International Journal of Political Science, Law and International Relations (IJPSLIR) ISSN(P): 2278-8832; ISSN(E): 2278-8840 Vol. 11, Issue 3, Jun 2021, 13-24 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN: A REALITY OR A MYTH

Dr. DAISY CHANGMAI1 & MONMI GOHAIN2 1Department of Law, National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam, 2Department of Law, National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam, India

ABSTRACT

Empowerment of women denotes the liberation of women from the atrocious and faulty clutches of society and its various components. Empowerment can be brought about by providing certain platforms like education, awareness, social acceptance, etc. The Constitution of India has embedded the idea of gender equality and empowerment in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties, and the Directive Principles. There are various other legislations, both domestic and international which work for the same. But until today, it is considered as a dilemma, given the rate of development and modernization the society has gone through. World Health Organisation has revealed that 35% of the women worldwide suffer several kinds of violence at some point in their life. This is the position of almost every country in the world and India is not an exception. There is still a huge percentage of women who are defenseless, marginalized,

Original Article Original and distressed, providing only support and ample facilities will not suffice the idea of empowerment. It is required to have an insight into the real cause of the situation and actual effort lies in changing the perception of the entire society towards uplifting the sense of security and safekeeping of the women of our country.

KEYWORDS: Empowerment, Gender Equality, Security, Status Quo, Insight

Received: Mar 18, 2021; Accepted: Apr 08, 2021; Published: Apr 20, 2021; Paper Id.: IJPSLIRJUN20212

INTRODUCTION

“You can tell the condition of a country by looking at the status of women”- Jawaharlal Nehru.

Empowerment of women is a major goal of development. In the real sense, empowerment of women denotes guaranteeing rights to women, giving them decision-making power and access to opportunities and resources. It can also be brought about by providing certain platforms like education, awareness, social acceptance, etc.

Women have been given a high place of honour since ages under Hindu Society. The Great Shastrakars Manu proclaims that women form the foundation of a prosperous society. Manu quotes – “the society that provides respect and dignity to women flourishes with nobility and prosperity. And a society that does not put women on such a high pedestal has to face miseries and failures regardless of how so much noble deeds they perform otherwise.”

Women empowerment is a critical aspect of achieving gender equality, both go hand in hand. Only by uplifting the women which are also regarded as the vulnerable section of the society, we can generate equality among unequals. The Constitution makers were well versed with the idea of gender equality and empowerment and hence, they incorporated the same in the objectives of the Preamble and different Parts, namely, Part- IIII, IV,II IV-

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AIII in the Indian Constitution. Violence against women becomes a major subject of concern for international legal and policy framework which obliges the state parties to take appropriate measures – legal or other measures to ensure protection to women against all kinds of violence and respect their dignity and integrity. There are various other legislations both domestic and international that aim at achieving gender justice through women empowerment. Considering the importance, the researchers attempt to find out the authenticity of the empowerment in the prevailing legal regime and the role of the civil society to ensure overall empowerment to the women community as well. Hence, the aim of this paper is to look into the actual idea of women empowerment in our country and how is it fulfilled by the established rules and regulations. In addition to that, the paper also aims at giving out apparent solutions to ensure the status quo for women in society.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The researchers have incorporated mainly doctrinal methodology in preparing the paper. The research is analytical which is based on critical analysis of the existing state of facts and information available. Source of data is secondary based on different reports and statistics of prominent investigative agencies published from time to time. However, researchers have also relied on the study on legal articles, legal journals and internet archives, etc.

Empowerment of Women in India: A Conceptual Analysis

The concept of empowerment of women in India is not a new concept. Several steps are being taken by the government as well as non-governmental institutions towards the empowerment of women. At this juncture, it is essential for us to understand the concept of empowerment. Empowerment can be defined as the phenomenon through which the vulnerable and defenseless can gain greater control over their lives and the entire decision-making process. It also means a change in the thinking of the people and the changing the circumstances of the society.IV

Various Aspects of Women Empowerment in India

Women empowerment does not mean the exclusion of women as a different class of people in society. It means taking women to be at par with men and reducing the notion of patriarchy present in our country. So, there are various aspects of women empowerment which is given as under:V

 Empowerment of women from a human rights perspective: By the virtue of being a part of society, women have equal rights with men.

