Women's Rights Or Laws

 We live in a world where goddesses are worshiped and women get tamed, harassed, abused, raped, and kidnapped every single day.

Keeping a check on a number of women-related cases, the government of India provides crucial rights to Indian women.

"Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights, once and for all." - Hillary Clinton

On the grounds of gender equality, here are 11 rights an Indian woman holds in India

1. Women have the right to equal pay

According to the provisions listed under the Equal Remuneration Act, one cannot be discriminated on the basis of sex when it comes to salary, pay or wages.

Working women have the right to draw an equal salary, as compared to men

2. Women have the right to dignity and decency

In an event that the accused is a woman, any medical examination procedure on her must be performed by -- or in the presence of -- another woman.

3. Women have the right against workplace harassment

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act gives a female the right to file a complaint against any kind of sexual harassment at her place of work.

Under this act, she can submit a written complaint to an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at a branch office within a period of 3 months. 

The accused shall be punished with a non-bailable imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

4. Women have a right against domestic violence

Section 498 of the Indian Constitution looks to protect a wife, female live-in partner or a woman living in a household like a mother or a sister from domestic violence (including verbal, economic, emotional and sexual) by the hands of a husband, male live-in partner or relatives.The accused shall be punished with a non-bailable imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

5. Female sexual assault victims have the right to keep their identity anonymous

To ensure that her privacy is protected, a woman who has been sexually assaulted may record her statement alone before the district magistrate when the case is under trial, or in the presence of a female police officer.

6. Women have the right to get free legal aid

Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, female rape victims have the right to get free legal aid or help from the Legal Services Authority who has to arrange a lawyer for her.

7. Women have right not to be arrested at night

Unless there is an exceptional case on the orders of a first class magistrate, a woman cannot be arrested after sunset and before sunrise.In addition, the law also states that the police can interrogate a woman at her residence only in the presence of a woman constable and family members or friends.

8. Women have the right to register virtual complaints

The law gives women the provision for filing virtual complaints via e-mail, or writing her complaint and sending it to a police station from a registered postal address.

Further, the SHO sends a police constable to her place to record her complaint.

This is in case a woman is not in a position to physically go to a police station and file a complaint.

9. Women have the right against indecent representation

Depiction of a woman's figure (her form or any body part) in any manner that is indecent, derogatory, or is likely to deprave, corrupt or injure the public morality or morals, is a punishable offence.

10. Women have the right against being stalked

Section 354D of the IPC makes way for legal action to be taken against an offender if he/she follows a woman, tries to contact her to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest; or monitor the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication.

11. Women have a right to Zero FIR

An FIR that can be filed at any police station irrespective of the location where the incident occurred or a specific jurisdiction it comes under, the Zero FIR can later be moved to the Police Station in whose jurisdiction the case falls under.

This ruling was passed by the Supreme Court to save the victim's time and prevent an offender from getting away scot-free.

Women and girls face violence, discrimination and injustice every day of their lives. These statistics evidence the struggle women across the globe face. You can share these facts to help us raise awareness of the challenges facing women.

Violence against women and girls

From domestic violence to traditional harmful social practices and sexual exploitation, violence against women and girls happens all over the world

• 1 in 3 women around the world experience violence (source. World Health Organization).
• 58% of all women murdered in 2017 were killed by an intimate partner or a family member (source. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2018).
• Around 650 million women across the globe were married before the age of 18 (source. Unicef, 2018).
• Over 200 million women and girls in 30 countries have undergone female genital mutilation (source. Unicef, 2016).
• 71% of all human trafficking involves women and girls – mainly for sexual exploitation (source. UNODC, 2016).
• Women and girls suffer the most during violent conflict due to inequality and discrimination. They are more at risk of sexual violence, exploitation and trafficking during war. 1 in 5 female refugees and internally displaced people (someone who is forced to leave their home but remains in their country) have experienced sexual violence in countries affected by conflict (source. OCHA, 2016).

• Women’s economic rights

  Women don’t have the same economic rights as men. Unpaid care work, lack of fair pay and job security, poor working conditions, and limited opportunity to own land and inherit property are all undermining women’s rights. Women can’t earn a living and take control of their lives.

  • Women spend at least twice as much time as men on domestic work, and when all work – (paid and unpaid) – is considered, women work longer hours than men (source. The World’s Women, 2015).
  • Over 2.7 billion women don’t have the same work opportunities as men, with laws restricting the types of jobs they can do (source. World Bank, 2018).
  • Less than 15% of landholders worldwide are women, despite most women in the global south working in agriculture (source. Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015; World Bank, 2019).
  • In 2018, the estimated global gender pay gap was 22%, with women earning around 78% of what men are paid (source. ILO, 2018).
  • Nearly 82 million women around the world don’t have any legal protection against discrimination in the workplace (source. World Policy Analysis Centre, 2017).

  • Women’s participation and leadership

    Discrimination, violence and inequality stop women from speaking up about the decisions affecting their lives.

    • Women make up just 24% of parliamentarians worldwide (source. Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2019).
    • In January 2019, there were 11 women serving as Head of State and 10 as Head of Government (source. UN Women, 2019).
    • In January 2019, 1 in 5 government ministers around the world were women (source. Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2019).
    • Between 1990 and 2019 women made up 2% of mediators, 5% of witnesses and signatories, and 8% of negotiators in major peace processes worldwide (source. Council of Foreign Relations, 2019).
    • When women are involved in negotiations the probability of a peace agreement lasting at least two years is increased by 20 per cent, and 15 years by 35 per cent (source. Preventing Conflict, Transforming Justice, and Securing the Peace: A Global Study on Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325, 2015).

    • Funding for women’s rights organisations

      History has shown that women’s rights organisations and movements are a vital catalyst for gender equality and the realisation of women’s rights. From grassroots organising to advocacy and campaigning, women’s rights organisations are uniquely placed to mobilise and empower women to come together to know and claim their rights. Women’s rights organisation have the knowledge and legitimacy to represent women’s concerns and priorities. Their very existence affirms women’s leadership and participation.Yet many women’s rights organisations around the world are chronically underfunded. They urgently need flexible, long term and core funding that meet their vision of achieving a gender equal world.

      • Only 1% of aid supporting gender equality went to women’s rights organisations in 2016-2017, despite governments around the world committing an extra $1bn to gender equality initiatives globally (sources. Guardian, 2019, OECD, 2019)
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    • Women's voices“I hope for a future where LBQ women finally achieve economic, social and legal empowerment”