The Women, The Constitution and The Law

By : P.D. Kudal

Page No: 243-259

Abstract
In this article,# the author examines the condition of women both in India and in some other countries and concludes that the women are accorded equality neither in India nor in most of the other countries and finds the customary laws as a major challenge in this regard. The author explains that there exist various provisions in the Constitution of India which afford equality to women in every sphere of life but the ground reality is far from it. The author discusses various legislative efforts to ameliorate the conditions of women in India. The author also explains how prevalence of personal laws in India have been proving a major roadblock in ensuring equal rights to the women in matters of ancestral property and maintenance in case of divorce and highlighted the need for and urgency of creation of uniform civil code in this context. The author also discusses some of the important judicial pronouncements that have resulted in securing equality to the women and contributed to improve the conditions of women in the country. The author concludes with an optimistic note that the time is not far off when women in India will enjoy real equal status with men.

Author :
P.D. Kudal : Former Judge, Rajasthan High Court.