Safeguarding women’s rights: india’s post-colonial legal journey towards gender justice
Keywords:
gender, equality, gender justice, rights, India
Abstract
With an emphasis on post-colonial developments, this essay examines how legal reforms have advanced gender justice in India. By looking at significant legislative actions, constitutional clauses, and court rulings, the study seeks to understand how the Indian legal system has addressed calls for gender equality. The article’s methodology takes a doctrinal approach, examining secondary literature on gender justice in addition to primary sources including legislatons, case law, and constitutional articles. This includes historic legislation like the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act of 2013, along with major legislative reforms including the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 and Hindu Succession Act of 1956 and their amendments. It is further amplified that, although the Indian society has progressed quite a lot in demolishing patriarchal structures, much is left due to deeprooted social and cultural mechanisms. The study derives the significance of judicial activism and affirmative action for gender justice in arguing for further legal reforms and their practical implementation for reaching the ultimate reality of gender equality.
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References
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Air India v. Nergesh Meerza, AIR 1981 SC 1829.
Ambika Prasad Mishra v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (1980) 3 SCC 719.
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Prabodh Verma and Others, Etc. v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others, Etc., AIR 1985 SC 167.
Radha Charan Patnaik v. State of Orissa, AIR 1969 Ori 237.
Rani Raj Rajeshwari Devi v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1954 All 608.
Rao, K. V. (2022). Labour reforms and labour codes in India. New Delhi: Niruta Publications.
R.S. Singh v. State of Punjab & Haryana AIR 1972 P&H 117.
Saraswati, S. N. (2002). Right to equality in the Indian Constitution: A Gandhian perspective. Concept Publishing Company.
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Shamsher Singh v. Punjab State, AIR 1970 P&H 372.
Sowmithri Vishnu v. Union of India AIR 1985 SC 1618.
Spees, P. (2004). Gender justice and accountability in peace support operations. Retrieved from
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Sri Sri Mahadev Jiew v. Dr. B.B. Sen, AIR 1951 Cal 563.
State of U.P. v. Deoman Upadhyaya, AIR 1960 SC 112.
Thamsi Goundan v. Kanni Ammal, AIR 1952 Mad 529.
Union of India v. Lt. Cdr. Annie Nagaraja (2020) 13 SCC 1.
Uttarakhand Mahila Kalyan Parishad v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (1993) Supp (1) SCC 480.
Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1997 SC 3011.
Vijay Lakshmi v. Punjab University, (2003) 8 SCC 440.
Yousuf Abdul Aziz v. State of Bombay AIR 1954 SC 321.
Air India v. Nergesh Meerza, AIR 1981 SC 1829.
Ambika Prasad Mishra v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (1980) 3 SCC 719.
Anjali Roy v. State of West Bengal, AIR 1952 Cal 825.
Anuj Garg & Ors v. Hotel Association of India & Ors, AIR 2008 Supreme Court 663.
Babita Punya v. Secretary, Ministry of Defence, (2020) 7 SCC 469.
Chakrabarti, N. K., & Chakrabarty, S. (2006). Gender justice. Calcutta: R. Cambray & Co. Pvt. Ltd.
Chakrabarti, K. (2014). Ensuring gender justice through equality of status and protective discrimination: The legislative and judicial role in India. In U. K. Panda (Ed.), Gender issues and challenges in twenty-first century (pp. 1–15). New Delhi: Satyam Law International.
Challa, K. (2012). Promotion of gender justice in India and the role of Indian judiciary. In P. K. Pandey (Ed.), Human rights and gender justice (pp. 245–256). New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation.
Chigateri, S. (2021). Labour law reforms and women’s work in India. New Delhi: Institute of Social Studies Trust.
Chiranjit Lal Chowdhuri v. The Union of India & Ors., [1969] 3 SCR 865.
Dattatraya Motiram More v. State of Bombay, AIR 1953 Bom 311.
Fredman, S. (2016). Substantive equality revisited. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 14(3), 712–738.
