Conceptual and Legal Provisions of Women’s Rights: Critical Study in Kalimpong District, West Bengal, India

“Women were the first human being that tasted bondage, women were a slave before the slave or slavery existed” August Bebel. Till date the bondage in women continues silently with all possible tortures and atrocities. The sexual and domestic violence still prevail in the global level. The awareness of principles of equality and justice enumerated under various international conventions and other statutory provisions is still unknown to many. Attaining equality between women and men and eliminating all forms of discrimination against women are fundamental human rights and values. Discrimination may be latent, patent, open or subtle. Women’s Rights are to be given due importance and recognition as chartered by the United Nations Declaration. Women’s rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls of different societies worldwide. In some places, these rights are institutionalized and supported by law, local customs and behaviors, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed. The Constitution of India visualizes development of a pluralistic, open society, based on the principles of equality and social justice. Creation of a citizenry conscious of women’s rights and duties, committed to the principles embodied in our constitution is pre-requisite to social advancement, economic development and political progress of our country. There has been a long history of addressing women’s rights and much progress has been made in securing it across the world in recent decades. However, important gaps remain and women’s realities are constantly changing, with new manifestations of discrimination against them which emerges regularly. Some groups of women face additional forms of discrimination based on their age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, health status, marital status, education, disability and socio-economic status, among other grounds. These intersecting forms of discrimination must be taken into account with legal provisions when developing measures and responses to combat discrimination against women. The study will be the critical analysis of Women’s Rights: its Conceptual and Legal Provisions based on a pilot study which primarily involves the area of the researcher’s interest.