In the beginning of modernization of societies women were considered relatively weak to men on following grounds:-
1.Physically.
2.Mentally.
3.Socially.
4.Economically.
5.Politically.
Ironically when we compare these grounds to men,we would found that all these grounds were cooked up to promote patriarchy by orthodox societies itself. Moving forward there were gradual positive changes for women with the help of modern philosophy adapted by some modern leaders of societies,a very prominent leader called Raja ram mohan Roy also named as Father of modern Renaissance who strived hard to push forward the rights of the women in the societies.some of contributions of him such as, Abolition of pathetic Sati pratha, advocacy on widow remarriage ,put women on equal footing of men and so much so on.
In the time of struggle for Freedom from Britishers or for independent India, women shown incomparable resistance against Britishers, for instance Rani Lakshmi bai she was considered by her rival Sir Huge Rose that "Personal, clever and beautiful, and that she is "the most dangerous of all Indian leaders", adding to this many women have given their life for the freedom,The Father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi considered women as weapon against Britishers ,He always appreciate the strength and courage of women in his mass address,Sarojani Naidu along with many women companion contributed for the final freedom of India.
In the drafting of "THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION " the makers were very much concerned about the conditions and rights of women that's why the very first fundamental rights drafts as "RIGHTS OF EQUALITY" from Article 14 to Article 18 and EQUALITY becomes the base of every Fundamental rights under the constitution which mean ,it is understood that a right is given equally to both men and women.
But there are some positive discrimination in favor of Women on the basis of social mobility because women have been treated unequal so there is special mechanism to scale on equal footing with all,for instance, reservation of women in government employment, 33% reservation of women in Panchayat Election,etc. To ensure adequate representation of women.
The journey of women for their right position in societies hitherto is still going on, let's see how many rights are there for women.
RIGHTS OF WOMEN
There are many rights that women hold, generally speaking women have all such rights which are common to everyone such as, Legal rights(given by any law or statute) , constitutional rights(given by the constitution itself),and when we speak particularly women have special rights as well which is particularly given to women such as 33% reservation of women in government employment,etc.
In Some cases in which Supreme Court of India recognized the rights of women such as:-
1. Shayara bano V. Union of India.
In this case Supreme Court had invalidated the practice of "instant triple Talaq" in Muslim personal law, and thereby instant triple Talaq penalized, because this practice was against the interest of women.
2. Sabrimala temple case.
In this case Supreme Court struck down the decades practice and allowed the entry of women of all ages into Sabrimala temple.
3. Vishakha's case.
In this case for the first time guidelines were issued against sexual harassment of women at work place and it become mandatory for either private or government employment to follow such guidelines for the safety and security of women at work place.
4. Joseph shine V. Union of India.
In this case Supreme court held that the right to privacy as protected under article 21 of the constitution of india gives women right to choose their sexual partners regardless sanctions imposed by her own family ,society, and the indian state.
5. Prakash V. Paulavati.
In this case Supreme Court held that daughter is coparcener by birth and has same and equal rights as son has in ancestral property, which means there is no difference between son and daughter in Hindu personal law.
6. Permanent commission case.
In this case Supreme Court held that women officer who joined Indian army through Short Service Commission(SSC) are entitled to permanent commission even though if they have more than 14 years of service.
7. Laxmi V. Union of India.
In this case Supreme Court held that the survivors of acid attack must be compensated by government and adequate medical facilities provide to the victims free of cost by the hospitals.the concept of victimology illustrated in this case.
8. D. Velusamy V. Patchaiammal.
In this case supreme court held that in order to prove a live in-relationship it would have to be shown that in spite of no marriage the couple were living as if they were husband and wife. So by this judgment the interest women is secured in many dimensions.
CONCLUSION
The subject on women's right is dynamic and progressive as it mentioned above since very beginning of modernization, India is not the only country where women considered in low stratum of societies,but the right reasons and natural laws changed the orthodox theory of women, for instance a foreign country called Saudi Arabia allowed women for driving licence recently, so there is still many issues which yet to be addressed but there is assurance that all issues will be resolve in this progressive world.
Written by :
Neha Lata
LL.B.(Hons.) University of Lucknow
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