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coochiequeens · 3 years ago

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Can men enjoy anything without making women suffer?

Holding sticks and brooms, the women marched to the liquor shop in the centre of Konar village. It was a rare ambush in the staunchly patriarchal Bihar state in eastern India. But they were at breaking point.

“In every village women were troubled by alcohol. Men harassed them on the streets. Husbands beat them at home,” says Sunita Devi, 52, a former seamstress who led the crowd. “When they saw us they gained courage that we can come together and fight.”

Like temperance reformers in 19th-century Europe or North America, their protest was against male alcoholism they saw as ruining lives.

It was March 2013, three months after the gang-rape of a woman on a bus in Delhi. In Bihar it spurred Devi to form the Progressive Women’s Forum.

She had watched this largely rural state, sitting on either side of the Ganges River, change under liberalised alcohol policies. Off-licences sprouted in villages and alcohol became easier to access, part of a wider trend in India, where consumption has risen rapidly over the past three decades.

“Every man was drinking. It spread like a disease,” says Devi, from her home in Sasaram, six miles from Konar.

By the time they reached the shop that morning, the owner had gone but left an assistant to negotiate. “They wanted us to wait until all the stock was sold,” says Devi. “We refused.”

No windows or bottles were smashed – the women simply attached a new padlock and shut up shop.

It was a symbolic moment in one of India’s most gender unequal states. Despite a host of pro-women policies – including jobs reserved for women in councils and a free bicycle scheme to help keep girls in school – Bihar has India’s lowest female literacy rate (only 51.5%, according to the latest census), the highest number of child marriages, and endemic domestic violence.

As news from Konar spread to neighbouring villages, so did protests. Women raided illegal breweries; others targeted off-licences, smashing bottles. Sporadic anti-liquor protests had taken place before, says Sudha Varghese, a social activist, speaking from the state capital, Patna, but Konar sparked a movement “uniting women from all walks of life”.

It thrust domestic violence – still largely viewed as a private affair – into the public sphere. Many called for a total prohibition of alcohol. In an election year, the same government that had promoted liberalisation of liquor now promised to ban it.

Women voted in record numbers and on 5 April 2016 Bihar imposed a full alcohol ban. Shops and bars were emptied across the state, which has a population of about 124 million. Anyone caught drinking or selling alcohol could face life imprisonment, without the prospect of bail, in the law’s stringent first incarnation. A giant social experiment was under way whose ramifications would spill past Bihar’s borders.

There is much evidence of a strong connection between excessive drinking and violence against women. Some research suggests that alcohol use increases the occurrence and severity of domestic abuse, but evidence of alcohol as a direct cause of violence remains contested. Teetotallers are perpetrators too and the reasons driving abuse are complex. Yet the link is so consistent that it is inspiring waves of Indian women – from the states of Odisha across to Maharashtra – to call for prohibition.

A policy perhaps best known for its political failure in the US, where it was in place from 1920 to 1933, prohibition also has an uneasy history in India. Many of its states banned alcohol long after the Americans stopped. When Bihar joined the fold, a handful were already enforcing some sort of ban. But the policies in India have often been partial and in several cases revoked after a few years. The reason for the U-turn is usually the same: nowhere did the ban succeed in turning a state dry.

Some believe it persists as a political masterstroke, capitalising on women’s votes, even as they doubt the longevity of a decision that costs millions in lost liquor taxes. Others see a deeper shift – the rising political clout of women’s campaigns in male-dominated India.

But the outcomes on reducing violence against women are less clear. In a paper published in 2015, and pre-dating Bihar’s ban, researchers studied data from other dry states.

”We wanted to see how the perceived benefits stacked up,” said Gunjan Sharma, a co-author and economist. She and her colleagues found alcohol prohibition was associated with a reduction in crimes against women of nearly a quarter – with a significant drop in cases of sexual harassment and cruelty. Survey data also suggested domestic violence almost halved in dry states.

What the researchers could not count were the cases that never made it into the official figures – and chronically under-reported crimes against women often do not. The broader fallout was another concern, and the researchers cautioned against interpreting the findings as support for prohibition.

”As soon as you make something illegal, there’s an informal economy that springs up,” said Sharma, emphasising the social and policing costs of associated crimes including bootlegging and theft.