 Empowerment of Women from a social perspective: It emphasizes the gender disparities that women faced in society which need to be curbed down so that there can be social upliftment of women.

 Empowerment of women from an educational Perspective: This highlights the awareness and education of the womenfolk in the society so that we can ensure equal participation of women in the society.

 Empowerment of Women from a legal perspective: This emphasizes the formation of an appropriate legal structure and implementation of the established provisions. Women should be made aware of the available legal provisions.

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.0038 Rating: 2.46 Empowerment of Women: A Reality or A Myth 15

 Empowerment of women from an occupational perspective: In this regard, equal opportunities have to be given to the womenfolk as well. There should not be any discrimination in the nature of work and payment facilities.

 Empowerment of Women from a political perspective: Taking part in the politics of a country is very important to women in terms of empowerment. So, there should be the formulation of a suitable legal system that can ensure women's involvement.

Empowerment of Women in India: A Legal Analysis

The Constitution of India assures empowerment of women by means of various guarantees in it such as the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex,VI equality of opportunity in employment,VII equal remuneration with the male counterpart for equal work,VIII equal participation in the decision-making process, one-third reservation in the election of local bodies,IX etc. Moreover, the State machinery is directed under the Constitution to take measures to secure adequate means of livelihood for women equally with men,X just and human conditions of work and maternity reliefXI, so on and so forth. Additionally, Indian Constitution giving special privileges to women and children empowers the State to make special provisions for themXIIand also imposes an obligation on every citizen of India to promote harmony and renunciation of derogatory practices towards the dignity of women.XIII

To maintain the focus of the constitutional objectives, the Government of India has passed a considerable number of laws for safeguarding women from their abode to the workplace. But, in spite of these efforts, the womenfolk of our country are not secured. This is a question that needs to be answered in the due course of time. There must be some lacunae that prevent such provisions to reach the women which is not yet gone from our society and which needs to be addressed.

Some of the Recent Cases Respecting Dignity of Women Right to be Forgotten and Dignity of Women Right to be forgotten is a new concept applied in sensitive cases affecting the modesty and reputation of the women particularly. This right is generally functional in cases involving women. In India, the right to be forgotten is recognized in Sri Vasunathan v. Registrar GeneralXIVcase, where the petitioner had prayed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution before the Court for the removal of the name of his daughter from the digital records maintained by the High Court in a judgment. The petitioner urges the court that the judgment of the Court might reflect in the public domain along with her name which would be detrimental to her reputation in society and also her relationship with her husband. The Karnataka High Court sustained the right, in this case, set an example of its goodwill towards the dignity of women fraternity. This right permits an individual to request for the removal of his/her personal information/data online to the extent that it is not visible for search engines like Google and Yahoo.XV

Right to Reproductive Choice or Sexual Autonomy

The Apex Court in the case of Suchita Srivastava v. AdministrationXVIopined that under the broader ambit of right to life and personal liberty, the reproductive choice of women is an important facet that entitles a woman's autonomy in participation in sexual activity and beget or not to beget child out of their married relationship.XVII

Triple Talaq is Unconstitutional

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The Shayara Bano v. Union of IndiaXVIII held that the practice of triple talaq is unconstitutional as it violates the right of Muslim women and also raises issues of gender equality and human rights. As a result of this landmark judgment, the Parliament of India passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 in July.

Entry of women in Sabrimala Temple

In Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of KeralaXIX, the Apex Court by a majority on 28th September 2018 upheld gender equality in the worship of God and held that the age-old temple practice of excluding women age group of 10-50 years only on the ground of biological differences is unconstitutional and violated fundamental rights under Art. 14 and 25 of the Constitution of India.

Interference with the freedom of matrimonial alliances is unlawful

The Supreme Court judgment in Shakti Vahini v. Union of IndiaXX is a significant one as it gave direction to the Centre and States to curb the practice of honour killings. The Court directed the Khap panchayat not to take law in hand and assume the character of a law implementing agency as they are just community-based assemblies. The Honourable Court further held that preventing any consenting adults from marrying by the Khap panchayat is illegal.

