionally,
married daughters, even those facing marital harassment, had no residential rights in the
ancestral home. After amendment of Hindu succession laws in 2005, now women in have
been provided the same status as that of men.
 Abuse of Women Empowerment
• Law like a double edged sword one hand its provide empowerment and another hand it’s
vested weapon to women for fighting in her in-laws family.
• Laws are always enacted for the welfare of society not for misuse or abuse but some times it
becomes weapon to some one to take revenge.
• So that in the present scenario the dowry prohibition act , Domestic violence Act Section
498A , Section 406 and Section 304 B of Indian penal code are the most abused provisions of
law in India and yet no modification seems to have been made in it over the years.
• According to fight against women a Delhi Based NGO who have conducted a survey in recent
past and that they have found 98% of dowry cases filed under section 498A is false.
• There have been most of the cases where this laws has been misused .Women use this law as
weapon to extort money out of their husbands at the time of divorce .
• A total of 58.95 %of the respondents said that men were threatened by laws for protecting
women.
• As per the survey of St. Xavier college students 70% of men are facing discrimination
,harassment and extort by the women.
• Men are also victims of domestic violence and sexual assault ,but state institution and society
in general take such violence less seriously because of the prevailing attitudes towards men
 Continued
• Such as the belief that men are fearless, sustain greater pain and are more capable of
self defense.
• The most prominent example of sexism can be alter into rape . According to and Indian
penal code rape is non – bailable offense and it is gender specific which mean a man or
boy can be arrested after if a women or girls files a case of rape against him, without
even investigating the matter of truth.
• I don’t say every cases being filed is false but 2 out of 10 cases is false and the two
false cases are the example of abuse law .
• In the case of Rajesh Sharma V/S state of Uttarpradesh case is well known example of
Misuse of law. The women are used as weapon rather shield and commit harass to the
husband family.
• In the K.Srinivas V/S K.Anita case The Apex Court viewed that In the dowry related
cases police Can not arrest without any primary investigation for the protection of
misuse of Dowry law .
• In the case Manju Ram Kalita v. State of Assam the court held that petty quarrels
cannot be termed as “cruelty” to attract the provisions of Section 498-A IPC.
 conclusion
• The government of India have provided series of laws to protect and safeguard the rights of
Women but still that are not properly implemented in the society .
It is up to each individual to make use of empowering laws to assert their rights. Information
about such laws is a first step towards assertion of rights through law.
• The crucial question that arises for deliberation is: Have the women been able to reap the
benefits provided for them under the Constitution of India and all the laws which have been
made for the empowerment of women?
• The answer, unfortunately, is not encouraging. There is still a long way to go to achieve the
goals enshrined in the Constitution and all other laws. In spite of special constitutional
guarantees and other legislations, crimes against women in the form of child marriages, rape,
and dowry, practice of Sati, trafficking of the girl child, prostitution, domestic violence and
sexual harassment are on the increase.
• Due to the lack of awareness or lack of political interest most of the women are did not know
their rights and liabilities which provided by the laws so they are did not get any facilities
from legislation and judiciary.