In Bihar the wider consequences are plain to see. The underground liquor trade is thriving and many people have turned to narcotics. By March more than 346,000 people had been arrested under the prohibition law.

“Prohibition is not a bad thing,” says Vikash Kumar Pankaj, a criminal lawyer in Patna. “But it should be regulated well. The present law is draconian and ensnares the marginalised.”

The impact on Bihari women is harder to assess. Five years on from the ban, a preliminary analysis by Bhim Reddy and Bharati Kondepudy from the Institute for Human Development in Delhi found a dramatic decline in alcohol consumption, from nearly a third of male adults before the ban to 15% afterwards.

During the same period women experiencing spousal abuse fell from 46% to 42%, a drop Reddy called “marginal and disappointing” as the trend had already been in decline. For Kondepudy, it showed it was “an incorrect assumption” that alcohol was a primary enabler of violence. She says: “Deep-seated patriarchy and gender roles also come into play. Ultimately, intimate partner violence cannot be solved by big-bang populist measures.”

Nevertheless, Reddy says the substantial decline in drinking could make “a significant difference” to women’s lives and families’ economic wellbeing. For a more nuanced picture they will be conducting field research in Bihar in the coming months.

In 2017 Bihar’s government organised a human chain of some 200 million people, estimated to stretch nearly 7,000 miles, in support of prohibition. The state has watered down the penalties but the ban persists.

Six years ago Mohini Devi* campaigned for prohibition. The 36-year-old says: “I worried whenever my husband returned from work. We fought often because of alcohol.”

Today she is an elected leader of her local council in a southern Bihari district where liquor still flows but people drink less as costs have doubled.

“My husband doesn’t get as drunk. Fighting has [been] reduced. So that’s an improvement,” she says.

Pragya Singh* leads a Patna-based women’s group. She says: “Public brawls and harassment have come down. But we still get daily calls about domestic abuse, especially after Covid.”

For Shefali Chauhan, a gender specialist in Patna, assessing the impact of the alcohol regulations is crucial to avoid diversion from longer-lasting solutions to improve women’s safety.

“Engaging women in the workforce, prosecuting gender crimes and challenging misogyny are better ways to tackle the root causes of violence,” she says.

* Names changed on request

#India #Progressive Women’s Forum #male violence #violence against women #men and alcohol #Today’s temperance reformers #Male alcohol consumption and increased rates of domestic violence

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toriexpress · 4 years ago

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A woman or girl is raped every 15 minutes in India: Woman fighting for her life after being gang raped and left hanging naked from an electricity pole in India

A woman is reportedly fighting for her life after she was beaten, gang raped and left hanging naked from an electricity pole in India. The victim was left for dead after she was reportedly ambushed by a group of men as she went to an open toilet during a wedding celebration at her home. She was later found hanging from the pole in the village of Chakhabib Rudhiya in the northern state of Bihar…

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#strange

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surugblog · 4 years ago

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Woman fighting for her life after she was beaten, gang raped and left hanging naked from an electricity pole in India

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essencepoints · 4 years ago

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Woman fighting for her life after she was beaten, gang raped and left hanging naked from an electricity pole in India

A woman is reportedly fighting for her life after she was beaten, gang raped and left hanging naked from an electricity pole in India.The victim was left for dead after she was reportedly ambushed by a group of men as she went to an open toilet during a wedding celebration at her home.She was later found hanging from the pole in the village of Chakhabib Rudhiya in the northern state of Bihar on…

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wapcodehubsite · 4 years ago

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Woman fighting for her life after she was beaten, gang raped and left hanging naked from an electricity pole in India

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#world news

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artijaihind · 4 years ago

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#BIHAR : समस्तीपुर में विभूतिपुर थाना क्षेत्र के एक गांव में मंगलवार सुबह वारदात को अंजाम दिया गया। घर से शौच के लिए निकली

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globalpeacefoundationindia · 4 years ago

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WHY WOMEN FROM MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES MORE PRONE TO GENDER BASED VIOLENCE.