Factors of Women Empowerment in India

Empowerment of women is a very subjective concept. It depends on the type of society that we live in and on the mindset of people how they perceive the concept of women empowerment. It also depends on the sociocultural factors of a particular society. Ample opportunities should be provided to the womenfolk in order to get themselves empowered. This responsibility is on the government as well as the common people to pave the way for women's empowerment. In the context of our country, the state of society that we live in has a major role to play in achieving the goal of empowering and strengthening the women population. Among many, the following are some of the factors which if adhered to can help the idea of women empowerment in our country:

 The right of making life decisions: Women have the right to make their own life decisions by the virtue of being a woman. This cannot be snatched away from them. So, the ability to make good life decisions will help in strengthening the position of women in society.

 The right to move freely in society: Freedom of movement is granted by our constitution of India as a fundamental right, but the enjoyment of the same should not be a biased affair. This freedom should be available to women as a whole. This will help the women to be self-dependent.

 Educational Facilities: The constitution of India also grants the right to education, but the idea of women empowerment cannot be achieved unless and until adequate facilities are provided to them for seeking a proper education. This also requires adequate support from the government as well as the common public.

 Empowerment Opportunities: Women empowerment remains a myth if the convenience and the possibility of the same are not provided. This is only possible if ample participation in all spheres of society is provided to the women.

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.0038 Rating: 2.46 Empowerment of Women: A Reality or A Myth 17

 Political Participation: Participation of women in the political system of our country is very important in the present scenario in order to vouch for the empowerment of women and to emerge as an unsuppressed class of society. So, the representation of women in every stage of politics should be encouraged.

Hindrances To Women Empowerment

The researcher perceives the following notions as a hindrance to the empowerment of women

 Social Norms and family responsibility: Social norms are socially derived and man-made collective rules for shaping the behaviour of human beings but when these norms become harsh, it leads to sufferings, coercion, and other deprivation of liberty. A girl in our society from her childhood is bound to prioritize family honour and if she fails to do so, social norms blame her.

 Poverty and economic Suppression: Many a time, the poor economic condition of a family deprives a woman of her basic living standards, access to education, health, and life expectancy, etc.

 Lack of Adequate Information about rights and safeguards: Lack of legal literacy is a common problem among women with both having basic education and uneducated.

 Lack of Change in the perception of the society: Unchanged social psychology even among the educated masses in fear of social norms many a time leads to gender-based violence.

 Crime against women in India: Continuity of crimes against women in various forms put the women community in deep fear of insecurity and helpless condition. All these phenomena restrict the free movement of women in society and in getting a job which ultimately results in economic impairment.

Why do We Need Women Empowerment?

Undoubtedly, the central Government as well as the state Government strives to empower the women of India by enacting stringent laws as well as schemes from time to time. But in real life, women are discriminated against and marginalized in every way in society whether it is a matter of participation in different segments of life or their education or about healthcare. Reportedly, a few women are engaged in services and other activities which on the other hand leave an impression of poor economic condition and illiterate position of women in India and it results in a huge barrier in their way to stand at par with the male counterpart. Hence, these factors strongly recommend the empowerment of the women community in the true sense.XXI

Women empowerment although asserts significant importance, truth is something inverse to it. Gender disparity is still deep-rooted in every society. Even at the age of civilization, they are denied access to basic amenities like education, health, etc. As per statistics of the World Health Organisation, almost 35% of the women worldwide experienced various types of violence be it sexual violence, domestic violence, forced sex, human trafficking, street-based violence, bullying, and cyber-harassment through unwanted emails, offensive massages, so on and so forth. India is not an exception to it. Even after the fatal night of 16th December 2012, the rate of offenses against women neither decreases nor is slowing down. We have witnessed many such incidences which shattered the nation. Some of the notable rape cases are –

Mumbai gang-rape case, 2013

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In August 2013, a 22-year-old photojournalist was gang-raped by five persons including a juvenile when she along with a male colleague went to the Shakti Mills compound on an assignment.

Unnao rape case, 2017

A 19-year-old girl was gang raped in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh by a BJP lawmaker along with another 11 people. The case came into the limelight when the survivor tries to commit suicide in the court premises by burning herself on account of getting intimidation and life threatening from the alleged offenders.

Kathua Rape Case, 2018

Asifa Banu, an 8-year-old girl was abducted on 10th January 2018 and kept in captivity for four days in a village temple and the minor girl was gang raped and murdered.

