Articles

If the principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution, then why are Indian women treated as second citizens in their own country? The Constitution officially grants equality to women and also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. However, the varied forms of discrimination that women in India are subject to are far from positive. It is claimed that from the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78) onwards, there has been a marked shift in the approach to women’s issues from welfare to development. Where is the development? Yes, the status of the urban woman has shown some improvement but the changes in their lifestyle were not coupled by changes in the general mindset of the people in our patriarchal society. Thus, some laws should have been framed for the protection of the newly emancipated and urbanized Indian women. What is the percentage of urban women in India , anyway? What about the rest? These privileged few

Since time immemorial, Indian women have suffered at the hands of men. They have been subject to all forms of mental, physical, psychological and emotional torture. However, due to the hard work and dedication of feminists and social reformers, there has been a considerable improvement in the status of women in urban India . Education has helped the urban woman to understand the rights that have been accorded to her by the constitution and she is learning to make full use of it. Besides, she is now financially independent and does not need a man to support her. So she does not need to tolerate any form of torture and has the confidence to fight for her rights. Women have stopped sacrificing their dreams for the happiness of others. They choose to remain single as long as they want to and the divorce rate in India has reached an all time high. Thus, there are a large number of women in our society who are single. But does our society accept single women? The answer is a definite ‘No