Women: constitutional provisions and protective laws

Detail

1. Constitutional provisions

Article	Part	What it says for women
Art. 14	III (Fundamental Rights)	Equality before law and equal protection of laws for every person, men and women alike
Art. 15(1)	III	The State cannot discriminate on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
Art. 15(3)	III	The State may make special provisions for women and children. This is an exception to Art. 15(1)
Art. 16(2)	III	No discrimination on grounds of sex in public employment (government jobs)
Art. 23	III	Bans traffic in human beings and forced labour. This protects women and girls from trafficking
Art. 39(a)	IV (DPSP)	Men and women have an equal right to an adequate means of livelihood
Art. 39(d)	IV	Equal pay for equal work for men and women
Art. 42	IV	Just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief
Art. 51A(e)	IV-A (Fundamental Duties)	Every citizen must renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women
Art. 243D	IX (Panchayats)	At least one-third of panchayat seats and chairperson posts are reserved for women
Art. 243T	IX-A (Municipalities)	At least one-third of municipal seats are reserved for women

• DPSP (Directive Principles of State Policy) are goals the government should follow when it makes laws. Courts cannot enforce them directly.
• Fundamental Duties are duties every citizen owes to the nation. Like the DPSP, courts cannot enforce them directly.
• Reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies (106th Amendment) is covered under gender-religion-caste. The National Commission for Women (set up under an Act of 1990) is covered under statutory-regulatory-bodies.
• Special treatment can be a form of equality:
• Treating unequal people in exactly the same way can keep them unequal.

• So maternity leave and crèches at work are enhancements of equality, not departures from it. The women's movement demanded both (NCERT: Class 11, Equality).

• Sex discrimination, an example:

• Women newsreaders over 45 were removed from their jobs.
• Men newsreaders of the same age kept their jobs.
• This is discrimination on grounds of sex, which Arts. 15 and 16 forbid (NCERT: Class 11, Rights in the Indian Constitution).

2. Women at the workplace

(a) From Vishaka to the POSH Act

• Vishaka guidelines (1997): Parliament had no law on sexual harassment at work. So the Supreme Court made binding guidelines, based on Arts. 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21 (see fundamental-rights).
• Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 (POSH Act): it turned the Vishaka guidelines into law.
• Internal Committee (IC): a body inside the workplace that hears complaints of sexual harassment.
• It is required at every workplace with 10 or more employees [2].
• It is headed by a senior woman employee.
• At least half its members must be women.

• One member comes from outside, such as an NGO, to keep the committee neutral.

• Local Committee (LC): set up in each district. It hears complaints from workplaces with fewer than 10 employees, from the informal sector (for example, domestic workers), and complaints against the employer.

• Inquiry: must be finished within 90 days.
• Penalty on employers:
• An employer who fails to set up an IC or breaks the Act can be fined up to ₹50,000 [2][3].

• A repeat offence brings double the fine, and the employer's licence or registration can be cancelled [2].

• Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa (2023): the Supreme Court found the Act poorly enforced. It ordered all ministries, departments and public bodies to set up committees.

• SHe-Box (Sexual Harassment electronic Box): a central online portal of the Ministry of Women and Child Development where women can file complaints.
• The new portal was launched on 29 August 2024 [4].
• It gives a single-window platform and a central record of committees, which did not exist before [2].

(b) Equal pay

• Equal Remuneration Act 1976: employers must give equal pay to men and women for the same or similar work. The Act also bans sex discrimination in hiring. It gives effect to Art. 39(d).
• It is now merged into the Code on Wages 2019.
• Unequal pay is still common. Women are often paid less than men even for the same work (NCERT: Class 10, Gender, Religion and Caste).

(c) Maternity benefit

• Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017:
• Paid maternity leave rose from 12 to 26 weeks. Not more than 8 weeks can be taken before the expected date of delivery [5].
• Adopting mothers (of a child under 3 months) and commissioning mothers (who have a child through a surrogate) get 12 weeks.
• Crèche: a day-care room for young children. Every establishment with 50 or more employees must have one, either separately or shared with other facilities within a set distance [5].

