Undoubtedly, it is rightly described that human rights are sure and sound guarantee of democracy. Every person should know that they have rights and that they are protected by the State. A supplementary recognition and human rights respecting guarantee is the harmonisation of the juridical frame of the republic and the international normative acts to which the democratic republic has adhered to. Human rights and respecting laws obviously and evidently confirm the degree and the status of civilisation of a nation. It is easy to understand the universal truth that all the people are born equal and that their Creator invests them with some inherent, indivisible, inalienable, non-negotiable and non-derogable natural and basic rights and through this we can count the effort to decent life, liberty, freedom, happiness and harmony.
Human rights, broadly speaking, may be regarded as those fundamental and natural rights which are essential for a decent life as human being. They are the rights which are possessed by every human being irrespective of his or her nationality, race, religion, sex, colour, simply and only because he or she is a human being. Human rights and fundamental freedom allow us to fully develop and use our human qualities, our intelligence, our talents and our conscience and to satisfy our physical, spiritual and other needs as human beings. They are founded upon mankinds's increasing demand for normal but decent life in which the inherent dignity and worth of each human being will receive regard and respect, protection and parental care. Human rights are sometimes characterised as fundamental rights or natural rights or basic rights.
Gender-based discrimination reveals ugly face of the society. This issue is very old and is global as well with varying degree. Really, it is a travesty of all canons of social justice and equity for women who constitute half of the world's population and work for two-third of the world's working hours and who earn just one-tenth of the world's property and remain victim of inequality and injustice. This anomaly is, now, being openly questioned and the underlying discrimination is seriously challenged. As human development occupies centre stage in the global development debate, gender equality and gender equity are emerging as major challenges. Gender discrimination, though amongst the most subtle, is one of the most all-pervading forms of institutionalised deprivation.
The United Nations and women's rights
At this stage, it will be worthwhile to mention the commendable work carried out by the Division for the Advancement of Women, the substantive office with the United Nations that develops policy advice for the promotion of women's rights and provides substantive servicing to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, as well as, the Commission on the Status of Women. To address most comprehensively women's equality with men and non-discrimination in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural fields, the General Assembly adopted, on 18-12-1979, an international human rights treaty, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The optional protocol to this Convention entered into force in December 2000. It entitles individuals or groups of individuals, once certain admissibility criteria have been met, to submit claims of violations of the Convention's terms to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. It also provides the Committee with the power to inquire into grave or systematic violations of the Convention. The total number of States party to the Convention presently stands at 170, while 47 have ratified or acceded to the optional protocol.
Recently, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for
Gender inequities: Some persistent issues
The terms "sex" and "gender" are often used interchangeably in everyday life, but in sociological literature they are frequently differentiated. The term "sex" is applied to differences between men and women that are based on female or male attributes. The term "gender" is applied to the cultural aspects of male and female roles. In other words, the behaviour, personality and other social attributes that are expected of males and females become the basis of masculine and feminine roles. Sexuality and the different capacities of men and women in the reproductive process are particularly likely to be thought of as giving "natural" reasons for gender divisions in society.
The question of gender equality is a very old and burning problem. Twenty years ago in
The principles of gender equality and gender equity have been basic to Indian thinking. The 19th and early 20th centuries saw a succession of women's movements, first, around social issues and later around the freedom struggle itself. The Constitution of India adopted in 1950 not only grants equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of affirmative discrimination in favour of women.
The ground realities: Mirage of gender justice
Although these rights are guaranteed equally to men and women, there are several ways in which the structure of the family and the existence of several inequitable social customs and practices serve to deprive women of these rights. In particular, discrimination occurs within the family where norms regarding women's secondary status are reinforced in children from birth. Preferential status to son is one of the key aspects underlining social values that view girls as burdens. Women are viewed as dependents within the family and face severe restrictions on their mobility, which further impede their ability to gain access to education, economic opportunities, to move freely and settle anywhere, to form unions or groups and so on, which are all fundamental freedoms under the Indian Constitution. Freedom of speech and expression is often denied to women within the family, and women are kept out of decision-making processes even within the community and State institutions. Cultural norms regarding appropriate behaviour for women often reinforce images of docility, passivity and subservience, severely curtailing for women the exposure and confidence they require for participating on an equal footing with men in public life. Practices like female foeticide, infanticide and the constant if not increasing incidence of violence on women also constitute consistent assaults on women's right to life and personal liberty.
