Dynamics Of Women's Empowerment Legislative Intents And Challenges To Gender Equality

POLICY PERSECTIVES FOUNDATION

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Empowerment of women carries holistic connotation, as conveyed through progressive thought of India’s former President, touching multiple aspects of life, including personal freedom, social status, economic independence, decision making, educational attainment and political participation. A country that is personified as Bharat Mata (or Mother India), whose rivers carry feminine names like Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Kaveri and Godavari, where Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga are revered as Goddesses of wealth, learning and power, respectively, whose Constitution guarantees equal fundamental rights to both women and men, and which has multiple laws for protecting and promoting rights of women as equal citizens; empowerment of women continues to be an issue of intense and often polarizing public debate, scholarly research and social action. The attention that the issue receives is a result of women’s persistent familial and social subordination, inadequate access to financial and productive assets, limited political participation and many other disempowering circumstances that are conditioned by patriarchy, ignorance and obscurantist social practices.
SAILENT FINDINGS:
Minimum Wages Act, 1946: With most of the women earning a paltry sum of `250 or less in a day, the Act is being violated blatantly
Equal Remuneration Act, 1976: Women mostly receive less daily wage than men.
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961: Practice of dowry is prevalent in the PC.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971: Termination of pregnancies in conformity with the conditions of the Act is extremely rare.
Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987: People of the PC do not practice Sati.
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005: Incidence of domestic violence against women is high in the PC, but the victims hesitate to admit it publicly.
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: Child marriage is practiced in the PC and is generally accepted by the people.