• The Act came into force on 1 April 2017. The crèche rule came into force on 1 July 2017 [5].

• It is now part of the Code on Social Security 2020. The four labour codes came into force on 21 November 2025.

(d) Women in the armed forces

• Permanent commission: a full career in the forces until retirement. Short Service Commission (SSC) is a fixed-term service of about 10–14 years.
• Secretary, Ministry of Defence v. Babita Puniya (17 February 2020):
• Women SSC officers in the Army became eligible for permanent commission.
• They can also hold command posts on the same terms as men.

• The Court rejected the government's claim that women are physically weaker as a sex stereotype.

• A similar ruling followed for the Navy (2020–21). In 2021, the Supreme Court allowed women to sit the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam.

• This links to NCERT's debate on whether women should serve in combat units (Class 11, Equality).

3. Home, family and body

(a) Dowry

• Dowry Prohibition Act 1961: giving, taking or demanding dowry is a criminal offence. Dowry means property or money given in connection with a marriage.
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, India's new criminal code, now covers:
• Dowry death (a woman's death within 7 years of marriage after dowry-linked cruelty): BNS s.80 (formerly IPC s.304B).
• Cruelty by husband or his relatives: BNS ss.85–86 (formerly IPC s.498A).

(b) Domestic violence

• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (DV Act): a civil law. Its aim is to give the woman quick relief and protection, not mainly to punish the abuser.
• It covers physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse.
• A magistrate can pass these orders:

Order	What it does
Protection order	Stops the abuser from committing further violence or contacting the woman
Residence order	The woman cannot be thrown out of the shared household
Monetary relief	Money for expenses, loss of earnings and medical costs
Custody order	Temporary custody of the children

• Protection Officers help the woman file her case and reach the court.
• Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora (2016): the Court struck down the words "adult male" from the definition of respondent. Women relatives and minors can now also be sued.
• Satish Chander Ahuja v. Sneha Ahuja (2020): the shared household includes the home where the woman lived with her husband, even if it belongs to her in-laws.

(c) Reproductive rights: the MTP (Amendment) Act 2021

Stage of pregnancy	Rule
Up to 20 weeks	Opinion of one registered doctor is enough [6]
20–24 weeks	Opinion of two doctors is needed. Allowed only for special categories [6]
Beyond 24 weeks	Allowed only for substantial foetal abnormality, as diagnosed by a Medical Board [6][7]

• Special categories include survivors of rape, sexual assault or incest, minors, women whose marital status changed during pregnancy, women with disabilities, mentally ill women, and women in disasters or humanitarian crises [6].
• Medical Board: set up in each state. It has a gynaecologist, a paediatrician and a radiologist or sonologist [6].
• The Act came into force on 24 September 2021. Its rules came into force on 12 October 2021 [6].
• X v. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi (2022): unmarried women have the same rights as married women up to 24 weeks. The Court also said that forced sex by a husband can count as "rape" for MTP purposes only.

(d) Related pointers

• Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019: makes instant triple talaq void and a crime (see dpsp-fundamental-duties).
• Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020): daughters are coparceners (joint owners of Hindu family property) by birth, just like sons. This holds even if the father died before the 2005 amendment to the Hindu Succession Act.

4. Violence against women

(a) Justice Verma Committee and the criminal-law changes

• What happened, in order:
• December 2012: a gang rape in Delhi leads to nationwide protests.
• The government sets up the Justice J.S. Verma Committee.
• 23 January 2013: the committee submits its report in about one month.

• Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013: gives the definition of rape a wider scope and makes stalking, voyeurism (secretly watching or recording a woman in a private act) and acid attack separate offences.

• Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018: allows the death penalty for rape of a girl under 12.

• BNS 2023, in force from 1 July 2024:
• Its Chapter V groups all offences against women and children together.

• It adds a new offence: sexual intercourse by deceitful means, such as a false promise of marriage (s.69).

