Those are Unfair towards Men?
There was a time when the government had to make special provisions in the constitution for women to ensure equality, but unfortunately, some of these provisions are clearly unfair to men. Although socially transgender, women have been at a disadvantage, Indian Laws Highly Laws highly Favor women. If a husband commits adultery he will be jailed, But a women cannot be jailed for adultery and neither will she be punished by the courts. There is no recognition of sexual molestation of men and rarely the police stations lodge an First Information Report (FIR); men are considered the culprit by default even if it was the woman that committed sexual abuse against men. Women can jail her husband’s family for dowry related cases by just filing an FIR. The law IPC 498A demands that the husband’s family be considered guilty by default, unless proven otherwise, in other words it implements the doctrine of ‘ guilty by default, unless proven otherwise innocent ‘ defying the universally practiced doctrine of ‘ innocent until proven guilty’.
Here are 9 laws in our country that are unfair towards
- If a guy under 16 years of age has consensual sex with a girl of his age, he’s a rapist. Men : –According to the sixth situation listed in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, If a 16-year old guy and girl have sex, she’s been raped not only the law is extremely sexist but also highly illogical. ‘Sex’ without consent is ‘rape ‘but this law directly refuse to obey the concept of consent.
- Only the man is prosecuted for adultery: – According to section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, if the husband commits adultery with the wife of another man, he can be prosecuted for the same. But if a woman commits adultery with the husband of another woman, she cannot be prosecuted.
- If the death of the woman is caused by burns or bodily injury within 7 years of marriage, it’s the husband’s fault: – It’s hard to believe but yes this law does exist in the Indian constitution. According to section 304 B of the Indian Penal code, the husband will be held responsible for her death even in a house fire which he wasn’t aware of.
- If a woman is treated with treated with physical or mental cruelty by her husband and his family, she can throw them behind bars: – No doubt this law made to stop the rising domestic violence against women was a very good step. However, it is the most misused law in India. The reason behind it lies in the section 498 A of the IPC which says that the woman doesn’t need to give any evidence whatsoever.
- Under the Special Marriage Act, only the wife can claim permanent alimony and maintenance– The Law was made at a time when women didn’t have a source of income and were deserted after divorce. But now, on one side women are fighting to be independent,these dependent laws make us sigh.
- Men can be raped, stalked, sexually harassed and it will not be considered an offence – The Criminal Law ( Amendment ) Act, 2013 was an improvisation the rape law just after the murder of ‘ Nirbhaya ‘, the victim of Delhi Gang rape case on Dec 16, 2012. The country saw a huge revolution after her death with thousands of people coming on the roads to demand justice for her.
- The Father Of the deceased doesn’t inherit property, but the mother does- Under the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, if the deceased has no will, the spouse, mother and children inherit the property belonging to the deceased. The father is only entitled if the deceased does not have a spouse, mother or children.
- If a man has sex on the pretext of marriage and doesn’t marry, it amounts to rape-Section 375 of the Indian penal code sates that if a man has sex with women after promising marriage, he can’t break up with the women. If he does, according to the laws in India, he’s a rapist. This is one of the most misused laws, right now as several men landed up in prison after they were charged with rape by their ex-girlfriends.
- A boy is entitled to maintenance only till he turns 18, whereas a girl is entitled to maintenance till she gets married : – Under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956, it is the parents ‘ responsibility to a girl child’s maintenance till she decides to provide for herself or gets married.
Conclusion: – The concept of human rights has assumed importance globally during the past few decades. Ever since the proclamation of the universal declaration of human rights, the term human right has gained currency. Human rights have been said to be those minimum rights, which every individuals must have against the state or other public authority by virtue of his being a ‘member of human family’, irrespective of any other consideration. These human rights have been violated not only by unjust act of individual but also by unjust national and international structures. We are witnessing such violations daily. These violations are generated especially against women, poor, minorities and other helpless categories in the society. Women considered to be the weaker section of the society, are more vulnerable to such violations.Upliftment of the status of women and granting them the right to lead a dignified life in the society can rightly be counted among the greatest contributions of Islam in the area of social reform.Man and woman are equal parts of humanity having equal dignity and social and religious status.
Neha Khatri (Advocate)
(DELHI HIGH COURT)
Master of Law (LL.M.)
UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND ENERGY
