Professional Documents
Culture Documents
After Independence, the architects of the Indian Constitution wanted to introduce reforms and
were keen to establish an egalitarian society. To achieve this end they used law as an instrument
to check gender discrimination, and unfavorable social environment.
While drafting the Constitution, they were sensitive to the problems faced by society in general.
The Preamble, which highlights the essence of the entire Constitution, clarifies that Equality is
one of the objectives of the Indian Constitution:-
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity o
Part III of the Constitution consisting of Articles 12-35 is the heart of the Constitution. The
architects of the Constitution were conscious of the unequal treatment and discrimination meted
out to the fairer sex from time immemorial and therefore included certain general as well as
specific provisions for the upliftment of the status of women.
(1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or
appointment to any office under the state.
(2) No citizens shall, on grounds only of religion, race, cast, sex, descent, place of birth, residence
or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office
under the state.
The Constitution, therefore, provides equal opportunities for women implicitly as they are
applicable to all persons irrespective of sex.
Article 38 requires the State to secure a social order in which justice- social, economic and
political for the promotion of welfare of the people. It requires the state to strive to eliminate
inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities. Clearly the intention of the architects of the
Constitution was to ensure that equality would not only be of opportunity but in reality.
Article 39 puts down the principles of policy to be followed by the state which include that the
state should direct its policy towards securing the right to an adequate, means of livelihood , that
there is equal pay for equal work, that the health and strength of workers- men and women , are
not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to
their age or strength.
Article 42 requires the state to make provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work
and for maternity relief
Article 46 requires the state to promote with special care the education and economic interest of
the weaker sections of the citizen. Clearly then the objective is to strive towards a gender just
society.
1. National Commission for Women: In January 1992, the Government set-up this statutory
body with a specific mandate to study and monitor all matters relating to the constitutional and
legal safeguards provided for women, review the existing legislation to suggest amendments
wherever necessary, etc.
2. Reservation for Women in Local Self -Government: The 73rd Constitutional Amendment
Acts passed in1992 by Parliament ensure one-third of the total seats for women in all elected
offices in local bodies whether in rural areas or urban areas.
3. The National Plan of Action for the Girl Child (1991-2000): The plan of Action is to ensure
survival, protection and development of the girl child with the ultimate objective of building up a
better future for the girl child.
4. National Policy for the Empowerment of Women, 2001: The Department of Women &
Child Development in the Ministry of Human Resource Development had prepared a National
Policy for the Empowerment of Women in the year 2001. The goal of this policy is to bring
about the advancement, development and empowerment of women.
According to one estimate, India has about two million transgender people. These people live on
the fringes of society, often in poverty, ostracized because of their gender identity. They weren't
always sidelined. Members of the transgender community have played a prominent role in Indian
culture and were once treated with great respect. They find mention in the ancient Hindu
scriptures and were written about in the greatest epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. They played
an important role in medieval India as well, in the royal courts of the Mughal emperors.
Although no Central legislation in India has openly recognised the third gender, gendersensitivity within the Indian bureaucracy has taken a small step, with eunuchs being given the
option to enter their sex as 'E' instead of either 'M' or 'F' in passport application forms in 2005.
Later in 2009, India's Election Commission gave those recognising themselves as transsexuals
an independent identity by letting them choose their gender as "other" on ballot forms, and by
allowing them to contest the Lok Sabha Elections- in 2014. Four transgender candidates
contested
the
elections,
two
of
them
from
major
seats-
Varanasi
and
Amethi.
It was in April, 2014 that a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court of India created the "third
gender" status for hijras or transgender. Earlier, they were forced to write male or female against
their gender which denied them the right of equality before the law and equal protection of law
guaranteed under Article 14 and violated the rights guaranteed to them under Article 21 of the
India Constitution. The Supreme Court ordered the government to give them educational and
employment reservation as OBCs, but little has been done towards fulfilling that.