Md. Baharul Islam
Asst. Professor, ICFAI Law School, The ICFAI University, Tripura
*Corresponding Author Email: baharul15@outlook.com
ABSTRACT:
It is often said that the status and position of women in society are the best way to understand a civilization, its progress and its shortcomings. The issue of gender justice and women empowerment has been a concern in many nations and in many an arena for some centuries. Though there has been formal removal of institutionalized discrimination, yet the mindset and the attitude ingrained in the subconscious have not been erased. Women still face all kinds of indignity and prejudice. Gender equality of opportunity and women’s empowerment are integral and essential elements of any serious strategy for economic growth and pro-poor development. In-spite of Universal Declaration of Human Rights Charter, International Covenants and conventions, it is distressing to note that women all over the world have been denied complete justice, social, economic and political. As member of opposite sex, they have been abused and exploited by the male-dominated society. Even though the Constitution and law of the land has given adequate protection and safeguard the interest of women, due to utter callousness, apathy and indolence of the society, a woman is figured as a weaker sex. It is an artificial creation, not an edict of God.
KEYWORDS: Women Empowerment, Gender Justice, Gender Issues, Constitution of India.
I. INTRODUCTION:
In the arena of personal development, empowerment forms an apogee of many a system of self-realisation or of identity reformation. Realising the solipsistic impracticality of everyone anarchistically attempting to exercise power over everyone else, empowerment advocates have adopted the word "”empowerment” to offer the attractions of such power, but they generally constrain its individual exercise to potentiality and to feel-good uses within the individual psyche. The concept of personal development is seen as important by many employers, with emphasis placed on continuous learning, increased self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Empowerment is ultimately driven by the individual’s belief in their capability to influence events.
Empowerment can be attained through one or many ways. An important factor in the discovery and application of the human “self empowerment” lies within the tools used to unveil the truth.
II. DEFINITION OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT:
Empowerment is a multi-faced, multi-dimensional and multi-layered concept. As such, it is not this or that, but is the action and interaction of various factors-physical, socioeconomic, political, mental, psychological, and attitudinal and so on. Women’s empowerment could be described as a process in which women gain greater share of control over resources-material, human and intellectual like knowledge, information, ideas, and financial resources like money and access to money and control over decision making in the home, community, society and nation, and to gain power’. The term women’s empowerment has come to be associated with women’s struggle for social justice and equality1.
Sharma points out that-The term empowerment refers to a range of activities from individual self-assertion to collective resistance, protest and mobilization that challenge basic power relations2.
Empowerment means moving from a position of enforced powerlessness to one of power. It would promote women‘s inherent strength and positive self-image3.
To empower women does not mean to give them power to dominate others or to use power to establish their superiority over others, as it may be commonly understood. Women’s moving to a position of power does not mean that she is going to abuse power to ill-treat and exploit men. Women’s empowerment in reality is to empower herself, and not to overpower men.
III. GNEDER JUSTICE POLICY AND PRINCIPLES4:
· Promote gender justice as a theological foundation to proclaim dignity and justice for all human beings and to promote gender equality as a universally recognized human right.
· Uphold values of dignity and justice, inclusiveness and participation, mutual accountability and transparency reflecting respect for all people’s gifts.
· Apply at regional and local levels the LWF assembly and council decisions regarding inclusiveness and gender and generational balance, ensuring the equal representation and participation of women and men at all levels in decision-making positions.
· Ensure gender analysis in all humanitarian and development work and intentionally address gender equality in order to reinforce patterns of justice and inclusiveness. For this reason, it is essential to recognize and analyze the effects of all development processes on gender equality.
· Support the empowerment of women as a key strategy toward ending the unequal distribution of wealth and conflict and preventing and responding to gender-based violence.
· Actively promote the involvement of men reflecting on models of transformed masculinities engaged in gender justice.
· Address systemic and structural practices that create barriers to the full participation of women in leadership and at levels of decision making.
· Ensure that key organizational policies, systems, practices, budgets, human resource management, staffing, representation, training, management and decision- making bodies are gender balanced and support the equal participation of women and men.
· Ensure that gender analysis is built into all programs and stages of project cycles: assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
· Engage all aspects of theology, liturgy and devotional life from the perspective of gender justice.
