We as a country in India used to say Bharat Mata ki jay however my question is have we truly meant it. Okay, let me say the meaning of this it means a mother of every Indian whom we have to respect and protect. I am not representing this article in order to support feminism nor to be criticizing chauvinism. My objective is to highlight the article on equality. Equality is the major concern in today’s era.
In our country, the population of women is around 50% of the total population of the world. Let me take you to the Vedas and Puranas of our Indian culture, women are being worshiped and given the place of goddesses. We worshiped goddess Laxmi as the goddess of wealth, Saraswati maa as wisdom, and goddess Durga for power.
Women empowerment actually implies the ability to make decisions within work and life and giving them equal rights as men in the spheres of education, career, professional, and lifestyle. For decades women have demanded where they can able to workmen from shoulder to shoulder.
A woman can manage the work-life balance and nowadays amazingly they are doing it. Women need to be given equal opportunities for education and employment without the sense of discrimination.
In today’s globe women have established themselves as equal contributors in managing the financial requirements of their homes and outside their homes, women have successfully created their unbeatable position.
Nowadays women are aware of their rights and claim their socio-political rights some of them are the right to work, the right to education, right to decide are some of rights fall under the category.
The Indian parliament understands the importance of women’s empowerment and to has passed various legislation to protect women from various forms of discrimination and injustice. Let me be aware you some of the laws that are made to empower women. In the year 1976 equal remuneration act was created then in the year of 1961dowry prohibition act, the immoral traffic act in the year of 1956, medical termination of pregnancy act in the year of 1971, then comes the maternity benefit act in the year of 1961, in the year of 1987 commission of sari, in the year of 2006 the law prohibited the child marriage act, in the year of 1994 the Indian constitution made preconception and prenatal diagnostic technique in the year of 1994 and so as sexual harassment of women at workplace prevention and protection act in the year of 2013.
In the wake of the Nirbhaya case which awoke the nation involving the rape and brutal murder of paramedical students in Delhi, the Govt. of India has passed the juvenile justice (care and protection of children) Bill in the year of 2015. The act makes a significant departure from the earlier juvenile justice (care and protection) in the year 2000, as the juvenile age inviting punishment for offense now stands declined from 18 to 16 years.
The government of India understands the value of women empowerment and safety so it came forward and took the initiative.
The national commission for women has introduced several new bills in the parliament from time to time towards the eradication of many social evils. Some of the significant enactments are listed here:
In the year 1961 the Dowry prohibition act
The Hindu widow remarriage act in the year of 1856– In Hindu society traditions there was a ban on widow remarriage it was one of the evils from which women in the typical Hindu society suffered a lot. The 1856 act allowed widows to remarry and in section 5 it is ensured that the widow can enjoy all the rights, which a married woman did.
The child marriage restraint act in the year of 1929- The practice of child marriage where Hindu society suffered a lot.
The age of marriage for girls was 9 or 10 and after passing this act minimum marriageable age of women was fixed to 15 years. Later on, this age was raised up to 18 years.
1955 Act the Hindu marriage- The act recognized equality as same as men in the matters of marriage.