Rightly did Swami Vivekanand say, 'Just as a bird can not fly with one wing only, a Nation

can not march forward if the women are left behind. There is no doubt that we are in the
midst of a great revolution in women's history. The evidence is everywhere; women's voices
are increasingly heard in Parliament, courts and the streets. While women in the West had to
fight for over a century to get some of their fundamental rights, like the Right to vote, the
Constitution of India gave women equal rights on par with men since its inception.
Unfortunately, women in our country are mostly unaware of their rights mainly because of
illiteracy and oppressive traditions. many such rights guaranteed to empower women in our
constitution are the Right to maintenance, Right to equal pay, Right to dignity and decency,
Rights against domestic violence, Rights at the workplace, especially against sexual
harassment, Right against dowry
The Fundamental Right to equality before Law, Prohibition of discrimination on the grounds
of sex, Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment or opportunity to any office
under state, Right to property and
Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, women and children are entitled to free legal aid.
The question remains are these provisions effective in reducing gender inequalities. 
According to the Women, Peace and Security Index, 2019 by Georgetown University, India
ranked 133 out of 167 countries. The indicator is based on the parameters of inclusion, justice
and security. NCW data shows that crime against women soared up almost by 130 per cent
during the pandemic. Ironically, India ranked one of the most dangerous places for women
globally. 
As of 2021, only 14.4% of seats in Parliament were held by women. India still has one of the
lowest female literacy rates in Asia. Women's participation in the workforce is relatively low
and has fallen over the last few years. The female to male ratio is only 0.36. This is worsened
by the lack of choices women have to engage in paid work related to work type and location,
patriarchal gender norms, and the undue burdens of unpaid care work that women bear. The
Monster Salary Index (MSI) says Indian men earn 25% more than women in the same work
done by men and women. A few days back, a report came where the highest-paid actors and
actresses in our country were listed. The male actors are paid 100-70 crores while the highest-
paid female actor stands at 30 crores. 
Living in India, we do not need any indicator to ratify this. We are the prime witness of what
happens to women around us. So, we expect women to be the torchbearers of Feminism in
this light. However, the reality is different, and many women are against it.
Many women do not identify with the idea of Feminism due to the deeply rooted idea of
patriarchy. Though it stands for equality, it is seen by some as misandry or a movement that
intends to assert the superiority of women over men. Hence, they attach a negative
connotation to Feminism. I was recently interning at the Madhya Pradesh human rights
commission when a few of my male colleagues seemed very disappointed with me calling
myself a feminist. They believe the whole idea of equality is shattered by calling it Feminism.
They choose to call themselves equalists. 
As a broader idea, Equalism looks at everyone in the same light. It advocates that human
beings are fundamentally equal and entitled to equal resources. This is right, but The idea of
equality historically popularized masculinity and brotherhood. Even today, it is the
cornerstone of many Constitutions. Be it the French Revolution or the US Declaration of
Independence,1776, the idea emphasized is, "All men are created equal."

Thus, a concept that historically denied women personhood cannot define the Feminist
movement. Though an equal society is essential in attaining gender equality. No country in
the world can yet say that they have achieved gender equality. Then how can anyone
advocate being an equalist when the playing field has not been levelled in the first place?
Adichie, a Nigerian writer, highlights the importance of why one must advocate Feminism
and not Equalism. She writes, "Why does it have to be you as a woman? Why not you as a
human being? This type of question is a way of silencing a person's specific experiences. Of
course, I am a human being. However, particular things happen to me in the world because I
am a woman." if people cannot even accept calling a movement of equality feminism, how
can we expect them to cater for equal opportunities to both genders. There was also a
discussion during our internship on marital rape. All my male colleagues were against it, but
the astonishing part was that our guest lecturer, a retired judge, was also against criminalizing
marital rape. The arguments put forth were that it could be misused easily. So to protect a few
instances where men are falsely accused, we are ready to invalidate actual experiences of
marital rape, which are proportionately higher in numbers.
Marital rape is a sensitive topic, challenging to measure anywhere, but even more so in India
– where most sexual violence is believed to occur within families and goes unreported.
According to the Indian government's latest National Family Health Survey, about 30% of
Indian women aged 18-49 reported having experienced spousal violence. In terms of sexual
violence, the average Indian woman is 17 times more likely to face sexual violence from her
husband than from anyone else.
So despite this overhaul of India's rape laws following the 2012 Nirbhaya case, a legal
loophole remained: Rape that happens within marriage is still not against the law.
Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which prohibits rape, also includes an exception,
which reads: "Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being
under fifteen years of age, is not rape."

Last month, some Indian men launched what they call a "marriage strike." wherein they
refuse to get married. It was started by a small group of men's rights activists who say
Feminism has gone too far. Their latest target is the Delhi High Court case about marital rape.