G.K. Pushpa v. State of Karnataka, (2013) 1 Kant LJ 411.
Goetz, A. M. (2007). Gender justice, citizenship and entitlements: Core concepts, central debates and new directions for research. In M. Mukhopadhyay & N. Singh (Eds.), Gender justice, citizenship and development (pp. 15–57). New Delhi: International Development Research Centre.
Government of Andhra Pradesh v. P.B. Vijay Kumar and Another, AIR 1995 SC 1648.
Hindustan Latex Ltd. v. Maniamma, (1994) 2 KLT 111.
Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala, (2019) 11 SCC 1.
Joseph Shine v. Union of India, AIR 2018 SC 1676.
Kapoor, R. (2007). Challenging the liberal subject: Law and gender justice in South Asia. In M. Mukhopadhyay & N. Singh (Eds.), Gender justice, citizenship and development (pp. 116–170). New Delhi: International Development Research Centre.
Kaur, K. (2024). Rights of women labourers in the Indian legal system: A critical analysis. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 26(3), Article 12.
M.I. Shahdad v. Mohd. Abdullah Mir, AIR 1967 J&K 120.
Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597.
Molyneux, M. (2007). Refiguring citizenship: Research perspectives on gender justice in the Latin American and Caribbean region. In M. Mukhopadhyay & N. Singh (Eds.), Gender justice, citizenship and development (pp. 58–115). New Delhi: International Development Research Centre.
Motiwal, O. P. (1969). Right of equal opportunity of civil servants. Journal of the Indian Law Institute, 11(3), 328–343. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43950032.
Nawaz, F. (2013). Global gender justice in the 21st century: Lessons and the way forward. The Social Sciences, 8(4), 290–294.
Neeraja, P. (2013). Sex segregated data: A means to measure gender gap. Radix International Journal of Research in Social Science, 2(12), 1–7.
Orgad, L. (2010). The preamble in constitutional interpretation. I•CON, 8(4), 714–738. Partap Singh v. Union of India, (1985) 4 SCC 197.
Prabodh Verma and Others, Etc. v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others, Etc., AIR 1985 SC 167.
Radha Charan Patnaik v. State of Orissa, AIR 1969 Ori 237.
Rani Raj Rajeshwari Devi v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1954 All 608.
Rao, K. V. (2022). Labour reforms and labour codes in India. New Delhi: Niruta Publications.
R.S. Singh v. State of Punjab & Haryana AIR 1972 P&H 117.
Saraswati, S. N. (2002). Right to equality in the Indian Constitution: A Gandhian perspective. Concept Publishing Company.
Seervai, H. M. (1995). Constitutional law of India: A critical commentary (Vol. 1). Tripathi.
Shamsher Singh v. Punjab State, AIR 1970 P&H 372.
Sowmithri Vishnu v. Union of India AIR 1985 SC 1618.
Spees, P. (2004). Gender justice and accountability in peace support operations. Retrieved from
http://www.international-alert.org/pdfs/gender_justice_accountability_peace_operations.pdf
Sri Sri Mahadev Jiew v. Dr. B.B. Sen, AIR 1951 Cal 563.
State of U.P. v. Deoman Upadhyaya, AIR 1960 SC 112.
Thamsi Goundan v. Kanni Ammal, AIR 1952 Mad 529.
Union of India v. Lt. Cdr. Annie Nagaraja (2020) 13 SCC 1.
Uttarakhand Mahila Kalyan Parishad v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (1993) Supp (1) SCC 480.
Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1997 SC 3011.
Vijay Lakshmi v. Punjab University, (2003) 8 SCC 440.
Yousuf Abdul Aziz v. State of Bombay AIR 1954 SC 321.
Published
2025-03-26
How to Cite
Vijayan Pillai, A., Vijayakumar, N., Sharma, S., & Challa, K. (2025). Safeguarding women’s rights: india’s post-colonial legal journey towards gender justice. Interacción Y Perspectiva, 15(2), 547-560. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15080523
Section
Artículos de Investigación