Gang-rape of veterinarian Priyanka Reddy, 2019

This is another shocking incidence of rape and cases in the Indian crime record. A 26-year-old veterinarian doctor from Shamshabad in Hyderabad goes missing when she returns from her clinic on 27th November 2019. The next day morning her body was found in the outskirts of Hyderabad partially burnt. She was raped, smothered, and burnt by the four alleged persons.

The crime rate against women is shockingly rising day by day. The annual report of the National Crime Record Bureau reveals a very poor picture of combating crime against women. The following tables show an analysis of crime scenario in India.

The statistics depict that nothing has changed in the recent years. In fact, there has been a dreadful increase in rape cases since 2013-2018. However, the above figure in the chart is based on the reported cases. There are still more numbers that go unreported.

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The state of Assam which is usually recognized as a safe zone for women shows a gradual increase in crimes against women, but, some of the incidences in the recent past literally smash the image of the state. As per the government report, 6528 cases have been registered in Assam from April 2016 to October 2019. However, in the years 2017 and 2018, Assam set the record of crime against women when the rate becomes 143.3 against the national record and 31% spurt in cases of rape in 2018 compared to the previous year. Some of the significant cases of Assam –

Bornali Debbarma’s rape case 2002

A minor girl named Bornali was abducted from a travel agency on the night of July 12, 2002 in Guwahati, Assam, and was raped and later on, her body was thrown into a septic tank.

Arnamai Bora rape case, 2017

On May 31, 2017, a 58-year-old Arnamai Bora, the Head Master of a village school was raped by two persons who dumped her body in the river Kopili.

Batadrava gang-rape case, 2018

A 13-year-old girl was raped by the accused along with his two minor partners and later the victim was burnt alive by pouring kerosene on her.

Tezpur gang-rape, 2020

On 28th February 2020, in Biswanath District, Assam, a 12-year-old girl was kidnapped and raped by seven minor boys and was then hung from a tree.

Hence, it is apparent that even though we are talking about empowerment, women are still suppressed under the male-dominated society. Nothing seems to be working when it is about gender equality or women empowerment. In a country with the largest economy like India, women have to suffer different kinds of annoyance like witch hunting, honour killing, bride burning, etc besides rape and sexual harassment.

To Empower Women in the Purest Sense in India

The researchers felt that,

 Only the effort of the government will not suffice, the society should give an appropriate atmosphere to the women so that the women have an inclination to their own empowerment by taking part in the social, political, and legal developments with a feeling of equal status.

 A sense of independence should be developed in the mindset of women which will come through not only by proper education but also by taking certain skill development programs which will help women to take care of themselves.

 The issue of gender inequality should be curbed from our society giving women equal preference in all sectors of life. Reservation to women in various spheres of society is essential but along with it, thinking that women is no less capable than men is necessary.

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 More effort is needed on the part of the government as well as the general public to upgrade the well-being of women when they go out for seeking education, for a livelihood, and various other participations of the society.XXII

 Changes in Institutions and systems – it is very important that the present system of institutions (family, community, state, market, law, etc.) in the society have to be changed that reproduce unequal power relations among different genders. XXIII

Why not Strict Laws in Both International and Domestic Sphere to Curb the Problem?

Protection of women against all kinds of torture or discrimination is the major policy goal of all international laws on the rights of women. Starting from the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) including the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW, Beijing Convention, the number goes never-ending. But what about the outcome of all these laws and their recommendations? Do the state parties get the expected result by rectifying the obligations? The answer might not be affirmative. Also, there might be a question upon the proper domestic implementation of the international laws in our country concerning women.

In India, after the ‘Nirbhaya case’, the government pledge for a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on violence against women, as such legal reforms were implemented, punishment against such crime was made harsher, but the statistics say the complete opposite to it. About 90 rape cases are reported everyday in India which means a woman is raped every 20 seconds. Even the Survey of 2018 by Thompson Reuters Foundation held that the maximum number of sexual violence cases committed in India as such making it the most dangerous country in the world for women.XXIVSo, the main question at this hour is that why, despite having such stringent laws, crime against women is rising in India?