"Our feminist movement is importing this from the West, but India is not the USA," says
Anil Murty, co-founder of the Save Indian Family Foundation, a nonprofit men's rights
group. "They copied the MeToo movement and other things, but they did not bring the Indian
context enough."
Murty cites two reasons for his objections. First, if wives can file rape charges against their
husbands, it will be "he said, she said" — hard to prove, Murty, says. Second, bringing such
charges will be one of the only ways some women can get out of an unhappy marriage
without losing face, he says.
He predicts a surge of false rape claims. He says that men could end up fighting for years to
clear their names.
So he took to his foundation's Twitter account last month and encouraged Indian men to
boycott marriage altogether. A rather good solution to stop marital rape, I must affirm. 
While India's 2012 protests prompted changes to the age-old definition of rape to include
harassment, stalking, and acid attacks, measures against perpetrators have been weak. For
example, The Supreme Court stayed a controversial Bombay High Court verdict, which
acquitted a man found guilty of assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act (POCSO) on the grounds that he groped his victim over her clothes. There was
no 'skin-to-skin' contact between them.  
Also, there has been much hysteria involved with abortion laws that take certain rights away
from women. While many women around the globe claim it must be legalized, legislations all
over the world are against it. Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 only has
provisions for abortion due to health risks. The MTP Act 2021 also contradicts the Supreme
Court's 2017 privacy judgement (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy versus Union of India and others),
which ruled that a woman's Right to make reproductive choices is a dimension of personal
liberty understood under Article 21 of the Constitution. Any law that restricts a person's
privacy must be "just, reasonable, and fair," a test that India's abortion law, if challenged,
could fail.
The law does not allow a woman to decide for her pregnancy but gives her a narrow set of
conditions where doctors and medical boards decide. A 2016 Bombay High Court judgement
in a suo motu public interest litigation on the condition of a prison inmate emphasized the
Right of a woman to control her body and fertility "the right to autonomy and to decide what
to do with their bodies, including whether or not to get pregnant and stay pregnant".
There is a lot of a grey area or overlap between MTP and other laws. The Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
POCSO mandates that if a minor conceives, even through consensual sex (even though
POCSO does not recognize consent of a person below 18 years), and wants to abort, the
matter must be reported to the police. The amended MTP law essentially guarantees privacy
to the parties involved in abortion.
However, medical abortion pills are classified as Schedule H drugs for which a pharmacist
must maintain a record of sales under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. This violates the
confidentiality promised by MTP Act 2021.  
, there are a few rights, thus, which still needs to be guaranteed to empower women. But the
facts remain, the right laws and provisions are already in place. But that does not mean the
Right guaranteed or protected in our constitution is always adequately exercised. The
constitution grants equality, but that does not mean there is equality. The problem is not with
the laws but with the people who implement them and society at large. 
Some cultures and societies have become insensitive towards rape because the dominant
character of men over women is widely accepted. It makes them feel they can violate and
humiliate women against their will.
Acceptance of women as a weaker gender has paved its path for this widespread belief that
they can be dominated.
Societies have failed to understand the distress and trauma of women when the needs of
society guide their will. There is a need to understand women's emotions by improving
empathetic values in society. Therefore, the solution lies with constant societal interactions to
mellow the solid patriarchal structure, predominantly when interactions are guided by
prominent individuals voicing their opinions about 'consent' and respect towards women.
There is no easy answer to how to accomplish this, but we all have a role to play in changing
the ways of the perpetrators and culture and not examining what the victims could have done
differently. Our focus should be to make men and women equal, where forcefully indulging
the opposite gender in any activity assuming one gender to be more powerful is a concept not
applicable. These gender biases are taught at home and can only be eradicated at home.
Children should be taught not by words, but by actions, since the beginning that men and
women are equal, violence of any kind is not acceptable, and consent is of the utmost
importance.  
Now the time has come to criminalize marital rape. Ensuring that marital rape is criminalized
would make justice more accessible for all women, irrespective of marital status. It could also
send a powerful signal that a woman always has the Right to choose whether and with whom
she has sexual relations. This will also lead to women having equal status as men in marriage
and obstruct the notion that wives are properties of their husbands. The justice system needs
to be reformed; our police force needs to be gender sensitized; judges need to be gender
sensitized. We cannot have judges who are still victim-blaming. Our courts are so
overburdened that you may not get a hearing for many years. Therefore rape cases must be
put on trial in fast track courts. Implementation of laws must be of great importance. Police
must be careful of recording all reports of sexual violence and not make the victim feel
unsafe or guilty in any way. We as a society need to break the chains of patriarchal
oppression and bring up the new generation with mindful cognizance of notions of equality.
To conclude, I would like to quote GD Anderson, an Australian writer who said-" "Feminism
is not about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It is about changing how the
world perceives that strength" Thank you.