Womens Rights- Victimization of women continues

Our constitution lays down special notice state can give to women under article 15 of constitution. National commission for women and state commission are formed. Women courts have been set up .Even all-women banks and police stations have been set up. But are women really uplifted in India after 70 years of independence or our male chauvinistic society still neglects women rights while shedding crocodile tears.Does society great woman equal to man?

Truth it is all turning out to be farce. With our courts, our lawyers, our statutory bodies and police all making open mockery of women rights. In every 4th home woman is still beaten up and abused and cursed. Women in best of companies are subject to gender discrimination and sexual assault.Our judicial system is thoroughly inefficient, lame and slow paced and insensitive and a good part of our legal practitioners are corrupted and neglect the oath they took while joining legal practice. WE undertook a casual unstructured survey of 4 cities including Delhi Metro and visited randomly some police stations and courts for 3 randomly selected days in month of August 2015 and watched keenly movement of women litigants and justice aspirants, lawyers, court clerks, the typists and the judges themselves while in court. The picture that emerged was far from happy.

This included both rural and highly educated women from good background. The insensitivity and neglect could be seen in our system. Women running from pillar to post to seek where to get justice. lawyers overlooking their problems and demanding huge fees and our so called free legal aid system hardly visible anywhere. Piling up cases and snail paced justice is encouraging every one to boldly take law in own hands. It is high time our central and state governments including our current PM take drastic steps to expand judicial system, regulate conduct of advocates and legal practitioners, fix reasonable fees and speed up justice by legislating long pending civil and criminal law reforms and simplifying court procedures so a common man can go a seek justice on his/her own.There is need to have a consulting and PRO section where litigants can seek information about court procedures and fill up their forms etc easily. There is need to amend advocates act to allow senior citizens with high qualifications( Postgraduate) and impeccable background with demonstrated interest in social work to represent litigants as their Power of attorneys to handle process in courts so that monopoly of advocated lobby is discouraged and competition is increased.The idea is to create a alternative justice system that is fast cheap and sensitive.

The judicial strength should be trebled in next 5-7 years with mass recruitment and training and recalling retired judges and recruiting those with law degree and having a work experience in public/private sector with 20 years supervisory experience. Now coming back to Inheritance laws. It is strange that despite recognizing women right to husbands property and being class 1 heir, there is no provision to mandatory give 50% of property to class 1 heirs including spouse. This provision is in Indian succession ACT and in many countries varying from 1/3rd to 50%. This would be fair and just. Recognizing this, DDA started treating allotment in joint name of spouse.While there are provisions for maintenance under alimony law but no provision for sharing the property of male spouse. There is need to financially protect women in Indian society from all religions. merely crying about women rights wont help. WE should never create mandatory quota for women in political posts. But make compulsory to give tickets to 1/3rd women in all parties contesting any elections.This will ensure quality. Reservations in general are always abused by ignoring merit.

A new act was passed in 2005 by name of PWDVA 2005 for fast track relief to women in distress and so much that it has overriding effect on all other laws in force and any pending suits in any court but our lawyers and magistrates both are unwilling to work for quick relief to women in distress.Like all other laws justice has been delayed in PWDVA too taking years and our lawyer fraternity should feel embarrassed about it and work for time bound relief.WE should not forget that every lawyer has females in his/her home While abuse of law has to be watched closely and courts have to act tough, it is reality that women continue to be sexually abused, cursed ,kicked ,denied food and shelter and life of minimum dignity and that includes senior citizens. IT is high time we wake up and reform our thinking and system and come out of self imposed complacence that every thing is fine and working. It is not.

Dr Rajendra K Gupta

Honoray President

Bhartiya Nagrik Adhikaar Pravartan Manch

www,janshakti.org