One of the fundamental obstacles in promoting gender equality in development remains at the community level where attitudinal biases often prevent women from realising their rights. The Government has done little to take on board these obstacles, apart from occasional and irregular campaigns around single issues like dowry, girl child education, amniocentesis and so on. Police education campaigns are restricted to occasional posters and TV spots, but are not consistent or backed up by strong and clear action by the State. Their impact remains less than effective, particularly, since there is little action taken against advertising or campaigns that are gender discriminatory.
NHRC and Indian perspective of human rights
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was set up in 1993 as a statutory body to which individuals and interested parties can make complaints on human rights violations in the country. NHRC has explicitly stated that women's rights will be a part of its concerns. As yet NHRC has taken up no specific issues of violation, though it has attempted to address single instances of State violence on women. It is yet to take a significant interest in women's rights. Part of the problem arises out of the division seen between the National Commission for Women and NHRC; although a member of the Women's Commission is represented in NHRC, it is often assumed that the Women's Commission, its establishment has been criticised as a move on the State to appear accountable without providing these bodies with sufficient autonomy to push through decisions or recommendations of the Law Commission that may appear to be contrary to State's interests. The Law Commission, the Minorities Commissions, the Commissions for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, have been broadly mandated to look at women's issues. Barring the Law Commission, which has participated actively in recommending gender justice and legal change, the remaining Commissions have shown little concern for women's rights in their functioning.
The causes of gender inequality are complex, linked as they are to the infrahousehold decision-making process. However, the decisions are made; the infrahousehold allocation of resources is influenced by market signals and institutional norms that do not capture the full benefits to society of investing in women's equality of life and creates burble in economic efficiency and growth. Regional perspectives play a very important role in the realm of gender equality.
It is, therefore, essential that public policies work to compensate for market failures in the area of gender equality. These policies should equalise opportunities between women and men and refract resources to those investments with the highest social returns. Of these investments, female education, particularly at the primary and lower secondary level, is the most important, as it is the catalyst that increases the impact of other investments, industry and infrastructure.
Women themselves are agents for change because they play a key role in shaping the welfare of future generations. Public policies cannot be effective without the participation of the target group, in this case, women, who make up for more than half of the world's people. Their views, therefore, must find place into the policy formulation.
The causes of persistent disparity and inequality between men and women are only partially examined, explored and understood. In recent years attention has been focused on inequalities in the allocation of resources at the household level, as seen in the higher share of education, health and food expenditures, boys receive in comparison with girls. The decision-making process within households is complex and is influenced by social and cultural norms, market opportunities and institutional factors. There is considerable proof that the infrahousehold allocation of resources is a key factor in determining the levels of schooling, health and nutrition accorded to household members. Regional factors also have contributed in gender equalities.
Gender justice: Are the courts biased?
Bias has been defined as a particular influential power which sways the judgment: the inclination or propensity of the mind towards a particular object. In judicial parlance, justice requires that the judge should have no bias for or against any individual in making his judicial decision and that his mind should be perfectly free to act as the law requires.
Whilst bias may take various forms, when it comes to the judiciary, bias, even on account of a particular gender, should have no place in it. Bias in any form is anathema to a judge. It is, therefore, recognised that where bias is perceived, the general public considers the judicial system as having failed to adhere to the highest standards of impartiality and fairness. The rule of law obtains validity or ratification by society because of its commitment to equality for all citizens irrespective of race, colour, creed, sex, etc.
Less than ten years ago terms such as "judicial gender bias" or "gender bias and the courts" were unheard of. Today, the systematic discussion of gender bias is not only part of the most national judicial education systems, but it has also received national and international recognition. Pervasive gender bias in the courts, which was virtually invisible as recently as the 1980s, has become apparent and is plainly visible on record and one cannot miss it even with a casual glance. Research conducted into this matter, by social scientists and researchers in the legal field have documented a judicial gender bias and its profound effect on judicial fact-finding and decision-making. Originally, such progressive empirical studies were uncoordinated. In numerous areas of the law, a disquieting picture emerged which shows that gender bias existed in all areas, operating sometimes to the advantage of men and more often and more seriously to the disadvantage of women.
If gender bias is identified in all its nuances and hues that would be a large step in dealing with this dilemma. It is not special treatment for women or for men that is called for, because such special treatment is not needed. Instead, what is needed is sensitivity to the ways in which unexamined attitudes about men and women lead to the unintended result of biased decision-making. Once this sensitivity is achieved, and it is reinforced by inquisitiveness, analysis and openness, then and only then will the litigants be able to explain their circumstances to a court that is both willing to learn and to judge to achieve a gender neutrality in its judicial system, which is both vital and important for the ultimate achievement of justice in its purest and highest form.