IV. INDIAN CONSTITUTION:
Gender Justice on the Constitutional bedrock:
The Preamble of our Constitution is “a key to open the mind of the makers of the Constitution which may show the general purpose for which they make the Constitution. It declares the rights and freedoms which the people of India intended to secure to all citizens. The Preamble begins with the words “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA” which includes men and women of all castes, religions, etc. It wishes to render “EQUALITY of status and or opportunity” to every man and woman. The Preamble again assures “dignity of individuals” which includes the dignity of women. On the basis of the Preamble, several important enactments have been brought into operation, pertaining to every walk of life–family, succession, guardianship and employment–which aim at providing the protecting the status, rights and dignity of women. Our compassionate Constitution, the Fountain Head of all laws, is gender sensitive5.
The Constitution of India not only grants equality to women but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women for neutralizing the cumulative socio economic, education and political disadvantages faced by them. It is apt to refer to certain constitutional provisions which are significant in this regard:
Fundamental Rights (Part-III):
all forms of exploitation (Article 46) (i) Equality before law (Article 14)
(ii) The State not to discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race caste, sex, place of birth or any of them (Article 15(i))
(iii) The State to make any special provision in favour of women and children (Article 15(3)
Directive Principles of State Policy (Part-IV):
(iv) The State to direct its policy towards securing for men and women equally the right to an adequate means of livelihood (Article 39 (a)); and equal pay for equal work for both men and women (Article 39 (d))
(v) The State to make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief (Article 42)
(vi) The State to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and to protect them from social injustice and
Fundamental Duty (Part-IV-A):
(vii) To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women (Article 51(A) (e)).
The Panchayats (Part IX):
(viii) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat to be reserved for women and such seats to be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat (Article 243 D (3).
(ix) Not less than one-third of the total number of offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level to be reserved for women (Article 243 D (4)
(x) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality to be reserved for women and such seats to be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality (Article 243 T(3))
(xi) Reservation of offices of Chairpersons in Municipalities for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the legislature of a State may by law provide (Article 243T (4).
Reservation under Articles 243 D (3), D (4), T (3) and T (4) are meant to empower the woman politically.
Some Articles play a major role in the field of women empowerment. Article 15 (3) empowers the State to make special provisions for them. The well-being of a woman is an object of public interest and it is to be achieved to preserve the strength and vigour of the race. This provision has enabled the State to make special statutory provisions exclusively for the welfare of women.
Article 39 (a), requires the State to direct its policy towards securing that the citizens, men and women equally have the right to an adequate means of livelihood. Under Article 39 (d), the State shall direct its policy towards securing equal pay for equal work for both men and women. Further, Article 39 (e) is aimed at protecting the health and strength of workers, both men and women.
In Valsamma Paul6, it has been ruled that human rights for women comprehends gender equality and it is also traceable to the Convention for Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
In Bodhisattwa Gautam7, the Court observed that women have the right to be respected and treated as equal citizens.
In Kharak Singh8, the Court has recognized that a person has complete rights of control over his body organs and his ‘person’ under Article 21. It can also said to be including the complete right of a woman over her reproductive organs.
In Vishakha9, the Court took a serious note of the increasing menace of sexual harassment at workplace and elsewhere. Considering the inadequacy of legislation on the point, the Court defined sexual harassment and laid down instruction for the employers and thereafter the Court observed as under:
“Each incident of sexual harassment of woman at workplace results in violation of fundamental rights of “Gender Equality” and the “Right to Life and Liberty”.
V. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS TREATIES ON GENDER EQUALITIES10:
The Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979, is the United Nations’ landmark treaty marking the struggle for women’s right. It is regarded as the Bill of Rights for women. It graphically puts what constitutes discrimination against women and spells out tools so that women’s rights are not violated and they are conferred the same rights.
The other relevant International Instruments on Women are:
(i) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)11,
(ii) Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952)12,
(iii) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)13,
(iv) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)14,
(v) Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1967)15,(vi) Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict (1974)16,
(vii) Inter-American Convention for the Prevention, Punishment and Elimination of Violence against Women (1995)17,
(viii) Universal Declaration on Democracy (1997)18, and
(ix) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1999)19.
VI. KEY GENDER ISSUES FOR JUSTICE PROGRAMING20:
a) Women’s property and inheritance rights:
In many countries, women and men do not have equal rights to inherit and own property. Some governments may have ratified CEDAW, but have yet to harmonize legislation with CEDAW or do not hold themselves accountable to ensuring women’s property and inheritance rights.
