Uluberia(Howrah) District Meeting
Legally a female is known as a woman after she has passed through her childhood and
adolescence, i.e. basically after crossing the teenage a girl is a woman. Government of India has
made several laws to provide equal status to women in our country and secure their lives from
various violence and crimes. Constitution of India provides fundamental rights and fundamental
duties to the citizens of India; each and every citizen of this country is equally entitled of these
rights and duties. The Constitution of India guarantees to all Indian women equality (Article 14),
no discrimination by the State (Article 15(1)), equality of opportunity (Article 16), and equal pay
for equal work (Article 39(d)). In addition, it allows special provisions to be made by the State in
favor of women and children (Article 15(3)), renounces practices derogatory to the dignity of
women (Article 51(A) (e)), and also allows for provisions to be made by the State for securing
just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief. (Article 42).
The question naturally arises: what can law do to legitimately promote changed social patterns,
and how? In other words, to what extent can law sustain and promote social development? As a
sociologist I know that such a query cannot be addressed without reference to a specific topic
and context. There is no one single society in the world that can be fully compared with another,
and to answer such a delicate question one needs to look very deep into the history of a state. My
research is formed around a particularly topic, that of gender: an area that developmental
programs either focus on or have mainstreamed within other remits. According to the United
Nations Development Program, social development cannot progress without concomitant
women’s empowerment. Based on this preliminary focus into gender rights, I decided to situate
my research in one of the so-called ‘emerging countries’, that is perceived to be progressing from
its prior ‘developing’ status. In particular, I selected India as its Constitution is among the
longest standing and is considered to be one of the most democratic of any sovereign state today.
Section III of the Indian Constitution states clearly the equal right to all genders and through the
years India has increased the number of amendments and provisions affecting women’s life
conditions. However, women’s condition in India is still driven by an underlying stigmatization.
adolescence, i.e. basically after crossing the teenage a girl is a woman. Government of India has
made several laws to provide equal status to women in our country and secure their lives from
various violence and crimes. Constitution of India provides fundamental rights and fundamental
duties to the citizens of India; each and every citizen of this country is equally entitled of these
rights and duties. The Constitution of India guarantees to all Indian women equality (Article 14),
no discrimination by the State (Article 15(1)), equality of opportunity (Article 16), and equal pay
for equal work (Article 39(d)). In addition, it allows special provisions to be made by the State in
favor of women and children (Article 15(3)), renounces practices derogatory to the dignity of
women (Article 51(A) (e)), and also allows for provisions to be made by the State for securing
just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief. (Article 42).
The question naturally arises: what can law do to legitimately promote changed social patterns,
and how? In other words, to what extent can law sustain and promote social development? As a
sociologist I know that such a query cannot be addressed without reference to a specific topic
and context. There is no one single society in the world that can be fully compared with another,
and to answer such a delicate question one needs to look very deep into the history of a state. My
research is formed around a particularly topic, that of gender: an area that developmental
programs either focus on or have mainstreamed within other remits. According to the United
Nations Development Program, social development cannot progress without concomitant
women’s empowerment. Based on this preliminary focus into gender rights, I decided to situate
my research in one of the so-called ‘emerging countries’, that is perceived to be progressing from
its prior ‘developing’ status. In particular, I selected India as its Constitution is among the
longest standing and is considered to be one of the most democratic of any sovereign state today.
Section III of the Indian Constitution states clearly the equal right to all genders and through the
years India has increased the number of amendments and provisions affecting women’s life
conditions. However, women’s condition in India is still driven by an underlying stigmatization.