IF WOMEN'S RIGHTS ARE VIOLATED, WHAT ARE THE THINGS WOMEN CAN ASK FOR?
The land of India has been guided by the Constitution since 1950. Deriving sources from different countries' constitutions, the Indian Constitution is an amalgamation of both rigid and flexible parts. The makers had kept in mind the socio-economic condition of the citizens back then in 1947. As the years passed, many articles came across amendments with the rising need of the hour. When it comes to women's social status in India, it has seen many crests and troughs with time.
The rig Vedic era was the one where both genders were at par, with time, the medieval era saw a fall in inequality for women and after independence, women could be seen in many top positions like president-ship, prime minister-ship, the speaker in Lok sabha, in the UNGA office, etc. Even though some women get a chance to make their place in the top office, many women face atrocities like rape, acid attack, molestation, etc. daily.
The condition of women in India has always been a concern. She is in threat from the womb to the tomb. The threat of foeticide when in the womb, the threat of getting abused – mentally, physically at any stage of life till she survives. For the past few years, women have been trying to fight for equal status but are unable to get on par with men; in society, in the workplace, etc.
Although the constitution is a guardian for every citizen, the particular woman-guided rights need to be revised. Here are a few articles of the Indian constitution that establish equality but are not followed-
1. Article 14 – there shall be equality before the law and equal protection of law conferred by the state. Equality before the law has been derived from the British constitution which has an absence of special privileges. Even the king and the layman are treated with the same set of laws. It means no person – rich or poor, high or low, official or non-official is above the law.
Equal protection of the law was taken from the American constitution which follows the pattern of like should be treated alike. Both the above rights take place only when the law is breached. No person can be punished without breaching the law.
2. Article 15 – there shall be no discrimination by state i.e., government-led bodies based on race, religion, caste, place of birth, or gender. Despite such measures, discrimination toward women is seen in the workplace. They tend to be not selected based on their physical limitation. The criteria for their rejection are baseless. When the constitution is offering equal rights to every citizen, there should be no discrimination on the above-mentioned grounds. If one faces such kind of discrimination, they can always report and take action against it. In the same article, subsection; the state can make laws in favor of women and children for their upliftment.
3. Article 16 - there shall be no discrimination in Employment by state i.e., government-led bodies based on race, religion, caste, place of birth, descent, gender, or place of residence. The government has few reservations for certain backward classes and women. Any of them who face issues of discrimination can exercise their right towards legal aid.
4. Article 39 – along with Fundamental rights, there are a set of duties that the state should follow for the welfare of the citizens. This set of principles is called the Directive principles of state policy. This article covers the importance of having equal pay for equal work. If both genders are working at the same place and giving the same input, there should not be a difference in the pay scale. The work they are delivering is the same, and so should the pay. This makes the workplace and society gender-neutral and promotes women's empowerment. With equal pay range, motivation and desire to work at the same place retains. This initiative has been adopted by countries like Norway awarding equal pay for equal work. In news, the UK has put forth a decision of 4-day work with the same pay.
5. Article 42 – the directive principle of state policy allows for the provisions to be made by the state for securing just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. In august 2016, the much-awaited decision and amendment of the Maternity benefit act, of 1961 took place. The amendment extended maternity leaves from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. This paid maternity leave extension provides a sense of relief to the new mother and her infant. With this landmark amendment, the mother does not have to juggle between work and her infant’s care like before. Some offices offer crèche facilities and work-from-home provisions even after paid maternity leave. It is not universal that both mother and infant remain healthy after the delivery, if any kind of issue arises, the mother has to stay back for recovery even after the maternity leave.
An international forum like the UN has also come across the issue of women's discrimination for several years. The issues were up surging so rapidly that it had to dedicate an entire wing to women's security and legislation. In July 2010 the UN general assembly created UN Women, the united nations entity for gender equality and empowerment. The creation of this body came as a part of the UN reform agenda bringing together all the mandates for greater results.
The main role of UN Women – (i) – is to help and guide inter-governmental bodies to formulate policy and norms keeping in mind that the development of women is more important.
(ii) – to help member states implement policy and cater to any kind of technical or financial needs if required.
(iii) – regular monitoring of the policy and rating system so that the member states take it seriously and implement women-centric laws.
The advantage of the UN entering into these issues is that every country will take women-centric legislation seriously and would want to establish a good image and rapport on the international front.
WHAT SHOULD WOMEN ASK FOR?
Women face challenges on both professional and personal fronts during their life. She has to continuously prove her ability, might, and talent in every sphere. Even though she faces discrimination and torture, she moves ahead or either tolerates it. Sitting quietly and watching injustice is the biggest crime. Here are a few tips women should implement when their rights are violated –
· Have a good awareness about rights – first things first, every girl and woman should be well aware of the rights that the country’s constitution offers and the company she is working with. Half awareness or no awareness is very dangerous. Even if getting awareness about all the rights is not possible in a short period, every workplace offers a grievance redressal mechanism. Women can take resort to such tools to register their complaints and get justice.
· Upgrade with time -it is the industrial revolution 4.0, where the internet is everything. If a woman faces some kind of injustice with her rights, a genuine tweet, post or message can gain a lot of support from the entire globe. The #metoo campaign began a few years back and gave a lot of confidence to the distressed women who had faced injustice but could not come out and speak.
· Have strong support – women have other women’s backs, and together they become stronger and more efficient. Any kind of right violation should never be tolerated. The world does not suffer because of the violence of bad people, it suffers because of the silence of good people, and usually, the silent good people are women. Asking for help when rights are violated should be a woman’s first step of action. Many self-help groups actively work across the country that fights for women and their justice and rights.
The ICHHORI website with its articles is spreading the word of equality and a gender-neutral society. It has been successful in disseminating information on women's health, laws, relationship, and dating lucidly.