The Impact of Legislation on women's status in Independent India: After India got her independence the Constitution of India laid the foundation for creating a social order where men and women are treated as equals. While Article 14 of the Constitution conferred equal rights and opportunities on men and women 15 (1) prohibited discrimination against any citizen on grounds of sex. The Constitution, through Article
15 (3) also laid down that the state can make special provision for women. According to Article 16 (2) no citizen shall be discriminated against in respect of any employment in office under the state.
A number of laws were also implemented for liberating women from oppressive social customs and protecting their rights. Prominent of these laws are as follows:
(i) The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (This Act made monogamy compulsory and created a provision for divorce. It has prescribed the minimum age at marriage as 15 years for a girl and 18 years for a man).
(ii) The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (This Act confers property rights on women; but the provisions of the Act applied only to self-earned property and equal share is not guaranteed for women in ancestral property).
(iii) The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and the subsequent amendments of 1984 and 1986 (As you will read in the lesson: Some Problems of Women).
(iv) The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (This Act grants maternity leave with full pay for 135 days to women who have completed 80 working days in a given job and prohibits the dismissal for discharge of a woman during the leave period. This Act extends to factories, mines, plantations, shops and establishments where 10 or more persons are employed.
(v) The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (This Act provides for payment of equal wages for men and women for equal work).
(vi) The Indecent Representation of Women [Prohibition] Act, 1986 (This Act. prohibits indecent presentation of women in advertisements and media campaigns and makes it a punishable offence).
Besides the Acts referred to above, there are also many legislations such as Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956, The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act of 1956 amended in 1986, The Family Courts Act of 1984 and The National Commission for Women Act of 1990 have been passed after the country became independent.
Constitutional provisions and a series of laws have actually paved the way for bringing about major changes in the lives of women. Though women have been enfranchised, their age-long social subordination continues to prevail in many forms. In the 55 years following India's independence, the position of women on different indicators of development such as education or life expectancy has improved considerably, but there are still gaps in such areas of access to health care or work participation.