Gender inequities in inheritance and property rights are attributable both to laws and policies that openly discriminate against women and also to the failure of many countries to implement existing, equitable laws on property ownership and inheritance.
b) Marriage, divorce and family law:
As with inheritance and property law, inequalities in legislation related to marriage, divorce and child custody persist in many countries. Given the primacy of the private sphere for many women, discrimination against women in family law can be particularly harmful. Furthermore, many systematic and pervasive violations of women’s human rights are perpetrated by women’s family members. While most men suffer human rights abuses at the hands of state or public institutions, women who suffer rights abuses tend to do so in their own homes, at the hands of family members. Thus, unfair access to services, counsel and adjudication, and the enforcement of discriminatory marriage, divorce and family law render women unprotected in the very sphere where they are most likely to suffer human rights abuses. These discrepancies explicitly violate the provisions of CEDAW that entitle women to equal rights to enter and leave marriages (UN, 1979).
c) Gender-based violence:
Violence against women is the most pervasive and destructive systematic violation of women’s human rights. Besides violating women’s bodily integrity, gender-based violence (GBV) is also used as a means of intimidating, silencing, punishing and humiliating women. Violence against women is not confined to any particular social class, ethnic group, religious group or even time period. Rather, GBV is an ever-present universal threat to women. Despite the seriousness and prevalence of GBV, many women are still not protected by legislation or practice.
d) Traditional justice versus formal justice:
Support for traditional or customary justice mechanisms has been advocated as a means of increasing access to justice for people marginalized by poverty, ethnicity, location or other factors. Non-elites often view traditional justice systems as more legitimate, relevant and accessible (UNDP, 2004).
Furthermore, where traditional justice mechanisms are in force, corruption and elite capture of development resources are often perceived to be less endemic. However, traditional justice mechanisms can and often do discriminate against women. Care must be taken to ensure that any traditional justice initiatives supported by UNDP and its partners comply with CEDAW and other normative human rights frameworks. In each country and cultural context, traditional and customary justice mechanisms must be analysed from a women’s rights perspective in order to strengthen gender-equitable programming.
e) International jurisprudence:
In recent years, international jurisprudence has seen a great deal of progress in ensuring justice for women. Although much international jurisprudence is outside the scope of UNDP Access to Justice programmes, the evolution of international jurisprudence as it relates to sexual and gender-based violence sets an important precedent and demonstrates the seriousness with which the international community treats these acts. Norms established by the ICC, as with other normative frameworks relating to women’s rights, such as CEDAW, can be used by UNDP to lobby decision makers on these issues.
VII. RECOMMENDATIONS TO PROMOTE WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE21:
Women and men have different justice needs and often face very different barriers to access, based on their gender. Each of the six types of support provided by UNDP must be tailored to reflect these differences and adapted to meet the needs of both women and men in justice sector reform. Entry points to ensure that UNDP support promotes women’s rights and gender equality are identified below.
Legal protection:
· Include CEDAW among the international treaties that UNDP refers to as a means of enhancing the protection of disadvantaged groups.
· Encourage national stakeholders to harmonize national legislation with CEDAW and develop plans for implementing CEDAW.
· Encourage women to participate in the justice sector and support women who are already working in the justice sector.
Legal awareness:
· The efforts of UNDP to raise legal awareness must recognize and grapple with the threat to personal security that may follow many women’s attempts at obtaining legal or judicial redress for rights violations.
· Women and men must be provided with separate access to information about their rights and the legal redress available to them.
· Training of government officials in legal awareness must include a gender component, focusing on how men and women may possess differing information, senses of entitlement and different abilities to access justice in a given context.
Legal aid and counsel:
· Provide support to women interested in pursuing legal careers through scholarship programmes.
· Engage bar associations and other lawyers’ associations and offer gender and women’s human rights training to their membership.
· Offer legal clinics exclusively to women to encourage their participation in these sorts of trainings and provide them in a safe environment.
Adjudication:
· Utilize existing programming, such as support for judicial training centres, to roll out training for members of the judiciary on CEDAW, gender, and women’s rights.
· Support national human rights commissions and ombudsperson’s offices to develop adequate capacity on gender issues and women’s human rights, including through training and the establishment of gender desks.