Violence and its perpetuation are often related to conflicts of caste, class, ethnicity, communalism, fundamentalism and terrorism; and all these factors cumulatively have a negative impact on women. Other forms of violence are trafficking in women and girls and custodial violence perpetrated by law-enforcement agencies. Violence is reprehensible in all contexts.
Amendment in the Penal Code and introduction of Section 304-B or 408-A or even in case of important amendments in IPC on custodial deaths and even in the Evidence Act and such others are not sufficient enough to check increasing domestic cruelty and violence. Therefore, legal literacy and awareness programmes must be evolved for better development and empowerment of women. No doubt, we are deeply committed to the object of elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and
As per the report of review of New Internationalist's Women-A World Report, there has been progress in the field of gender equality since 1985, but less than what was expected. The report illustrated how women's ability to bear children means that they are expected to take responsibility for domestic work worldwide. A woman in a Pakistani village, for example, spent around 63 hours a week on domestic work alone. But, housework is everywhere invisible and undervalued. If the services provided free by a housewife in the
It is really surprising to think that if women paid each other to do their housework, GNP would nearly double. It is not of course that we wish to value all work and caring in monetary terms, but it does seem that because such work is undervalued, women's abilities and contribution throughout the society and the world also tend to be undervalued. It is interesting that in parts of the world, where cash and wages have not penetrated, women and men tend to do relatively equal amount of work.
Three-fifths of the world's population lives their lives by the rhythm of the seasons. The remaining two-fifths of us-about 1 billion people-are hitched to the machines that run modern society. Women predominantly work in service jobs-reflecting their traditional role of caring and cleaning. In 1985 women's wages were consistently lower than men's, ranging from 73 per cent in the countries of northern Europe to less than 50 per cent in
Women across the world: Unfulfilled agenda
The numbers mark distance travelled and distance yet to go. Eighty per cent of all working women hold on "pink-collar jobs" and get paid about 66 cents of a man's dollar. Seventy per cent of all classroom teachers are women, yet for the same job, they make an average of $ 3000 a year less than their male colleagues. More than one-third of all candidates for MBA degrees are women; the numbers encourage. Only 5 per cent of the executives in the top 50 American companies are women; the numbers numb. Where once, even recently, there was nothing, all those statistics and all their corollaries now show that there has been something; some progress forged for women over the past decade of challenge and confusion. Perhaps those numbers are really a crude scale for a new geography, exploring the wide gulf between something and satisfaction.
Across the world, as many as, one-third of all households were headed by women. Migration was a major cause of this. In many of the poor world's cities, men far outnumber women-leaving large number of women managing alone in rural areas. Divorce is rising all over the world. On top of this, 75 per cent of the health care for elderly people was provided by women at home. Clearly, traditional family structures are under strain across the planet.
While women represent fifty per cent of the world's population, they perform nearly two-thirds of the working hours; receive only one-tenth of the world's income and less than one per cent of the world's property. Thus, there are grave inequalities between nations and there are also serious inequalities within the nations and everywhere women are lacking in position and power and overrepresented amongst the poor. I cannot resist the temptation of mentioning the most striking and relevant verses of a poem at this stage:
"I am the woman who holds up the sky.
The rainbow runs through my eyes.
The sun makes a path to my womb.
My thoughts are in the shape of clouds.
But my words are yet to come."
Gender relations need to be measured in the context of participation in and sharing of the important decision-making process those results in the above inequalities. Such a measure would help to identify the differing degrees of inequality in terms of age, income levels and geographical location. For governments and concerned citizens seeking to redress these inequalities, indices are a means of determining the issues on which they must concentrate, and provide feedback on the effectiveness of their actions. Clearly then, the accuracy of any measure of gender inequality needs close scrutiny.
I refer in particular to a recent event: the initial euphoria generated a few months ago-mainly by men, over the proposed reservations for women of one-third of the total seats in Parliament and in Legislative Assemblies: a constitutional amendment was tabled, and it was even insisted that it should be put to vote as early as possible. But then "cold-feet symptoms" developed. The excitement bubbled over-as quickly as it started and dissolved into nothingness, exhibiting, what the Chief Justice of India has so accurately described (in the preface to the volume on Gender and Judges) as "the general male chauvinist attitude that is unwittingly nurtured by us". That is why judicial verdicts-especially of the highest court can move mountains. They frequently do.