Violence against women is a hidden global crisis which knows no boundaries of geography or culture. But marginalized women, such as poor women and girls are most likely to experience it. Violence against women and girls takes many different forms, including domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment, early and forced marriage, sex trafficking and so called Honour Killing .It is rooted in the gender inequality that women face throughout their lives from childhood to old age. “Non-Dalit and Dalit women are not the same, caste makes a difference”.

According to NCRB report on crime 2016 Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of cases against Dalit women (25.6%) followed by Bihar (14) and Rajasthan (12.6%).The data also suggests that over four Dalit women are raped every day. The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, an NGO, revealed that more than 23% of Dalit women report being raped. In fact, many of them have reported multiple instances of rape. It could be understood by most recent Hathras gang rape . A 20 year old woman from SC community was brutally raped , assaulted and her tongue was cut by upper caste men. According to sociologist Sanjay Srivastava, besides being an exercise of power by upper-caste members, sexual violence is also a method used by upper-caste men to show lower-caste men that they were unable to "protect" their women – they use rape as a tool to stage a "contest" among men.

Also the gang-rape and murder of two teenage girls was reported in the Katra village of Budaun district, Uttar Pradesh on May 27, 2014.

The two girls from the Dalit community were kidnapped, gang-raped and hanged from a tree .The girls' fault? They had asked their upper- caste employer to increase their salary by a mere sum of Rs 3.

These cases are not just confined to Uttar Pradesh but also to many other areas like in 2018, a Dalit girl walked into the police office in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, carrying a six-month-old fetus wrapped in a plastic bag. She accused three upper-caste men of sexually assaulting her for several months. A similar incident came from Chhattisgarh when a priest allegedly tempt a 22-year-old woman and raped her.

This list of cases is never ending , but it leaves us with the question that, does caste really matters ? Rape is nothing but a tool used by upper-caste people to dominate lower-caste women, to keep them 'under control'. According to Ranjana Kumari , director of the Centre for Social Research, although these incidents take place on a daily basis, there is no substantial caste-based data on sexual violence in India.

Every time a Dalit woman or a woman from any so-called lower-caste is subjected to sexual violence, it becomes clear that the prevailing structure of caste and the status of women in society are largely responsible for the violation of their human rights. As the United Nations Human Rights Council began its 38th session in Geneva in 2018 , Dalit women activists released a report at a side event there on caste-based violence faced by women. The report titled Voices Against Caste Impunity: Narratives of Dalit Women in India.

The Indian government had condemned the report on its release. In this the government was not acknowledging caste discrimination at International Forum.

The Constitution of India is considered to be the lengthiest Constitution in the world, and Right to Equality has been guaranteed under article 14 to article 18. Article 17 of the Constitution states that 'untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden'. It is shameful and unfortunate that even years after independence, the patriarchal structure of society has refused to alter. Violence and sexual harassment are crucial mechanisms to show women of lower castes, their position in society.

Right now, our basic need is the proper functioning of the institutions meant to protect them and their lives. Also to educate them about their rights and duties .

By Namita Bhadana

References

ThelogicalIndian.com/dalit – women -sexual – violen

Why women in south India have more freedom than their northern sisters by Alice Evans

How gender based violence in India continues to rise by Neha Chauhan

Violence against women and girls : enough is enough

Fighting India’s official denial, report on caste-based violence against women presented at Geneva

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bollywoodadda · 4 years ago

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Just promising judgment or announcing compensation is not enough now: Shamin Mannan "Ram Pyaare Sirf Humaare" actress Shamin Mannan is disappointed with the government's attitude toward the safety of women in the country. She feels though this a very important issue, the government has not taken it seriously enough. She says "promising judgement or announcing compensation" is not going to help now. The Hathras gang-rape case of a 19-year-old woman shook the whole country. And since then, be it Buxar in Bihar, or Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, a lot more cases of the heinous crime were reported recently. The "Sanskaar - Dharohar Apnon Ki" actress asserted that such cases must be fast-tracked and severe punishment should be immediately pronounced to the criminals. "It’s sad that any government in power has never taken women safety seriously enough. Rape is a hideous and inhuman crime and such cases must be fast-tracked with sentencing severe punishment to the criminals. That would instill fear in the minds of such monsters. The government should start setting an example by punishing such culprits severely and quickly, otherwise, such incidents will keep repeating. Just promising judgement or announcing compensation is not enough now!" she said. She stated that to end rape, we first need to change the mindset of the people, and once that changes this evil will be forever eliminated from society. "Only because someone belongs to an underprivileged family or wears short dresses doesn’t mean she can be raped or killed brutally. Moreover, rape has nothing to do with the outfit of a woman, or age, because every other day a woman is getting raped from as young as three years old to 70 years old. I see people losing faith in the system now, which itself is unfortunate. There must be a strict law for the safety of every girl in our country, which could assure her that even if she walks alone at night, she will be safe and protected. Also, it’s time the root cause of this possibly be given importance to, that is the misogynistic and patriarchal thought process of people in our country. The thought process of people should change. Period!" Shamin signed off. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGdU9RYgO5i/?igshid=vao4n6vf0c63