· Support national stakeholders to develop appointment and recruitment systems that will maximize the participation of women in the judiciary. This will also require a full analysis of the major obstacles to women’s advancement within the judiciary.
Enforcement:
· Work with national police forces to develop zero-tolerance policies as well as accountability mechanisms for sexual exploitation, abuse and GBV committed by members of the security sector.
· Provide training in human rights, gender issues and zero-tolerance to police forces.
· Work with national police forces to develop policies that ensure that the police will enforce judgments made in favour of women in cases involving property disputes, marriage and divorce, and violence.
Civil society and parliamentary oversight:
· Engage with the many women’s organizations at the country level that are active on issues of justice, police reform and media and advocacy.
· Consult women’s organizations prior to planning access to justice programming in order to assess women’s priorities in the target community. In this way, programmes will support, rather than possibly undermine, existing initiatives at the grass-roots level.
· Provide support for women parliamentarians to participate in parliamentary oversight committees.
VIII. CONCLUTION:
It is common knowledge that despite constitutional safeguards, statutory provisions and plethora of pronouncements to support the cause of equality of women, changes in social attitudes and institutions have not significantly occurred. But, there has to be total optimism to achieve the requisite goal. It is necessary to accelerate this process of change by deliberate and planned efforts so that the pernicious social evil of gender inequality is buried deep in its grave. Laws written in black and white are not enough to combat the evil. A socially sensitive judge is indeed better statutory armour in cases of crimes against women than penal statutes.
Awakening of the collective consciousness is the need of the day. A problem as multifaceted as women’s self-actualization is too important to be left to a single section of the society. This responsibility has to be shared by the State, community organizations, legislators who frame the laws and the judiciary which interprets the Constitution and other laws in order to give a stimulus to the legal reform in the field of gender justice and to usher in the new dawn of freedom, dignity and opportunity for both the sexes equally.
[“Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra dewatah”] (where woman is worshipped, there is abode of God).
The second line being significant was reproduced. It is as follows:-
A free translation of the aforesaid is reproduced below:-
“All the actions become unproductive in a place, where they are not treated with proper respect and dignity.”
Two other references that were given are stated below:-
A free translation of the aforesaid is as follows:
“The women are to be respected equally on par with husbands, brothers, fathers, relatives, in-laws and other kith and kin and while respecting, the women gifts like ornaments, garments, etc. should be given as token of honour.”
Yet again, the sagacity got reflected in following lines: -
A free translation of the aforesaid is reproduced below:-
“The incomparable valour (effulgence) born from the physical frames of all the gods, spreading the three worlds by its radiance and combining together took the form of a woman.”
IX. REFERENCES:
1. Waghamode, R. H. and Kalyan, J. L, Women Empowerment in India: A Study, Reviews of Literature Volume 1 , Issue 7/Feb 2014, ISSN:-2347-2723.
2. Khanday, Mohd. Ishq, Empowerment of Women in India- Historical Perspective, Europian Academic Research, Vol. II, Issue11/February 20, ISSN 2286-4822.
3. Tanzeem, Dr. F, Gender Justice: A Conceptual Analysis, Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research Vol. 1 Issue 4 ISSN 2322-0147.
4. Durga Das Basu, Shorter Constitution of India (13th ed. 2001) Wadhwa and Company, Law Publishers, Nagpur.
5. http://hrba.undp.sk/index.php/assessmentanalysisandplanning/genderassessment/genderchecklist
6. https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/DTPW-WICAS_Gender_Justice.pdf
7. http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/womens-empowerment/gender-equality-and-justice-programming-equitable-access-to-justice-for-women1.html
8. http://www.tnsja.tn.nic.in/Article/Women%20Empowerment%20and%20Gender%20Justice-Dipak%20Mishra.pdf
9. http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/pdfs/1050143_%28e%29_%28desa%29dialogues_ecosoc_achieving_gender_equality_women_empowerment.pdf
10. http://www.manupatra.co.in/newsline/articles/Upload/162E375DC3384C89B04000A8A9E5A844.pdf
Received on 25.05.2018 Modified on 26.06.2018
Accepted on 27.07.2018 ©A&V Publications All right reserved
Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2018; 9(3): 683-688.
DOI: 10.5958/2321-5828.2018.00118.3