LEGAL PROVISIONS ON GENDER EQUALITY

Comparative Resumé:

This study addresses the legal requirements regulating inheritance rights, the legal age of marriage and the transfer of citizenship via the mother of 18 Middle Eastern and North African countries, including Israel, Iran and 16 Arab countries (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen). The study also addresses constitutional requirements for fostering gender equality in those nations, to the degree applicable.

I. Sex and Patrimony:

The Arab countries implement Islamic law which provides that the share of a woman’s inheritance is half that of a man. Iran’s Shi’i Muslim nation follows the same inheritance laws that the Arab countries follow. The daughters of the Iranian family are entitled to hold just half of the inheritance to which the sons belong. A deceased person’s Iranian mother is entitled to only one-third of the estate, while the parent retains the remainder. Nevertheless, in 2009 Iran passed a law authorizing women to inherit all types of property held by their husband. Israel is the only nation in the Middle East that refuses to discriminate in ancestry between males and females.

II. Mother’s passing on of citizenship:

Many Arab countries grant mothers the right to pass citizenship on to their children; however, some countries, such as Libya, the United Arab Emirates ( UAE), and Bahrain have made this right conditional upon the child’s father being unknown or stateless. Some nations, such as Jordan, Qatar and Lebanon, do not require mothers to pass on their children citizenship. The Israeli Citizenship Law, on the other hand, does not distinguish between a husband and wife to obtain citizenship based on marriage to an Israeli citizen, nor does it distinguish between parents based on their gender or marital status for conferring citizenship on a child. On the other hand, Iranian women are unable to transmit their nationality to non-national partners and were unable to transmit citizenship to their children until Iran’s Guardian Council approved a law in early October 2019.

III. Safe Age of Matrimony:

Most Arab countries set the minimum wedding age for women at the age of eighteen. Nevertheless, in their family laws, these countries do have clauses that require the religious courts to grant women under the age of eighteen the right to marry. In Bahrain, the minimum age for marriage is 16 for women, while Yemen makes a marriage for women as young as nine. In Iran, the minimum marriage age for females is 13 (according to the Iranian calendar), but marriages will occur at an even younger age if the guardian of the child and a court agrees. In Israel, the minimum age of marriage is eighteen, and marrying, officiating, or assisting in a minor’s marriage in the absence of judicial permission given under special circumstances is a criminal offence punishable by two years’ imprisonment or a fine. Nevertheless, the criminal responsibility associated with underage marriage does not affect the marriage’s validity where it is recognised under the parties’ status rule. 

IV. Constitutional requirements concerning equal rights:

Some of the Arab countries’ constitutions include a provision which promotes the concept of gender equality. Nevertheless, the equality clause does not include the word “sex” in some nations, such as Kuwait, Jordan and the UAE. There is also a lack of reference to gender in Saudi Arabia’s basic law. Instead, the basic law of 1992 in the country compares the concept of equality with the principles of Islamic law, which restricts women’s rights for inheritance shares. Iran’s constitution refers to “equal rights and protection under the law” for men and women, but the freedoms it affords are circumscribed by the requirement that they “comply with Islamic standards” which do not grant women equal status with men themselves.

V. Constitutional guidelines dealing with domestic violence:

Several Arab countries have introduced legislation to address the domestic violence issue. Countries like Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, and Yemen, however, do lack anti-domestic abuse rules. Moreover, some of the Arab countries’ anti-domestic violence legislation, including Morocco, Jordan and Lebanon, does not criminalize marital rape. Iran currently has no legislation aimed at combating domestic abuse and defending women who are victims of abuse and a bill under discussion does not tackle these issues adequately.

Constitutional Provisions:

India’s Constitution not only grants women equality but also empowers the State to take action.

Positive discrimination against women in the sense of collective socio-economic neutralization, employment and They faced political drawbacks. Fundamental freedoms include ensuring fair justice before the law. And equal protection of the law; forbids discrimination on grounds of religion, sex, caste, against any citizen; Sex or place of birth, and ensuring equal opportunities for all people in job matters. In that regard, Articles 14, 15(3), 16, 39(a), 39(b), 39(c) and 42 of the Constitution are of particular importance

Constitutional privileges:

(I) Gender equality before the law (Article 14)

(ii) The State shall not discriminate against any person on grounds of religion, colour, caste, sex, place of residence only Birth or some part thereof (Article 15(i))

(iii) Claim that any special provisions for women and children (Article 15(3))

(iv) Equal rights for all people in matters of employment or appointment to any office;

According to Policy (Article 16)

(V) The State shall direct its policy towards guaranteeing equally the right of men and women to an adequate

SPECIAL INITIATIVES FOR WOMEN 

National Commission for Women : 

In January 1992, the Government set-up this statutory body with a specific mandate to study and monitor all matters relating to the constitutional and legal safeguards provided for women, review the existing legislation to suggest amendments wherever necessary, etc. 

Reservation for Women in Local Self -Government : 

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Acts passed in 1992 by Parliament ensure one-third of the total seats for women in all elected offices in local bodies whether in rural areas or urban areas.

The principle of gender equality is enshrined in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Obligations and Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution. Not only does the Constitution guarantee women equal rights, but it also empowers the State to take constructive discrimination action in favour of women.

Our legislation, development policies, strategies and initiatives have been aimed at advancing women in various fields within the context of a democratic polity. India has also ratified numerous international treaties and agreements on human rights, dedicated to ensuring equal protection for women. Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is necessary. Successful legislation on gender equality is critical in ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men in all fields of life, and in combating systematic discrimination against women. This section provides a range of international and regional treaties, non-treaty agreements, international jurisprudence, OSCE resolutions and other legal principles relevant to gender equality and discrimination prohibition.

The rule of law is excepted:

The rule of law does not exclude any unique laws from all groups of people. For example, Article 361 is an exception that states that the President or the Governors or the Rajpramukhs are not accountable to any court for the exercise subject to their official powers and duties. This is why Article 14 does not specify that the same laws will apply to all persons since not all persons are in the same place by definition, creation or circumstances. This article prohibits class legislation which, by overruling under this article, renders unconstitutional discrimination by conferring particular privileges upon a class of individual.

Conclusion:

Within our constitution, the idea of equality was expressed as an emblem to signify the rules that are made for the individual to have control in this democratic India. In an extremely diverse society like India, where there is a law set that defines ideals such as social justice, equality, democracy and fraternity established by the Constitution serve as the binding force for any wrong. The Indian legal executive has been working on these issues and continues to uphold these guiding principles for the general public’s aggregate progress and ensuring justice for each person. The Indian Constitution, for instance, gives us the luxury of casting a ballot similarly paying no attention to sex with dissimilar to multiple diverse western nations where ladies had to struggle to get this right. We assured the New India will be safe from the past’s dark shadows. Gender equality has taken place not only against the women in society but also against the men.

There are men activist group that protest about the legislation by making special laws and rules for women that make laws for discrimination. There’s a petition from feminists that demonstrates that there’s no proof to suggest that men’s domestic violence is less than women do. Equality rights should not only be given to women but even other legislation should be made to protect people from abuse. 

There is a minor change that puts a small and unique fetter on this broad right referred to in Article 29, which states that the smaller and socially backward citizens, through educational institutions, may put forward their own culture. 29(2) states that, regardless of their faith, sex, etc., no one should be refused admission into a state-run educational institution. This article focuses specifically on the individual community.