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bloggvalley · 4 years ago

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Bihar Woman Allegedly Gang Raped, Child Dies After Both Thrown Into Canal

The incident comes amid growing outrage over crimes against women in the country. (File)

Buxar, Bihar:

A Dalit woman in Bihar’s Buxar district was allegedly gang raped and her child died after they were attacked and thrown in a canal, police said.

The five-year-old child died from drowning, officials have said, adding that one of the seven accused has been arrested in the case. Of the seven…

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#india-news

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loyallogic · 5 years ago

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Analysis of Gender Neutrality Laws in India

This article has been written by Aayush Akar and Saurav Kumar, students of National Law University Odisha, Cuttack.

Introduction

Gender inequalities are one of the most prominent manifestations of inequality on the planet.

Gender equality affects each member of the community at large and shapes the very foundation of a just community, and so the problem of social inequality is of immense significance and gigantic repercussions enveloping an all-encompassing and infinite canvas. [1]

Gender disparity in India applies to wellness, employment, social and political differences between males and females in India. [2] Numerous international indices of inequality rate India differently on each of these variables, and also on a weighted scale, and these measures are divisive. Gender disparities and their social roots affect India’s sex ratio, women’s health over their lifespan, educational performance, and economic environment. Gender discrimination in India is a serious problem that affects both males and females. [3]

Gender inequality has affected several dimensions of women’s lives from job growth and advancement in mental health problems. Although legislation in India on rape, dowry and adultery which has kept women’s safety at priority, huge discrimination appears to be disturbing and affecting the lives of men today. Each citizen of India has also been granted certain rights to protect their interest in the community towards any aggression which are brought into force by the judiciary concerning some restrictions. [4]

Unnao rape case shows the reality of equal rights to women enshrined in the Indian constitution. The woman died after suffering severe burn injuries which were caused due to fire set on her way to testify against the accused person. Rape and sexual allegation cases have been in limelight since Nirbhaya case. Six men raped Nirbhaya in New Delhi and killed her brutally which led to huge protest all across the country and prompted the Government to set up J.S. Verma Committee to make suggestions in rape law. [5] The Union Government set up the Nirbhaya Fund for meeting expenditure to enhance the safety of women. But on the contrary, the terrible gang rape and assassination of a woman vet in Telangana and similar incidents in Bihar, Rajasthan and Karnataka demonstrate that females are as vulnerable and afraid currently as they were on the eve of the “Nirbhaya Gang Rape” case. But now justice was finally given to Nirbhaya after 7 years after all the 4 convicts were executed to death. Now India has made strict laws like amendment in POSCO Act, 2012 like the death penalty can be given to convict of rape of minor or child below 12 years of age. Even the government is planning to set up fast track courts to deal with such cases within 6 months. [6]

Similarly “Men’s Rights Movement” in India has begun to protect men from undue harassment and mental torture. They are claiming from gender-neutral legislation as most of the laws in India are favouring women. Men committed suicide in New Delhi 2016 and his parents purported that he did due to unnecessary mental torture and harassment by his spouse. Finally, the case was registered under Section 302 and 34. There is a requirement of amendments in anti-dowry legislation i.e. Section 498-A as most of the laws are causing humiliation to men and in-laws. [7]

“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ)” people in India suffer legal and social difficulties that are not faced by non- persons. The nation has abolished the colonial-era statutes that expressly enforced against homosexual sex and sexual identities, but other substantive provisions have not been given for, including non-discrimination or same-sex marriage. Since 2014 in the famous NALSA case, the Top Court allowed them to register as the third gender of the country. Similarly, Navtej Singh Johar [8] case repealed colonial-era Section 377 and declared it as unconstitutional.

