WOMEN
PROTECTION LAWS IN INDIA,2021
1. Child Marriage Amendment (Bill) 2021.
2. Domestic violence Amendment (Bill) 2021.
3.
The Medical Termination of
Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
4.
Protection of women from sexual
harassment at workplace, (Amendment)2021.
5.
The Immoral
Traffic (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2021.
Introduction:
In
today’s digital world, technology has made us feel that the world is in our
hands yet certain things in society against Women remain the same. In ancient
days women were considered as a most powerful and respectful person. Though
sati was abolished there are still many crimes against women for which rigid
laws to deal with it. The violence includes physical, Psychological, and
sexual. The problem with crimes against women is it cannot be compressed into
one section as it has been differing from time to time moreover several types
to provide rigid punishments for such crimes against women and there are some
supplementary acts such as Dowry Prohibition Act,1961, pre-natal diagnostic
techniques Act 1994 etc.
Child marriage Amendment (Bill)2021.
Object
and reason of the Bill:
Ø According to the statement of objects and reasons
(SOR) of the Bill, increasing the age of marriage will help in achieving
various goals including improvement of maternal and infant mortality rates (IMR
and MMR), nutrition levels, sex ratio at birth (SRB), female labour force
participation, and gender equality, and will lead to empowerment of women.
Ø In India, the practice of child marriage
was first legally prohibited in 1929 through the Child Marriage Restraint Act,
1929. As per the 1929 Act, marriage of girls below the age of 14 years
and boys below the age of 18 years was prohibited.
Key
issues of the Bill:
Ø
Different
age for attaining majority and being allowed to marry
Ø
Prohibiting
marriages between the ages of 18 and 21 years
Ø The Bill restricts the right
to marry before the age of 21 years. The question is whether this
restriction for those between the ages of 18 and 21 years meets the standards
of reasonable restrictions as explained by courts.
Ø In 2018, the Supreme Court,
while reading down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, ruled that
consensual sex between consenting adults is a fundamental right under Articles
14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
Ø If this Bill were passed, it
would be legal to have sexual relations but illegal to marry for those between
the ages of 18 and 21 years. Note that this is the current status for males.
Surrogacy Regulating (Bill), 2016:
Ø The
Surrogacy Regulation Bill, 2016 was introduced by JP
Nadda, Minister of Health and Family Welfare in the Lok Sabha,
which proposes to ban commercial surrogacy in India.
Ø It
was formulated for the regulation of surrogacy in India as it provided for all
the qualifications of the parties competent to enter a surrogacy agreement and
the conditions and formalities required to fulfil for surrogacy to be carried
out in India.
SURROGACY (REGULATION)ACT, 2021:
1. Under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, a woman
who is a widow or a divorcee between the age of 35 to 45 years or a couple, defined
as a legally married woman and man, can avail of surrogacy if they have a
medical condition necessitating this option.
2. It also bans commercial surrogacy,
which is punishable with a jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 10
lakhs.
Article 14: The qualifications of a surrogate mother
include the requirement of the female to be married in order to become a
surrogate mother, which clearly violates the rule of equality which
is given under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, as an unmarried female is
not given equal rights as that of a married female.
Article 19 (1) (d): states the right to carry out
any desired occupation and if any female wants to be a surrogate mother and
wants to opt surrogacy as an occupation will have her rights hindered as this
Bill bans commercial surrogacy.
Article 21: Certificate of infertility is a
clear violation of the Right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21
of the Indian Constitution. It is not clear why the bill requires the parents
to show details or information about something which is private.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020
Ø
Medical Board to decide termination
only in certain cases
Ø
Categories of women who can
terminate pregnancy between 20-24 weeks not specified.
Ø
Unclear if transgender persons
will be covered
Ø
Unavailability of qualified
medical professionals to terminate pregnancies
Ø The Bill does not specify the categories of women who may terminate
pregnancies between 20-24 weeks and leaves it to be prescribed through Rules.
It may be argued that such matters should be specified by Parliament and
not delegated to the government.
Ø The Act (and the Bill) require abortion to be performed only by doctors
with specialisation in gynaecology or obstetrics. As there is a 75%
shortage of such doctors in community health centres in rural areas, pregnant
women may continue to find it difficult to access facilities for safe
abortions.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021
With increasing technology and
innovation in the healthcare sector, the need for better laws arose, which was
fulfilled by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021. From
the issue of the right to privacy to the issue of illegal gender assessment
leading to female foeticide, all such issues were addressed by the Medical
Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy
(Amendment) Act, 2021 aims to include rape and assault cases, incest survivors,
married women, girls younger than 18 years, women with special needs, and women
with foetal malformations of the foetus among those eligible for abortion. The
Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021 seeks to expand the scope
of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Amendment
Bill, 2021.
The Trafficking in
Persons (Prevention, Care & Rehabilitation) Bill, (2021), is expected to be tabled during the
monsoon parliamentary session. The initial Bill was approved by the Lower House
of the Parliament in 2018; however, it was never presented in the Upper House.
Objectives of the Bill:
Ø
The bill
proposes stringent punishments for offenders, including hefty fines and seizing
of their properties.
Ø
The bill
also extends beyond the protection of women and children as victims to now
include transgenders as well as any person who may be a victim of trafficking.
Ø
The draft
also does away the provisions that a victim necessarily needs to be transported
from one place to another to be defined as a victim.
Ø
Exploitation
has been defined to include, at a minimum, the exploitation including
pornography, any act of physical exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery
or practises similar to slavery, servitude or forced removal of organs etc.
Conclusion :
Several crimes are happening against women
in India every minute. It is now time for us to be aware of the women
protection act that preserves us and our rights. Awareness about these laws is
essential since power comes with knowledge. There are rights placed to protect
women as a parent, wife, daughter, employee, and, most importantly, as a woman.
Hence, be mindful of the laws provided by the Government of India that protect
women and their rights. Though there are many laws in India crimes against
Women are not turning to zero.
Eda Navya Sri, [2nd Year, BBA.LLB(Hons.)] under the guidance of Dr. Nagalatha Bathina, Associate Professor, Vignan Institute of Law.
Editorial Director:
Dr. Nagalatha Bathina, Associate Professor, Vignan Institute of Law.
Editors:
Dr. Praveen Kumar, Director, Vignan Institute of Law
Mr. L. Ashish Kumar, Assistant Professor, Vignan Institute of Law
Blog Managed By:
Taj Mahamood Baig [2nd Year, BA.LLB(Hons.)]