• Marital-rape exception: under BNS s.63 (formerly IPC s.375), forced sex by a man with his own wife (if she is not a minor) is not rape. This exception is under challenge before the Supreme Court, so check its current status.

• Data: official crime data on women come from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its yearly Crime in India report. Use the latest edition.

(b) Nirbhaya Fund (2013)

• Nirbhaya Fund: a non-lapsable fund for women's safety projects. "Non-lapsable" means money not spent in a year is carried forward and is not lost.
• Money: ₹7,712.85 crore was allocated up to 2024-25. Of this, ₹5,846.08 crore (about 76%) was used [8].
• What it pays for:
• One Stop Centres (OSCs): medical help, legal aid, counselling and short-term shelter in one place. 812 OSCs were working in 2025 [8].
• Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112): one emergency number, 112, for police, fire and ambulance. Help is dispatched by computer to the caller's location. It runs in 36 states/UTs [8].
• Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs): quick trials of rape and POCSO (child sexual abuse) cases. As of 30 June 2025, 725 FTSCs, including 392 exclusive POCSO courts, were working in 29 states/UTs. They had disposed of 3,34,213 cases since the scheme began [9].

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 15(3) allows special provisions for women and children. Art. 39(d) is about equal pay for equal work. Art. 42 is about maternity relief. Art. 51A(e) is the duty to renounce practices derogatory to women.
• Arts. 243D and 243T reserve at least one-third of seats in panchayats and municipalities for women. This is a constitutional rule, not a statutory one.
• POSH Act 2013: an Internal Committee is needed at 10 or more employees. It is headed by a senior woman, at least half its members are women, and one is from outside. Inquiry takes 90 days. The fine is up to ₹50,000, doubled for a repeat offence. The Act grew out of the Vishaka guidelines (1997).
• Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017: 26 weeks of leave (at most 8 before delivery). Adopting and commissioning mothers get 12 weeks. A crèche is needed at 50 or more employees.
• MTP (Amendment) Act 2021: one doctor up to 20 weeks, two doctors for 20–24 weeks, and a Medical Board beyond 24 weeks for foetal abnormality. X v. Principal Secretary (2022) extended it to unmarried women.
• Trap: the DV Act 2005 is a civil law. Hiral Harsora (2016) removed the "adult male" limit on respondents.
• BNS 2023: dowry death is s.80 (old IPC 304B). Cruelty is ss.85–86 (old IPC 498A). Deceitful sexual intercourse is s.69, a new offence.
• Justice Verma Committee reported on 23 January 2013, which led to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013. The 2018 amendment brought the death penalty for rape of girls under 12.
• Nirbhaya Fund (2013) is non-lapsable. It pays for One Stop Centres, ERSS-112 and FTSCs.
• Babita Puniya (17 February 2020): permanent commission and command posts for women SSC officers in the Army.

Mains Points

• Formal versus real equality: Arts. 15(3) and 42, maternity leave and crèches show that equality sometimes needs different treatment. The 2017 Act is criticised because employers bear the full cost of 26 weeks' leave. This may discourage them from hiring women. A cost-sharing model, such as social-security funding under the 2020 Code, is one way out.
• Gap between law and practice: POSH committees were missing in many bodies, which is why the Court ruled as it did in Aureliano Fernandes (2023). Informal-sector women depend on weak Local Committees. Unequal pay continues despite Art. 39(d). Remedies include SHe-Box monitoring, audits and district-level enforcement.
• Bodily autonomy: the MTP 2021 limits and the need for doctor or board approval keep the decision with doctors, not the woman. X v. Principal Secretary (2022) moved towards choice. The marital-rape exception is the main unresolved conflict between Art. 21 (dignity) and the protection of marriage.
• Money and speed: about 76% of the Nirbhaya Fund has been used, and FTSCs have disposed of over 3.3 lakh cases. These show progress. But pending cases, poor investigation and social stigma still decide whether these laws give real access to justice.