In this article, we are going to discuss the topic neutrally by discussing the topic in light of rights of all gender including transgender rights.

Men’s Right in India

India is a common-law nation with varied customs, a variety of religious communities and a history that goes back to centuries. India’s constitution has been seen as a central element for social growth with the democratic principle of equality. India’s sustained political freedoms are exceptional among the developing countries of the world; yet, given socio-economic developments, there is unprecedented misery, religious and social class-related brutality, separatism, or other social prejudices still widespread in the region.

Women in India are safeguarded by the different statutes in India and they can file complaints against anyone for the infringement of their rights. Despite having equal fundamental rights given to men and female, the rights of men are not enunciated as compared to women. In part 3 of the Indian Constitution, men can avail his fundamental rights throughout India regardless of their religion, race, gender, place of birth. Most of these rights guarantees liberties to men so they can live without coercion and harassment. [9]

The need for gender neutrality is of high requirement in the rape legislation as from the beginning women are only considered as the victim may be due to patriarchy prevalent in Indian society. Even due to the rise of women empowerment and feminism, the concept of gender neutrality laws was hindered. Most of the provisions of IPC which states about offence against women allude men only as a criminal. It is right that from the Tukaram case to Nirbhaya case that men were the only perpetrator but the Central Government should accept the JS Verma committee suggestion for making some laws gender-neutral but that was also rejected. [10]

Now the scenario is changed, many PIL(s) have been filed in various High Court(s) and Apex Court for making rape laws to be gender-neutral. In 2017, Sanjiv Kumar had questioned the legality of existing rape laws which only consider men to be the perpetrator in Delhi High Court. It was mentioned that now the scenario is changed and is requisite from the society to think “beyond the male-on-female paradigm”. Centre in its application submitted that the laws related to rape should not be altered as some section are requisite to keep a check on the rising crime against women. [11] Similarly, Apex Court dismissed the PIL by Rishi Malhotra where PIL mentioned for making rape laws to be made gender-neutral as there are no laws to protect males from sexual harassment. The case was Rishi Malhotra v. Union of India [12].

The Law Commission recommended making laws to be gender neutral by substituting the word “rape” with “sexual assault”. The Union Government agreed to make legislation to be gender-neutral after the Nirbhaya incident. The Justice Verma in its report suggested using “person” instead of “women” to cover all forms of sexual violence. But Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 restored to the gender-specific definition after criticism from the feminist groups due to prevalent patriarchy present in the society. [13]

Women’s Right in India

Democratic countries like the USA and the UK which established themselves way before India gained its independence from the Britons, for a long time in these countries women of the society were not allowed to vote during the elections. They didn’t have the power and right to vote in the elections. After a long time when women started oppressing and revolting against this law, they finally won the battle that they were fighting for and they finally got the voting rights in the elections, women of the UK gained the right to vote in 1918 and women of the United States of America gained the right to vote in 1920, the battle wasn’t easy for women of the United Kingdom because they fought for it more than two centuries after the first elections took place and more than a century when first elections took place in the United States of America. This gives a basic idea of how much time it takes for enacting Judiciary and legislation to make sure there is gender justice in India. We are still long ahead to achieve what is termed as ‘equality’ in the sphere of gender. [14]

Constitutional Provisions for Women

Our India’s Constitution not only focusses on awarding equivalent rights to women but also focusses on how to empower them in society so that they don’t face any sort of discrimination and segregation financially, economically and politically. Even though some constitutional provisions like Articles 14, 15, 16, 39 and 42 of the Indian Constitution that provides the concept of gender justice like equality before the law or equal protection of the law; no discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, religion, caste, residential area or place of birth, and equal opportunity to every citizen of India in matters related to the employment sector. There are certain other articles also that especially promote the idea of women empowerment in the society. These are detailed as follows:

ARTICLE 51 (A)(e): There should be a sense of brotherhood among the citizens of India and there should be no practice related to hurting the sentiments of women.

