Sudipta Mishra, Puri, 15 April 2023
India is gearing towards substantive women’s empowerment. Since the 18th century, India has been witnessing gradual empowerment of women from the grassroots level. In ancient India, women were being treated as a commodity for enjoyment by some lusty predators. The abolition of “Sati” (self immolation by women at their husband’s pyre), a social evil custom, was an initial step towards women’s empowerment. “Sati” was considered as a stigma that ignited the life of a widow towards a vulnerable tragic end. In 1829, “Sati” was banned. Raja Ram Mohan Roy played a key role in its abolition. Another reformation was the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act in 1856, which safeguarded widows by allowing them to remarry and inherit from her deceased husband. This was possible due to the tireless efforts of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and Special Marriage Act, 1954 are stepping stones toward women’s empowerment in India. The stigmatized customs and traditions had already oppressed half of the population of our society.
Then, the evil practices which were continued since the Aryan period were to be smashed and crushed to ensure the dignity of women. Hence, after Independence, our Constitution has rendered equality, dignity, and freedom to our women from any discrimination. The status of women in our society was very low, especially in the Indo-Aryan period when evil practices such as female infanticide, dowry, child Marriage, the taboo on widow remarriages, and the most dreadful practice of “Sati”, prevailed. Most of these reforms were carried out during the British Rule. There are numerous articles inserted into our Constitution that guarantee equality of status for women. After Independence, our Government has safeguarded several provisions for the security and stability of a married woman through the Hindu Marriage Act. It aimed at women’s empowerment by codifying and amending Shastrik Law. It introduced separation and divorce which previously did not exist in Shastrik Law. It brought uniformity for all sections of Hindus. Hindu Marriage Act stabilized the rights of Hindu married women on the following grounds:-
1. Marriage can be voidable and may be annulled due to impotency and partial impotency.
2. Divorce can also be sought on a continuous period of desertion for two or more years, mental imbecility, or second marriage.
3. The most vital clause is, a wife can present a petition for the dissolution of marriage if the husband has been guilty of rape, bestiality, or sodomy.
Further, there have been different revisions and amendments in laws to strengthen the position of a woman. The Marriage Amendment Law came in 2010 intending to eliminate the follies and flaws which clouded the sanctity of Hindu Marriage. It aims at abolishing the financial hardship that a divorcee faces after the dissolution of marriage. Married daughters are included as legal heirs from 2005 onwards as per the amendments in the Indian Succession Act. After the Succession (Amendment), Act 2005, a daughter after her birth in a joint family becomes an equal partner of ancestral property in the same manner as a son inherits. This was a revolutionary transformation in the patriarchal mindset of society that has been ruining the rights and dignity of a woman in a family. Before 2005, in a dwelling house, no female heir could claim partition and daughters had a right of residence only when she was unmarried, deserted or widowed. Now the daughters (married or unmarried) have the same rights to reside in and to claim partition of the parental dwelling house, as the sons.
Again on July 30th, 2019, India proudly witnessed another milestone in the history of women’s emancipation with the enactment of the Triple Talaq Bill by the Indian Parliament. This will work as a balm to soothe the age-old injuries of Muslim women. This reformation will endow them with a gift of a sustainable life of choice with equal dignity and social status.
Hence, it is evidenced from the above discussion that India is rapidly strengthening the fundamental rights and dignity of women and making headway towards a more inclusive and just society.