Strategies and actions: Liberating women: Socio-legal strategies
If the benefits from investing in girls and women are so great and can be quantified, why do households and employers underinvest in women? The main reason is, as discussed above, that markets fail to capture the full benefit to society of investing in women and girls. Where the market fails or is absent. Government must take the lead. Public policy can contribute, directly and indirectly, in reducing gender inequalities. For example:
(i) Modifying the legal and regulatory framework to ensure equal opportunities.
(ii) Ensuring macro-economic stability and improving micro-economic incentives.
(iii) Redirecting public policies and public expenditures to those investments with the highest social returns.
(iv) Adopting targeted interventions that correct for gender inequalities at the micro level.
(v) At the grass roots, women may be organised into self-help groups at the local or anganwadi level; these women's groups should be helped to institutionalise themselves into registered societies and to federate at the town level. Such societies should bring about synergistic implementation of all the social and economic development programmes by drawing resources made available through government and non-government channels, including banks and financial institutions and by establishing a close interface with the Panchayats and the municipalities.
A national action plan for translating the policy into a set of concrete actions should be drawn. Such action plans should include the following:
(i) Commitment of resources for women in key sectors relating to education, vocational training, employment and income generation, health, all support services, gender sensitisation programmes and information dissemination.
(ii) Time targets to achieve the mandates, strategies and action points of such policy.
(iii) Fixing up responsibilities for implementation of action points.
(iv) Structures and mechanisms to ensure efficient implementation, monitoring and review of action points.
(v) Widespread dissemination of information on all aspects of legal rights, human rights and other entitlements of women, through specially designed legal literacy programmes and information rights programmes.
(vi) Review of curriculum and educational materials to include gender education and human rights issues.
(vii) Use of different forms of mass media to communicate the social messages relating to women's equality and empowerment.
New dimensions: Gender equality and human rights perspective
In spite of series of actions, singular policies, new programmes and some achievements, certain critical areas call for immediate attention. Some of them could be highlighted as follows keeping in mind the regional factors and perspectives:
(i) Inadequacy of institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women.
(ii) Persistent and institutionalised discrimination against the girl child.
(iii) Feminisation of poverty.
(iv) Gender blindness in macro-economic policies.
(v) Invisibility of women's contribution to the economy and environmental sustenance.
(vi) Poor participation by women in decision-making structures and processes.
(vii) Gender gaps in literacy, education and health.
(viii) Growing trend of violence against women.
(ix) Barriers encountered by women in accessing legal entitlements.
(x) Gender-biased social norms.
(xi) Negative portrayals and perpetuation of gender stereotypes by mass media.
(xii) Regional adverse perspectives and problems affecting the goal of gender equality and equity.
The battle of justice: Role of social reformers
As we study the social evolution of human society, the glaring fact that emerges is that in the old feudal system, woman was always given an inferior status. Paradoxically, she was also considered the symbol of the sanctity and purity of the family. But this very aspect of her personality made woman the target as well as the victim in conflict-torn society. In a feudal society there are serious land disputes and conflicts about property rights. These are not always sought to be settled through due processes of law. No weapon of intimidation, torture or humiliation is considered unethical. The most revengeful way to humiliate a family against whom disputes are pending is to subject the womenfolk in that family to crimes that rob them of their honour and dignity and bring them disrepute.
In our tradition-bound society, structured on old social values, when a woman is subjected to a crime like rape, it becomes a multiple crime. She is raped at home, then in public life, followed by an agonising cross-examination in court, and the climax is reached when sensational reports about the crime appear in the media. The victim of the crime finds the public exposure more agonising than the crime inflicted on her. The most humiliating aspect of crime against a woman is that her status in the hierarchical structure of society also comes in the way of securing justice for her. Thus, her social status compounds her gender injustice.
In a well-known rape case, the most obnoxious situation was that the court concerned observed that the alleged rapists were middle-aged and as such, were respectable and were not amenable to a crime against woman. Not satisfied with this, the court made the astounding observation that "since the alleged rapists were higher caste men, the rape could not have taken place because the alleged victim was from a lower caste". Such observations only give credence to the widely prevalent prejudiced view that men from the higher social echelons of society are paragons of virtue and not likely to commit atrocities on socially deprived women. What a tragedy that woman has to face the compounding of gender as well as social injustice.
The battle for gender justice has been a long-drawn struggle. The sustained efforts of several social reformers, even in the face of resistance from social orthodoxy, have given impetus to the cause of gender justice. Constitutional provisions, various laws, and judgments of courts have made their own contribution to the cause of gender justice. However, more fundamental is the work and role of social reformers, who sought to change the mindset of orthodox tradition-bound society and usher in women's reforms in the social, economic and educational fields.
