The Limits of Legal Equality: Feminist Jurisprudence and the Persistence of Patriarchy in Indian Law and Society

The Limits of Legal Equality: Feminist Jurisprudence and the Persistence of Patriarchy in Indian Law and Society Ankaj Aryan* The constitutional commitment to equality has fundamentally transformed the legal status of women in India. Articles 14, 15, 16 and 21 of the Constitution, together with statutory reforms and international human-rights obligations, provide an extensive normative framework for gender equality. Yet the persistence of domestic violence, unequal family relations, economic dependence, gender stereotypes and unequal access to institutions demonstrates a continuing gap between formal legal equality and substantive social equality. This article examines that gap through the theoretical framework of feminist jurisprudence. It argues that the removal of explicitly discriminatory laws does not necessarily dismantle the social and institutional structures through which patriarchy operates. Feminist jurisprudence challenges the traditional assumption that law is entirely neutral and universal and instead investigates the relationship between law, gender and power. The article analyses the constitutional framework, feminist theories of equality, personal and family laws, judicial interventions and the continuing influence of patriarchy in Indian society. It argues that genuine women’s empowerment requires a movement beyond formal equality towards substantive and transformative equality. Law must therefore be accompanied by institutional reform, economic empowerment, gender-sensitive adjudication and sustained transformation of patriarchal social structures. * Research Scholar, Faculty of Law, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi.