This article is written by Aadarsh Kumar Shrivastava, from Government New Law College, Indore. 

Introduction

Women have always had an important role since the creation of human society and they have always been respected as a goddess. But in the present scenario, violence and crimes against women can be witnessed increasing in many ways around the world. This is a matter of grave and serious concern and growing of torture and crimes against women is a shame for the entire human race. In India, everyone has the equal right to live their life as they wish and to grow, but these rights are limited up to the constitution and legislation only, which is far away from the practical world, due to which the women have been tortured, oppressed and have faced heinous crimes for centuries in India. 

Need for Protection of Women

The cultural history and various religious texts from ancient India reveals the status of women from ancient era i.e. theoretically women were given the status of goddess and were always respected like goddesses but in last few centuries, the status of women changed and gradually deteriorated due to the paradoxical statements in religious scriptures of medieval past and society. In a global perspective, crimes against women occur every minute with 1 in 3 women. According to World Health Organization violence against women such as assault, harassment, intimate partner violence, rape, emotional abuse etc. becomes an important public health problem in every country. The reports state that in every hour there is commission of one crime against women in India. Women are not safe, whether they are in their houses or public places or at the workplace.

Keeping in view the increasing atrocities and crimes against women in India, strong laws are required for women in the country. The notion that women are weak and dependent on men is deeply ingrained in our society. On one hand, we are moving forward with society and taking our developing country to the sky but our thinking about women and their place in society has not changed yet and we are not ready to accept them as breadwinners even today. Not only in India but in the whole world there is dire need of change in the perspective and to promote them equally with respect and dignity. 

Crimes against Women: With Respect to India

Crime in India is not tolerable and wrongdoers and criminals deserve punishments. In the Indian context, there are different laws and legislations for the protection of women from growing offences. There are various forms of crimes against the women and the list keeps growing. These are some of the crimes against women-

• Acid Attack 
• Rape;

1. Sexual intercourse by husband upon his wife during separation.
2. Sexual intercourse by a person in authority.
3. Gang rape.

• Attempt to commit rape 
• Kidnapping and abduction for different purposes:

1. Kidnapping, abducting or inducing women to compel her marriage, etc. 
2. Procuration of minor girls. 
3. Importation of girls from foreign countries. 
4. Habitual dealing in slaves.
5. Selling minor for purposes of prostitution, etc. 
6. Buying minor for purposes of prostitution, etc

• Murder, Abetment of Suicide, etc. 
• Cruelty by husband or his relatives 
• Dowry death
• Outraging the modesty of women 
• Sexual harassment 
• Assault on women with intent to disrobe a woman 
• Voyeurism 
• Stalking 
• Importation of girls 
• Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman 
• Honor killing

Indian Legislations for Protection of Women against Crimes

Safety, security and overall development of every citizen is utmost priority for the Government. Protecting children and women and preventing the rise of crimes against them is an important policy of the state. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has been administering various special laws relating to women along with the uniform criminal laws of India i.e. Indian Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code.

Indian Penal Code 1860 lays down the provisions for punishments to criminals for committing offences. Whereas, the procedures for trial are governed by the Criminal Procedure Code 1973.

Various statutes for protection of women against crimes are as follows-

• The Indian Penal Code, 1860
• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956
• The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 
• The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986
• The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 
• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (PREVENTION, PROHIBITION and REDRESSAL) Act, 2013
• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006
• Maternity Benefit Act, 1861
• Indian Divorce Act, 1969
• Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
• Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
• National Commission for Women Act, 1990

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section	Offence	Punishment
		Death sentence	Life imprisonment	Rigorous imprisonment	Simple imprisonment	Fine
376	Rape	No	Yes	Not <10 years	——	Yes
376A	Death due to rape	Yes	Yes	Not <20 years	——	No
376B	Intercourse by husband during separation	No	No	=<2 years Either description		Yes
376AB	Rape on women >12 years age	Yes	Yes	Not < 20 years	——	No
376C	Rape by person in authority	No	No	Not < 5 years	——	Yes
376D	Gang Rape	No	Yes	Not < 20 years	——	Yes
376DA	Gang rape on women < 16 year	No	Yes	——-	——	Yes
376DB	Gang rape on women < 12 year	Yes	Yes	——-	——	Yes
376E	Repeat offenders	Yes	Yes	——-	——	No
302	Murder	Yes	Yes	——-	——	Yes
304B	Dowry death	No	Yes	Not <7 years Either description		No
306	Abatement to suicide	No	No	May extend up to 10 years Either description		Yes
498A	Cruelty by husband/ relatives	No	No	May extend up to 3 years Either description		Yes
509	Act to Insult the modesty of women	No	No	No	May extend up to 3 years	Yes
326A	Grievous hurt by use of acid	No	Yes	Not less than 10 years Either description		Yes
326B	Voluntarily throwing acid or its attempt	No	No	Not <5 years but extend up to 10 years Either description		Yes
354	Assault to outrage the modesty of the women	No	No	Not <1 year but extend up to 5 years Either description		Yes
354A	Sexual harassment	No	No	May extend up to 3 years	——	Yes
				May extend up to 1 year of either description
354B	Assault with intent to disrobe	No	No	Not <5 years but extend up to 10 years		Yes
354C	Voyeurism	No	No	1 conviction- Not <1 years but extend up to 3 years		Yes
				Second time conviction- Not <3 years but extend up to 7 years
354D	Stalking	No	No	1 conviction- may extend up to 3 years		Yes
				Second time conviction- may extend up to 5 years
366	Kidnapping for to compel her for marriage	No	No	may extend up to 10 years		Yes
366A	Procuration of minor child	No	No	may extend up to 10 years		Yes
366B	Importation of girl from foreign country	No	No	may extend up to 10 years		Yes
372	Selling minor for purpose of prostitution	No	No	may extend up to 10 years		Yes

Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956

The Act was initially known as Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act 1956 was amended in 1986 which aims at preventing trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls and it is the principal legislation for prohibiting prostitution and sexual acts for women and girls. The amendment bill Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Amendment Bill was proposed in 2006 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, which is yet to be passed. Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

Dowry is one of the sinful activities and curses that people call custom. Dowry is asked by the groom and his family in consideration of marriage and this system has taken long roots in society. It is presumed that the girl is going to the in-laws house where she has to set up a new household for her family, for which all the necessary items and things are given to her as dowry. Dowry is become a compulsion from past few years and if the demands of dowry is not fulfilled by the parents of girl, then she is going to face abuses, aggravated crimes, burning, mental torture, etc. by in-laws, and face every kind of harassments. Even after fulfilling the demands of in-laws women face such offences in matrimonial houses. So in order to protect women from such offences this act was enacted and enforced.

Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986

This act was enacted to prohibit the advertisement or publication or any kind of indecent representation of women including writings, paintings, figures, etc.

The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 

The sati pratha was a custom in ancient times where the wife was burned alive in the pyre with her deceased husband and it was a voluntary custom. This act was enforced in 1987 in order to prevent the alive burning of widows and this act prohibits the participation in any procession, or creation of financial trust or temple for such practices and also prohibits the promotion and honor of the memory of the widow who committed sati.

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

Domestic violence is an act or omission done against the women to injure her physically and mentally in any of the aggravated forms. It is an act which recognizes domestic violence as a human rights violation and provides the right to every woman to live in a violence free home according to their wish.

Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

Sexual harassment is an act of harassment abuse or assault that uses explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including unwanted or unreasonable promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment at workplace is one the violation of women’s right to equality, life and liberty. It creates an insecure and hostile work environment, which discourages women’s participation in work, and affects their social and economic empowerment. It creates mental and psychological health issues such as depression, bipolar disorder, etc.

After the verdict of Supreme Court in the matter of Vishakha v/s State of Rajasthan the legislature formulated and enacted a law the sexual harassment of women at workplace act 2013 for providing measures to protect the working womens form evil of sexual harassment. The Supreme Court incorporated basic principles of human rights enshrined in Constitution of India under Article 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21, and provisions of Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which has been ratified in 1993 by the Government of India. 

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

In most of the families there is a custom of child marriage where the young girls are married to boys of any age group against their will, and these underage girls are subjected to cruelty, forceful sex, etc in matrimonial house which resulted in mental and physical health of girls. This act aims to prohibit the parents form getting child marriage and makes it an illegal act with punishments. Attempting to do so is also an illegal act.

Maternity Benefit Act, 1861

The maternity benefit act is enacted for the protection of women during and after pregnancy in the matter of jobs and wages. This act provides the facilities for paid maternity leave of 26 weeks including before and after the date of delivery. This act provides the maternity leave for surrogate mothers or commissioning mothers of 12 weeks including before and after the date of delivery. This act prohibits the corporation or institution from removal of women workers from job due to their pregnancy and prohibits them from deducting any remuneration or salary. This act provides the facilities of work from home for women who are not comfortable in attending offices physically. Employers are bound to educate and aware the women employees regarding this and to provide maternity benefits to all the pregnant women.

Indian Divorce Act, 1969

The Indian Divorce Act is enacted for the divorce procedures which include the dissolution of marriage with mutual consent, nullity of marriage, judicial separation and restitution of conjugal rights. The matter concerned with divorce or judicial separation or restitution of conjugal rights is dealt by ADJ in Family Courts which are established to file, hear, and dispose of such cases.

Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

There is discrimination among the gender because it is general presumption that women work less than the men and they are less productive than men. This presumption leads to  discrimination for wages and remuneration so this act prevents the discrimination in terms of remuneration and provide equal recompense to man and woman workers.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971

The act was enforced in 1972, which was updated with different amendments in 1975 and 2002 respectively. This act aims to prohibit illegal abortions and to prevent the maternal mortality rate due to illegal termination of pregnancy. This act also provides the conditions when anyone can opt for the medical termination of pregnancy which is possible only after the certification of a medical practitioner and when it is important to do so for the sake of mother’s health. 

National Commission for Women Act, 1990

The National Commission for Women (NCW) is a statutory body of the Government of India, established in January 1992 which represents the rights of women in India and provides a voice for their issues and concerns. The National Commission for Women Act aims to improve the status of women and work for their economic empowerment. 

Conclusion

Women have always been an important and sacred place in Indian civilization. They are glorified here as mothers and worshiped as goddesses. They are considered to be the most vulnerable group in India but in the past centuries they have to endure violence in several broad categories, some of them being rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, female feticide etc. and their safety and security are at stake. Each and every day every single woman is facing such heinous offences in neighborhood, public transport, public places, workplace, etc. But now it’s high time to break the silence and to provide respect which they deserve and to provide them a discrimination free environment without abuses and tortures. 

References

1. https://theconversation.com/why-do-women-need-special-laws-to-protect-them-from-violence-50944
2. https://www.civilsdaily.com/women-protection-in-india/
3. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women
4. https://ncrb.gov.in/sites/default/files/crime_in_india_table_additional_table_chapter_reports/Chapter%205-15.11.16_2015.pdf
5. Indian Penal Code 1860 sixth edition KD Gaur Universal Law Publications.
6. Gender Justice: women rights- A legal Panorama by Yatindra Singh, University of Allahabad Publications.
7. Vishakha & ors. v/s State of Rajasthan judgment-  https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1031794/

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