ARTICLE 243 (D)(3): One-third of the total number of seats should be reserved for women (including for women who come from disadvantaged sections like SC/ST) in Panchayats and is to be filled by direct election.

ARTICLE 243 (D)(4): One-third of the total number of seats should be reserved for women as a chairperson in the office of Panchayat.

ARTICLE 243 (T)(3): One-third of the total number of seats should be reserved for women (including for women who come from disadvantaged sections like SC/ST) in Municipality and are to be filled by direct election.

ARTICLE 243 (T)(4): One-third of the total number of seats should be reserved for women (including for women who come from disadvantaged sections like SC/ST) in Municipality as Chairperson as the state’s legislature provides. [15]

Legal Provisions for Women

To make sure there are law and order in the society and everyone follows it accordingly so that there is no disturbance in the community and everything runs smoothly there are some special laws and provisions that are made by the Centre and State’s legislature to safeguard the dignity of women. These laws and provisions are made keeping in mind that they don’t face any kind of social segregation and violence against them whether it be verbally or physically. These rules and guidelines are made to help and support the working as well as non-working women of society. The acts that are done in immoral and mala fide nature which may cause grievous hurt or damage to the other person are called crime and these wrongful acts like Murder(Sec. 300 IPC), Cheating(Sec. 415 IPC), Robbery(Sec. 390 IPC) etc. are unlawful acts and these unlawful acts mainly against women are termed as “Crime Against Women”. These are broadly classified into two categories:

Wrongful Acts that are identified as Crime against women under the Indian Penal Code, 1860:

Kidnapping and Abduction (Sec. 363-373)

Rape (Sec. 376)

Molestation (Sec. 354)

Physical and Mental Torture (Sec. 498-A)

Sexual Harassment (Sec. 509)

Attempts and Deaths related to Dowry (Sec. 302/304-B)

Some Special Acts and Provisions that protect the interests of a woman:

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

Women’s Reservation Bill, 2008

The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013

The Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2018 [16]

Some of the Important Initiatives for Women by Indian Government

NATIONAL POLICY FOR EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN, 2001: This policy was made in the year 2001 by the Department of Women and Child Development under the Ministry of Human Resource Development and this policy aims to empower women. [17]

NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN: A committee was made by the Centre in the year 1992 to constantly check and see all the matters related to the rights of women and amend new laws as necessary. [18]

RESERVATION FOR WOMEN IN LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT: The Parliament passed the 73rd Constitutional Amendment in the year 1992 which made sure that women get one-third of the total number of seats in local offices whether in city or village.” [19]

Apart from the initiatives taken by the government; The Indian Judiciary has actively taken part in the issues related to women. These trademark cases changed the future course of action for women. For Example, in the case of C.B. Muthamma v. Union of India [20] the constitutionality of the “Indian Foreign Service Rules of 1961” was questioned. The main issue of this case was that a woman employee has to get written permission from the government before her marriage and she has to give in writing that she may quit her job after her marriage. The Supreme Court struck down this law stating that this is unconstitutional and derogatory against women.

In another landmark judgment was given by the Supreme Court in the case of Air India v. Nargesh Mirza [21] which held that firing of an air hostess from their service based on their first pregnancy is unconstitutional and arbitrary. In the case of Pratibha Ranu v. Suraj Kumar [22], the main issue was who enjoys the Stridhan property in marriage. So, in this case, the Supreme Court gave a remarkable judgment stating that a married woman has complete ownership of the Stridhan property and she has full control over it.

In the case of Vishaka and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan [23] the main issue was that women facing sexual harassment at their workplace. The Apex Court in this matter held that any type of activity that is immoral and derogates the dignity of women at their workplace is an infringement of Article 14, Article 15 and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. To prevent sexual harassment faced by women at their workplace Supreme Court laid down certain guidelines and these guidelines are called Vishaka Guidelines.

