Legal rights of women in India
Given the rising number of incidences of women being harassed, the Indian government has granted important rights to all women living in this nation.
Yet, if you don't know them, it is useless.
So, we will highlight 11 legal rights of women in India that you should be aware of in this post.
11 Legal Rights of Women in India
Right to have equal pay:
One cannot be discriminated against based on gender when it comes to salary, pay, or wages, as stated in the equal remuneration act's specified provisions. Women who are employed have the right to get equal pay. In contrast to men. The right to fair compensation is the first and main freedom that springs to mind.In every industry, women are typically paid less than their male counterparts for performing the same tasks. This is a fairly widespread problem.The Equal Remuneration Act's provisions provide that one cannot be subjected to gender-based wage, salary, or pay discrimination.
Right to dignity and decency:
In an event that the accused is a woman, any medical examination procedure on her must be performed by or in the presence of any woman.
Even if the woman is the defendant, every medical examination that is conducted on her must be completed by a woman or have a woman present the entire time.
Right against workplace harassment:
The sexual harassment of women at workplace act gives a female the right to file a complaint against any kind of harassment at her place of work. Currently, women frequently experience job harassment. A woman has the right to report any form of sexual harassment at her place of employment under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act. According to this law, a harassed woman has three months from the date of the harassment to file a written complaint with an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at a branch office.
Right against domestic violence:
The Indian Constitution's Section 498 aims to protect a wife, female live-in partner, or woman residing with her mother, sister, or other female family member from domestic violence (including verbal, economic, emotional, and sexual) committed by her husband, male live-in partner, or other male family members from domestic abuse (which includes verbal, economic, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse) by a husband, male live-in partner, or family members.
The accused will be sentenced to a term of non-bail able imprisonment that might last three years in addition to being subject to a large fine. .
Right to keep their identity anonyms :
A woman who has experienced sexual assault must give her statement privately, either in front of a female police officer or the district magistrate if the case is currently in court.Women who have been sexually abused have a right to privacy. While the matter is in court and the district magistrate is present, they are free to record her statement without disclosing their identity and in the presence of a female police officer.
Right to get free legal aid:
Under the legal services authorities act,female rape victims have the right to get free legal aid or help from the legal services authority who has to arrange a lawyer for help. We can all agree that a good lawyer is expensive and not everyone can afford one.
Nonetheless, female rape victims have the right to receive free legal assistance under the Legal Services Authorities Act, and the Legal Services Authority is required to set her up with a lawyer at no cost to her.
Right not to be arrested at night:
Unless there is an exceptional case on the orders of a first.Class magistrate, a woman cannot be arrester after sunset and before sunrise. The law further stipulates that a woman may only be questioned by the police at her home in the presence of a female constable, her family, and close friends.
Right to register a virtual complaint:
The law gives women the provision for filling virtual complaints via-email or writing her complaint and sending it to a police station from a registered postal address.
Further, the SHO sends a police constable to her place to record her complaint. When a woman is unable to physically attend to a police station to submit a police complaint, the legislation allows her to do so virtually instead, such as through email or by writing her complaint down and mailing it to a police station from a registered postal address.
Right against indecent representation :
Depiction of a woman’s figure (her form or any body part) in any manner that is indecent, derogatory ,or is likely to deprave, corrupt or injure the public morality or morals, is a punishable offence. A punishable offence is the depiction of a woman's figure or any other body part in a way that is indecent, disparaging, or likely to deprave, corrupt, or harm the public morality or morals. This frequently occurs in public places where some perverted people engage in such behavior. Because women frequently ignore such individuals, they continue to engage in such behavior. You must openly speak out against these individuals as a responsible citizen.
Right to being stalked:
Section 354D of the IPC makes way for legal action to be taken against an offender if he/she follows a woman, tries to contact her to forester personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest; or monitor the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication. Whether it takes place virtually or in person, stalking is a serious issue. The number of occurrences of virtual stalking has dramatically increased in recent years.Under section 354D of the IPC, a woman can file a lawsuit against a stalker who persistently pursues personal contact with her despite her obvious reluctance. Stalking a woman online in any way is likewise illegal and punishable.
Right to have zero FIR:
Women who have been sexually abused have a right to privacy. While the matter is in court and the district magistrate is present, they are free to record her statement without disclosing their identity and in the presence of a female police officer.Let's use an example to better grasp this. Suppose a girl is involved in a crime in X location and lives in Y location. It's not required that the female file a FIR exclusively in the Y location. She is free to file a report anyplace close to the scene of the crime. The police are unable to contest her FIR, which can then be moved to the appropriate jurisdiction.
Conclusion
These were the 11 legal rights for women in India that were mentioned in this post, and in my opinion, everyone should be aware of them so that, in the future, if they witness injustice against women anywhere, they can speak out with the necessary legal evidence.
You never know who could need this information, so if you felt this post was helpful in any way, please don't forget to share it with your female friends.