Title: SCOPE OF FEMINIST

JURISPRUDENCE IN
INDIAN LEGAL SYSTEM
WITH REFERENCE TO TOPIC : FEMINIST
PERSONAL AND JURISPRUDENCE
CRIMINAL LAWS: A Click icon to add picture
CRITICAL STUDY

DONE BY
ROSHNI V - 21643
 Agenda

1 2 3 4 5
ABSTRACT HYPOTHESIS RESEARCH SCOPE METHODOLOGY
QUESTIONS

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 Agenda

6 8 9 10
INTRODUCTION BODY CONCLUSION REFERENCES

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ABSTRACT
Traces of feminism could be traced to the 18th century. Although the genesis of
feminist jurisprudence could be attributed to have taken place in the 1960s and the
term was coined by Ann Scales during a celebration to commemorate the 25th KEYWORDS:
Anniversary of the first woman to have graduated from Harvard University.
Feminist jurisprudence is a theory that addresses issues faced by women and aims
to find solutions to bring forth equity. Law plays a pivotal role in ensuring equity in
the society between man and woman. This paper resolves to unearth the already Feminist jurisprudence- feminism-
existing laws that are incompatible/inconsistent with gender equity. Main focus of judiciary- legislative- gender equity-
this article is to discover the shortcomings of judiciary in establishing gender women's rights- precedents- lawmakers
equity in India. Judiciary has assumed an esoteric position on how far it lends
support to women in our country. There’s a seeming support for women in a few
cases such as the Shah Bano case that took place in the year 1985 which was
quickly overturned by a counter enactment that reclaimed the rights established in
the case of Shah Bano. Thus is the plight of women in India, the judiciary pulls the
rug before any women can attain any actual benefit. The very composition of
judiciary is stocked with misogyny having largely disproportionate number of male
judges when compared to female judges. This paper aims to address the deficits of
Indian judiciary being feminist and the mitigations that would alleviate this
situation.

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HYPOTHESIS
1. The pre-existent laws are inadequate in ensuring adept measures that
strives to provide equity to women.

2. There is a need for magnanimous changes in the judicial precedents

and laws that would act as checks and balance towards equality for
women.

3. The reason for such gender discrimination could have been mitigated
had it been for judiciary and legislative to implement gender sensitive
laws.

4. Procedural implementation of mitigations could expressly lead to

positive changes in the emphasis of Feminist jurisprudence in India.

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are some of the current laws that are inconsistent with feminist
jurisprudence?
2. Obstacles that deter feminist jurisprudence from successful integration
into common law practice?
3. What are some improvements that could ensure gender equality? 
4. Which sects(in terms of religion, caste, profession, status, education,
demographics) of women population are majorly affected?
5. Would a unified code providing provisions for instigating gender
equality be sufficient?
6. Whether the emergence of feminist jurisprudence lead to any
significant reforms relating to ensuring gender equality?

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SCOPE OF RESEARCH

 This paper aims to typically analyse the negative aspects of not

guaranteeing gender equity and it aims to suggest changes

 And this paper takes the readers through the journey of feminist
jurisprudence keeping in mind the adversaries faced by women since
time immemorial with reference to personal and criminal laws

 This research would help the criminal jurisprudence attain gender

equity and equality

 The society would be rid of being chauvinistic since judicial

enforcement equates changed society

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METHODOLOGY

 Doctrinal type research and non-doctrinal type research with the use
of secondary type data such as research articles, magazines, journals,
newspaper articles and studies done pertaining to feminist
jurisprudence along with incorporation of primary data such as
surveys, interviews, legislations, statutes and precedents where the
judiciary has not taken a stance towards the thesis of feminist
jurisprudence
 Legislations such as Indian evidence act, CRPC, IPC, Hindu
Marriage act were referred to for the purpose of this research.
 Infamous precedents such as Shah Bano case was also referred to.
 Tools of data collection used are observation, interviews and
questionnaire

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INTRODUCTION

 GENDER IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT AND IS NOT BIOLOGICAL

 FEMINISM IS NOT UNIFORM RATHER IT IS DIVIDED INTO
DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTS WITHIN FEMINIST
JURISPRUDENCE
 ROE V. WADE- IMPARTED ABORTION RIGHTS TO WOMEN IN
US
 JOSEPH SHINE V. UOI- 2018 DECRIMINALISED ADULTERY
 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE ARE
AS FOLLOWS:

 Traditional or liberal
 cultural 
 Radical 
 Post modern

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MAIN BODY

 Bodhisattwa Gautama v. Subhra Chakraborty- THE

COURT RECOGNISED THE DISADVANTAGED
POSITION OF WOMEN IN THE INDIAN SOCIETY
AND THE PERSISTENCE OF MALE CHAUVINISM it
was held that certain laws helps to soothe the position of
women in the society and further they are very much
constitutional valid as they come under the legitimate title of
positive discrimination which is fundamentally the rule of
equal protection

 SHAH BANO CASE- THOUGH IT GAVE SANCTION TO

MAINTENANCE, A COUNTER ENACTMENT
RECLAIMED THE VERDICT ESTABLISHED IN THE
FORMER CASE

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NON- DOCTRINAL

 QUESTIONNAIRE:
 NAME
 AGE
 PROFESSION
 EXPERIENCE
 NATIVE
 GENDER
 MOTHER TONGUE
 WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS OF FEMINIST
JURISPRUDENCE?
 DO YOU THINK THERE IS A BIAS IN THE COURTROOM?
 IF SO, WHICH GENDER IS AT ADVANTAGE?
 DO YOU THINK THE EXISTING PROVISIONS ARE ENOUGH
TO SANCTION EQUALITY TO WOMEN?
 IF NOT, WHAT ARE YOUR MITIGATIONS?

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NON- DOCTRINAL

 ARE YOU PERSONALLY SATISFIED WITH THE RIGHTS

CONCERNING YOUR GENDER?
 DO YOU THINK UNIFORM CIVIL CODE WOULD MAKE ANY
ADVANCES TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY?
 DO YOU THINK BEING AN AFFLUENT FEMALE WOULD
RENDER THE PERSON AT AN ADVANTAGE COMPARED TO
THEIR DISADVANTAGED COUNTERPARTS? OR DOES
GENDER PARITY EXIST AMONGST AFFLUENT FEMALES AS
WELL?

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NON- DOCTRINAL

NUMBER OF PEOPLE INTERVIEWED: 39

NUMBER OF WOMEN: 8
NUMBER OF MEN: 31
DEMOGRAPHIC INTERVIEWED: ADVOCATES, POLICE
OFFICERS, COURT CLERKS,
ADVOCATES ASSISTANTS IN KARNATAKA CITY CIVIL COURT,
HIGH COURT AND MAGISTRATE COURT

SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS WERE MADE FROM THE

INTERVIEWS AND QUESTIONNAIRE, FOLLOWING ARE THE
GIST:
 MOST WOMEN WANTED MORE PROVISIONS FAVOURING
WOMEN- SOME WERE HAPPY WITH THEIR POSITIONS IN
THE SOCIETY AND SOME WERE NOT
 MOST MALE ADVOCATES WERE DISAPPOINTED WITH
JUDICIARY BEING A MEN’S CLUB AND EXPRESSED
CONCERN WITH THE VETTING PROCESS FROM LAW
SCHOOL TO PRACTICE
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NON- DOCTRINAL

 POLICE OFFICERS WERE ENCOURAGING AND WERE OPEN

TO FEMINIST STANCES
 MALE ADVOCATES SEEMED TO EXPRESS DISCONTENT
WITH THE UNFAIR ADVANTAGES THAT WOMEN WERE
VESTED WITH IN FAMILY COURTS WHERE THE
JUDGEMENT FAVOURED WOMEN RATHER MEN
 SOME WANTED EXTENSION OF THE WOMEN’S RIGHTS TO
MEN AS WELL

 GENERAL OBSERVATION: MEN ARE MORE AT

ADVANTAGE THAN WOMEN AS A GENERAL RULE OF
THUMB WHEREAS AFFLUENT WOMEN ARE MORE
PRIVILEGED THAN OTHER SECTS OF
WOMEN(RELIGIOUS MINORITIES, WOMEN BELONGING
TO LOWER CASTES, STATUS)

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 ADDRESSING RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
INCONSISTENT WITH OBSTACLES IMPROVEMENTS
FJ​
SECTION 375 IPC- MINORITIES ARE YET TO STRICTER PUNISHMENTS
Independent Thought v. Union of BE INDUCTED OF EXEMPLARY AND
India- IT ALLOWS MARITAL PUNITIVE NATURE MUST
RAPE CHANGES SO FAR? BE BROUGHT FORTH FOR
INSOFAR THE RECENT CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN
CHANGES IN THE
SECTION 497 IPC -W.Kalyani MINIMUM COMPOSITION OF WOMEN
vs State Tr.Insp.Of Police & Anr, it
was held that only men can be
MARRIAGEABLE AGE FOR IN JUDICIARY MUST BE
prosecuted for the offense of WOMEN AND THE INCREASED TO
adultery and women cannot be VERDICT IN JOSEPH SHINE REPRESENT THE
prosecuted V. UOI INTERESTS OF WOMEN

​
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REFERENCE
S
MacKinnon, C.A., 1982. Toward feminist
jurisprudence.

Wishik, H.R., 1985. To question everything: the

inquiries of feminist jurisprudence. Berkeley
Women's LJ, 1, p.64.

Littleton, C.A., 1988. Feminist jurisprudence: The

difference method makes.

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