Transgender’s Rights in India

The Fundamental Rights given to men and women of the society are also available to the third gender as well. They have the same Fundamental Rights as to ours and them equally the beauty of our constitution like Articles 14, 15 and 23 etc. The Court has legally recognized the third gender as Transgender in both civil as well in criminal status. Now, they have the same fundamental rights and constitutional provisions as men and women of the society and now they can enjoy these in the same manner. After the decriminalization of sec. 377 of IPC in the landmark judgement given by the Top Court in 2018 in the case of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India [24] now they can consensual sex including homosexual sex. Certain bills that gave rights to Transgender persons are detailed as follows:

THE RIGHTS OF TRANSGENDER PERSON’S BILL, 2014: The third gender was legally recognized by the government on the order of the Supreme Court and asked them to reserve their seats for education and employment. [25]

THE RIGHTS OF TRANSGENDER PERSON’S BILL, 2015: A Private member’s bill was passed by Upper House regarding the right of a transgender person which defines transgender as a psychosomatic individual and stating about reservations. [26]

THE TRANSGENDER PERSONS (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS) BILL, 2016: The government opposed Rajya Sabha’s bill and introduced new Transgender Person’s Bill (Protection of Rights) which defined transgender as Biotic Appearance and stating no reservations for them. The main crux of this bill was drawn from the landmark judgement given by the Top Court in the case of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) v. Union of India. [27] Their legal identity was given to them in this case. [28]

TRANSGENDER PERSONS (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS) BILL, 2017: The bill was introduced to tackle social issues faced by the transgender and how to empower them in society. [29]

We have mentioned in our article that though the constitution of India has granted equal rights to the citizens to the country. But there are some legislations like rape laws which are granting more protection to the women due to the presence of patriarchy in the society. But now the time has changed and there is a requirement from the part of lawmakers to alter these laws to make it gender-neutral.

Conclusion

Most of the laws in India are indeed meant both the male and female and now it’s time for the lawmakers to include transgender in those laws. But, astonishingly, the rape laws are female-centric. Gender specificity cannot be said to serve any objective in sexual harassment law any more. There is no reason to suspect the pervasiveness of sexual assault outside the established framework. Only the establishment and implementation of gender-neutral legislation would be successful in increasing the coverage of these crimes. The legal definition of rape must be reassessed, sexual assault must be categorized in compliance with the varying degrees of harm caused by each, and each must always be described comprehensively.

Reference

[1] Claire Melamed, Gender is just one of many inequalities that generate poverty and exclusion | Claire Melamed, The Guardian, Mar. 9, 2012, https://ift.tt/2XONN74 (last visited Apr 5, 2020).

[2] Carol Vlassoff, Gender Differences in Determinants and Consequences of Health and Illness, 25 Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition 47–61 (2007).

[3] The Roots of Gender Inequality in India by D. Amutha :: SSRN, https://ift.tt/2VlCdP5 (last visited Apr 5, 2020).

[4] COI-updated-as-31072018.pdf, https://ift.tt/2XGBvvf (last visited Apr 5, 2020).

[5] Nirbhaya case: Four Indian men executed for 2012 Delhi bus rape and murder- BBC News, https://ift.tt/2J1m6z8 (last visited Apr 5, 2020).

[6] Five years after the gang-rape and murder of Jyoti Singh, what has changed for women in India? | Society | The Guardian, https://ift.tt/2jInl9w (last visited Apr 5, 2020).

[7] Man commits suicide, wife files dowry harassment case against him- Mail Today News, https://ift.tt/2KjcSie (last visited Apr 5, 2020).

[8] Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. v. Union of India the Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice W. P. (Crl.) No. 76 of 2016.

[9] Beyond the Binary: Rethinking Gender Neutrality in Indian Rape Law, https://ift.tt/2VDcjFr (last visited Apr 5, 2020).

[10] Justice Verma Committee Report Summary | PRSIndia, https://ift.tt/2zgjR9H (last visited Apr 5, 2020).

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[12] Rishi Malhotra v. Union of India Writ Petition(s)(Criminal) No(s).7/2018.

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[20] C.B. Muthamma v. Union of India AIR 1868 (1979).

[21] Air India v. Nargesh Mirza AIR 1829 (1981).

[22] Pratibha Ranu v. Suraj Kumar AIR 628 (1985).

[23] Vishaka and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan SC 3011 (1997).

[24] Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. v. Union of India thr. Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice W. P. (Crl.) No. 76 of 2016.

[25] trangder-E.pdf, https://ift.tt/3esQtwZ (last visited Apr 6, 2020).

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[27] National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO.604 OF 2013.

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