Feminist Theory in the Indian Constitution
- Anjali Baskar
- June 21, 2020
Content :
Feminist jurisprudence is a budding school of legal thought which envelopes legal approaches and laws in the eye of the patriarchal-dominated society we live in. Constitutional feminism is the relationship between feminist theory and the Indian document needed to govern a country, i.e. the constitution. A country’s constitution, even where it comprises of impartiality on the surface level, affects people differently when it comes to gender. Gender equality is a known to all in theory, but application in real life at home or at work is insufficient. The architecture and design of the constitution should be that, it needs to give every citizen equal rights. These rights assured to women can help increase representation of women in all walks of life. Due to the historical oppression of women, they have been termed as the inferior sex as compared to cis-gendered men and therefore,women’s rights should be protected.Constitutional design can never be considered final, due to the provision of amendments and various interpretations which we can apply to the feminist perspective. A constitution will always be susceptible to changes, either in written form or from different view-points that arise through revision in jurisprudential and methodological style.Similarly, some of the past judgements have changed the dimensions of patriarchal society leading to a horizontal application of equality and dignified life to every citizen irrespective of discriminations. Gender justice discussion would be rudimentary without seeing it from the Indian Constitution’s frame of reference. The Constitution of India, also known as the cornerstone of a nation , lays down methods (through provisions) for social, economic and political revolution in India. It is the primary document that gives the definition and guarantee of equality, justice, liberty and democracy to the Indian citizens. The Preamble states that one of the basic provisions of the Constitution is to make sure there is social, economic and political justice for all its citizens. In this paper, the author intends to examine the provisions of gender justice in the Constitution and the role of law in securing justice to women. In doing so, the author shall also study, the feminist challenges to the interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution as well as to the legal discourse. This paper raises the point that conditioning towards habitual regressive societal ideas restricts the possibility of autonomous decisions. In conclusion, it is to be observed that laws need to bring about fair conditions of social behaviour and a liberty-inducing model from disabilities that have been socially imposed and encourage freedom of choice in decision making. This feminist intervention is linked with concept of justice and equality that has been embedded in the constitutional framework. A study of the criminal and personal laws reveals that laws are affiliated with protectionist and paternalistic ideals in order to manifest empowerment and autonomy among women. This paper engages a discussion on issues at the core of gender justice.
