The government of our country has made various laws to protect the interest of our country. There were many evils in our country which were deeply enrooted in the mindset of our society, to curb those evils, we woman are provided with many laws in various India statues and in the form of acts. Although there are many laws, I have listed 10 of them:-
Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956.
Immoral trafficking of women for the purpose of Prostitution is prohibited by this act, Earning money by the way of using a woman in the business of prostitution is prohibited by this act, and the person doing so shall be punishable with a fine or imprisonment of min 1 year and max. 3 years or both. But if the offender tries to earn money from forcing the minor to do prostitution shall be punishable with imprisonment from 7 years to 14 years.
Mines Act 1952 and Factories Act, 1958
According to the Provisions provided by Mines act, no woman shall be appointed for any kind of underground work in a mine and the working hours for a woman appointed above the mine should be between 6 am to 7 pm. The same is also being cleared by Section 66(1)(b) of factories Act which also prohibits the employment of women in a factory after 7 pm and before 6 am. Even Beedi and Cigar Workers(Conditions of Employment Act, 1966) also prohibits the working of women in beedi and cigar factories after 7pm and before 6 am.
Protection of women from domestic violence act, 2005
This Act was brought in to the force by the Government, to save the woman from any kind of abuse in their ‘Domestic relationship’. ‘Domestic Relationship’ is a relationship between a man and woman who are sharing or living in the same household such as the relationship between husband and wife, father and daughter, brother and sister, the relationship of a woman with her in-laws, etc.
According to the definition of ‘Domestic Violence’ provided by this Act, not only physical violence means domestic Violence but any kind of physical, mental, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse also comes in the wide umbrella definition of ‘Domestic Violence’ provided by this Act. So, if you are facing any kind of domestic violence at your home, you can inform about the same to the police. If you file a case of domestic violence in the Court, you can get Protection orders, Residence orders or monetary relief from the Court.
Dowry Prohibition Act of 1956.
Dowry is one of those social evils of society which is prevailing in India from time immemorial. This act clearly clarifies that demanding dowry is an offense and the dowry demander can be punished with a minimum imprisonment of 5 years or a fine of Rs 15,000 or a fine equivalent to the amount of dowry demanded. Moreover, this act also states that if a woman commits suicide within 7 years of marriage and reason proved for her suicide is dowry demand then, her inlaws or husband can be the punishment of a minimum of 7 years which can be extended to life imprisonment as well.
Indecent Representation of Women Prohibition Act, 1986.
This act prohibits indecent representation of women through writings, figures, paintings or any kind of advertisement or by social media. In short, if anyone found advertising the nude pictures of a woman, without her consent, he/she can be booked guilty under this act. If anyone found guilty of doing so, he/she shall be punished with imprisonment of maximum 5 years with a fine of Rs 15,000 which may be extended to 1 lakh rupees in the first conviction.
Sexual harassment of woman at the workplace ( Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal Act, 2013
This act was enacted with the motive of safeguarding a woman from sexual harassment at workplace. It was made compulsory for the employed by the enactment of this act that an internal complaint committee and local complaint committee under the guidance of district magistrate and by following the provisions of the act must be formulated. It is the duty of the employer to initiate the action under IPC if they received any complaint under Internal Complaint Committee and the local complaint committee. At least one-half of the members of the committee should be woman. As per Section 20 of the committee shall monitor the reports submitted by the Local Complaint Committee and Internal Complaint Committee. So, if someone sexually harrases a woman at workplace, the woman can complain about the same at ICC/LCC. It was after by the Supreme Court guidelines given in the landmark case Vishaka vs. the State of Rajasthan (1997) 6 SCC 241 which formulated the basis of this act.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
According to the provisions of this act, Abortion of Fetus is allowed within 20 weeks but only under the following circumstances:- if the pregnancy could be proved risky for physical and mental health of the woman, the baby can be born handicapped or with physical or mental disabilities, the woman is pregnant due to rape. But it must be noted that no abortion can be done without the consent of the woman.
Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
This act provides that equal remuneration must be provided to women and men for similar kind/ nature of work. Moreover, this act provides that no discrimination shall be done by the employer in the recruitment of men and women workers.
Hindu Succession Act, 2005
This law applies to all Hindus( including Jain, Buddhists, Parsi, Christian and Sikhs). Earlier only son has right in the property of his father but after the amendment in 2005 in the Hindu Succession act, a woman also has right in her father’s property and would be considered as a part of HUF.
Maternity benefit Act, 2017
This act is applicable to all shops and establishments with more than 10 employees. According to the provisions of this Act, a woman is allowed to get maternity benefits from her employer up to 26 weeks and she will get paid for that period. If the woman already had two children, she is allowed to get maternity leave benefits for 12 weeks. Moreover, an adoptive mother is allowed to get maternity leave for 12 weeks. Woman should get the pay for the maternity benefit leave.
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