There may be several reasons behind rampant cases of . Firstly, we may blame the slow addressing of the legal system in sexual assault and rape cases. It is because of the poor rate of conviction in most cases. In this connection, we can take the glaring example of the ‘Nirbhaya case’ which took seven years three months to hang the victims to death. The National Crime Record Bureau reveals the data of conviction by the courts in 2017 is just 32% which goes low at 27.2% in 2018. There are approximately 133,000 pending cases in the different courts till date.

The following diagrams show the comparative result of the year 2017 and year 2018 on number of reported cases, solved cases, conviction, and pending cases.

Figure 2

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Secondly, rape survivors and witnesses are often struggling to be taken into faith by the police or medical professional or even in courts. They have to face sensitive as well as humiliating questions during the investigation as well as during prosecutions.

Thirdly, the safety of the rape victims and witnesses becomes a big question as they get very little protection from revengeful and life-threatening attacks. Sometimes, even social activists and women workers also get threatened by rape and death. Under such a terrifying situation, many a time witnesses prefer to become hostile.

Fourthly, sometimes, state agencies or law enforcement agencies indulge in the sexual assault which results in a more pandemic situation in women's safety. We can state several such examples, namely alleged mass rape by Indian Armed Forces in and Kashmir and recent incidences of sexual assault by police personnel in Jamia Milia University during the protest of CAA.

Fifthly, delayed justice and lack of assurance of imposition of punishment to the perpetrator lead to psychological stigma among the victims and their families.

Lastly, studies reveal that many victims are not willing to register their cases as they could not face the social humiliation, because it seems that whenever a rape case is registered our society first raise question on the character of the victim and her outfits.

Does the Role of Civil Society End in Candle March?

As we know, civil society denotes a group of people or an organization working outside the government authority, but for the interest of the citizens. We feel there is a significant role to be played by civil society in order to combat the crime against women beyond candle marching for peace of the soul of the victim.

In order to empower the women in the true sense, for greater cooperation and commitment towards equality and justice, here begins the role of civil society. Their role may be two-folded – one, they may be the bridge of connection between the people who are victims and the decision-making authority. Secondly, they may advise the law enforcing agencies as they represent the voice of those neglected masses.

In India, gang-rape of the national capital set the trend of public outrage in brutal offence against women. A public protest may create pressure over the ruling government, but civil society may hold the public hearing to form their opinion which may be constructively represented by them before the government.

Moreover, social awareness is another important task to be performed by civil society as well as non- governmental organizations. They can make society more sensitive about the psychological and mental trauma undergone by the rape survivors and also encourage them to support the victims. If society stands as a barricade against those evil masses, every perpetrator might think twice before taking such an inhuman action.

So, only representing a sense of grief through demonstrations and other means after the crime is already committed against the women will not be of much help. Efforts should be made which will prevent any sort of crime to be committed against the women because, in the end, it is the women who suffer. The role of society never ends in candle march, but it lies much beyond that. Amicable efforts have to be taken both on the part of the government and the common people for bringing a change in society. People are with the conception that sudden amending of laws will bring women

www.tjprc.org [email protected] 22 Dr. Daisy Changmai & Monmi Gohain empowerment. The concept of women empowerment has to be achieved in the due course of time through the proper implementation of already existing laws and if required bring up new laws.

CONCLUSIONS

From the above analysis, it is seen that the concept of women empowerment in India is indeed dependent on various factors like education, social status, political participation, etc. It can never be denied that there are certain policies that are taken up by both the Central and State governments to achieve the idea of women’s empowerment, but the question of concern at this juncture is that there is a drastic void between the policies which are laid down on paper and the implementation mechanism of the same. As a result of that, in spite of having stringent punishments for crimes against women, there is no deterrent effect on the people who are continuously committing heinous crimes against women in our country. So, it is essential that the society itself takes up the activity of setting up an atmosphere where women can feel empowered. This will help the women to make good choices for themselves and will develop their interests in the activities of the society and will have a sense of equality. There is also an urgent need to curb the gender inequality which persists in our society. The suppression and oppression of women in all walks of life in the name of gender should be eliminated at all levels. The real development of the country lies in empowering the women of our country. So, it is felt that our constant effort as a woman, as government, and as a civil society can make women empowerment not a myth but a reality in our society.

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