Despite resistance from orthodoxy, women's education gradually acquired greater acceptance. In the old orthodox society, the sati system of widows on the funeral pyre of their husbands was an atrocious practice. If this practice was gradually discarded, it was not only because of the Sati Prohibition Act in Bengal in 1829 at the behest of Bentinck, Governor-General, but mainly due to the social reform movement against the sati system carried on by the eminent social reformer, Raja Rammohan Roy. Though the sati system is banned under law, in isolated cases, it is still implemented in a clandestine way due to both remnants of orthodox beliefs, and to machinations by the relatives of the widow to garner her wealth and property by forcing her to mount the funeral pyre of her dead husband. Still, there are efforts to continue to build a halo of sanctity around the sati system. This only amounts to a glorification of gender injustice and has to be resisted through an awakened public opinion.
In different parts of the world, male chauvinism in different degrees has led to gender injustice. In some developed countries too, women were accorded the right to vote very late. They had to launch a determined struggle to secure the right of adult franchise. Even when women secured the right to vote, initially, they did not receive in the legislatures the recognition they deserved on the basis of their merit and ability.
If the social reform programme is to be pursued vigorously, certain attitudinal changes are urgently called for. These comprise change of context, change of relations and change of values. Without such a comprehensive change in the existing value judgments of the present consumerist culture, the battle for gender justice cannot be won.
Amnesty International and women's human rights
It is interesting to refer the following recommendations made by Amnesty International in its campaign to promote women's human rights:
(i) Governments should recognise that women's human rights are universal and indivisible.
(ii) Ratify and implement international instruments for the protection of human rights.
(iii) Eradicate discrimination, which denies women's human rights.
(iv) Safeguard women's human rights during armed conflict.
(v) Stop rape, sexual abuse and other torture and ill-treatment by government agents and paramilitary auxiliaries.
(vi) Prevent "disappearances" and extra-judicial executions by government agents and compensate the victims.
(vii) Stop persecution because of family connections.
(viii) Safeguard the health rights of women in custody.
(ix) Release all prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally.
(x) Ensure prompt and fair trials for all political prisoners.
(xi) Prevent human rights violations against women refugees and asylum-seekers and displaced women.
(xii) Abolish the death penalty.
(xiii) Support the work of relevant inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations.
(xiv) Promote women's rights as human rights through official programmes of education and training.
(xv) Armed political groups should safeguard women's human rights.
Epilogue
Apart from the equality jurisprudence, an activism, the role of the Supreme Court of
The contribution of the Supreme Court, thus, in projecting, proliferating and popularising the human rights jurisprudence, is outstanding and yeomen. The human rights jurisprudence covers enforcement of fundamental rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by Articles 19 to 30 of the Constitution and which has, as such, provided substantial and useful material for a better vision for the 21st century in relation to human rights, and particularly, human rights of workers, women and weaker segments.
Pro-feminist views seek to overcome discrimination against women, mainly, through law. Some have long-term strategies, while others insist on immediate strategies. Women's increased sophistication and articulation, clarity of parties and determined efforts, all tend to take the women's movement a long way. If women are serious about putting their rights on the national agenda, they have to be uncompromising to their constitutional rights. Placing women's rights in a context, give legitimacy, transparency, visibility and more acceptability. Ensuring women's rights, obviously, creates a strong launching pad for the emergence of a more humane justice, equal human society and equality and probity.
The effective implementation, recognition and cognizance by the members of the United Nations-for the purpose of effective and efficient, desired and service-oriented outcome for enhancement and nourishment of the rights of women-towards gender justice and all forms of elimination of discrimination against women, shall, undoubtedly, lead more and more on the charted and devised route in the declaration of human rights and for the welfare and upliftment of oppressed and suppressed, deprived and dejected, tormented and terrorised class of women. Let us, therefore, pledge to translate human rights declaration into reality and determine to adhere to the design and desideratum of the following important other declarations and resolutions, so as to make the current century of the new millennium (21st) a triumphant and victorious one for the women's rights.
The battle for human rights in general and for protection of women's rights, in particular, already facing invisible but steady decline and fall, needs immediate struggle for vitalising the United Nations and vicariously, its auxiliary institutions. Human rights are writ large canvass as the sky. The lawmakers, lawyers, law students, law teachers, judges and members of NGOs must take steps vibrant with human values, not to be scared of consequences and the status quo order. Women rights challenges of today need a mobilisation of revolutionary consciousness sans which civilised system ceases to exist. Please remember, we are the investigators, not idle passengers on spaceship earth, as it ascends to celestial level of glorious, and gratifying human justice without any discrimination in the human future.
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