Gender Equality in 21st Century: Fighting the dangerous stereotypes

Gender Equality will only be reached if we are able to empower the women - Michelle Bachelet Gender Inequality is deep rooted in the notions of the patriarchal society. Women were considered as the weaker section of the society, and they were prone to the abuse by the male dominated society. The makers of the Indian Constitution were keen to address the issue of gender discrimination and made several provisions for the upliftment of the women. Article 14 of the Constitution of India guarantees the right to equality to all its citizens and Article 15 prohibits the State from discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender. Besides this, the Constitution adopts the approach of positive discrimination in favour of the women. Article 15(3) empowers the State to make special provisions for the women. Many laws have been enacted to ensure the safety of the women at the national and international level. In the age of feminism, the judiciary has played an active role in protecting and strengthening the rights of the women, but the gender equality is still a distant dream even after 75 years of Independence. The identity of the women is always merged with the male counterparts on which she is dependant. Before marriage, she is dependent on her brother, or the father and she is seen as the property of her husband after the marriage. It is the need of the hour to debunk these gender stereotypes which have been assigned to her by the society. The present research critically analyses the legal and judicial framework for the protection of the rights of the women in India.