Rights of women: CEDAW and Indian law

1. International background

• UN Charter Preamble: “the equal rights of men and women”; UDHR Article 2; ICCPR Article 3 and ICESCR Article 3 (equal enjoyment of rights by men and women).
• The Commission on the Status of Women (1946) prepared early treaties: the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952), the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (1957), and the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1962). The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (1967) preceded the Convention.
• The UN Decade for Women (1976–85) and the world conferences at Mexico City (1975), Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985) and Beijing (1995); the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action set twelve critical areas of concern.
• The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993).

2. CEDAW: adoption and the definition

CEDAW was adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 1979 and came into force on 3 September 1981. It is often called the international bill of rights for women.

Article 1 defines discrimination against women as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field”. Two features: it covers effect as well as purpose, so indirect discrimination is caught; and it covers “any other field”, including private and family life.

3. General obligations: Articles 2 to 5

• Art. 2 — states condemn discrimination and agree to pursue without delay a policy of eliminating it: embody equality in constitutions and laws, adopt sanctions, establish legal protection through tribunals, refrain from discrimination, eliminate discrimination by any person, organisation or enterprise, and modify or abolish discriminatory laws, customs and practices, including penal provisions.
• Art. 3 — appropriate measures in all fields to ensure the full development and advancement of women.
• Art. 4 — temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality are not discrimination; special measures to protect maternity are not discriminatory.
• Art. 5 — modify social and cultural patterns of conduct to eliminate prejudices and practices based on the idea of inferiority or superiority of either sex or on stereotyped roles; family education to recognise the common responsibility of men and women in bringing up children.

4. Specific rights: Articles 6 to 16

• Art. 6 — suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.
• Art. 7 — political and public life: to vote and be eligible for election, to take part in policy-making and hold public office, and to join NGOs.
• Art. 8 — to represent their governments internationally.
• Art. 9 — equal rights to acquire, change or retain nationality, and equal rights with respect to the nationality of their children; marriage to an alien does not automatically change the wife’s nationality.
• Art. 10 — education: equal access, curricula, scholarships, elimination of stereotyped concepts, reduction of female drop-out rates, sports.
• Art. 11 — employment: the right to work, equal opportunities, free choice of profession, equal remuneration for work of equal value, social security, occupational health; no dismissal on grounds of pregnancy or marital status; maternity leave with pay; child-care facilities.
• Art. 12 — health care, including family planning; appropriate services in pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, free where necessary.
• Art. 13 — economic and social life: family benefits, bank loans, mortgages and credit, recreation and sport.
• Art. 14 — rural women: participation in development planning, health services, training, self-help groups, agricultural credit, equal treatment in land reform, adequate living conditions.
• Art. 15 — equality before the law; identical legal capacity in civil matters, to conclude contracts and administer property; contracts restricting women’s legal capacity are void; equal freedom of movement and choice of residence.
• Art. 16 — marriage and family: the same right to enter marriage and choose a spouse with free and full consent; equal rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution, as parents, in guardianship and adoption; the same personal rights, including the choice of a family name and profession; equal property rights. Article 16(2): the betrothal and marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and a minimum age and compulsory registration of marriage shall be specified.

5. Implementation

The CEDAW Committee (Art. 17) has twenty-three experts elected by states parties and serving in their personal capacity. States report within one year of entry into force and at least every four years (Art. 18). The Committee issues General Recommendations; the most important is General Recommendation 19 (1992), which held that gender-based violence is a form of discrimination within Article 1, updated by General Recommendation 35 (2017). Article 29 provides for disputes between states to go to arbitration and then the ICJ. The Optional Protocol (1999, in force 2000) allows individual communications and an inquiry procedure for grave or systematic violations.

6. India and CEDAW

India signed in 1980 and ratified on 9 July 1993, with two declarations and one reservation. By the declarations, India will apply Articles 5(a) and 16(1) in conformity with its policy of non-interference in the personal affairs of any community without its initiative and consent, and accepts the principle of compulsory registration of marriages in Article 16(2) but finds it not practical in a country of India’s size, variety of customs and literacy. India reserved Article 29(1) (disputes to the ICJ). It has not accepted the Optional Protocol.

7. National legal developments

Constitution. Articles 14, 15(1) and 15(3) (special provisions for women), 16, 39(a) and (d), 42 (maternity relief), 51A(e) (renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women), and the reservation of one-third of seats in panchayats and municipalities (Arts. 243D, 243T). The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 provides for one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies (Arts. 330A, 332A), to take effect after the delimitation following the next census; that is its status as of 2026.

Statutes. The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986; the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006; the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013; the National Commission for Women Act, 1990; and the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, now subsumed in the Code on Social Security, 2020 (in force from 21 November 2025). The offences against women are now in Chapter V of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Judicial developments.

• Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, 1997 INSC 604, (1997) 6 SCC 241: after the gang-rape of a social worker, Bhanwari Devi, who had tried to stop a child marriage, the Court relied on CEDAW (Arts. 11 and 24) and General Recommendation 19 to frame binding guidelines against sexual harassment at the workplace. The 2013 Act enacts them.
• Apparel Export Promotion Council v. A.K. Chopra, 1999 INSC 12, (1999) 1 SCC 759: removal of a superior for harassment upheld; courts must give effect to CEDAW and the Beijing Declaration.
• Githa Hariharan v. Reserve Bank of India, 1999 INSC 66, (1999) 2 SCC 228: “after” in section 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act read as “in the absence of”, so that the mother can act as natural guardian; CEDAW was cited.
• Shayara Bano v. Union of India, 2017 INSC 785, (2017) 9 SCC 1: instant triple talaq set aside.
• Joseph Shine v. Union of India, 2018 INSC 898, (2019) 3 SCC 39: section 497 IPC (adultery) struck down for treating the wife as the husband’s property.
• Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala, 2018 INSC 908: exclusion of women aged ten to fifty from Sabarimala held unconstitutional by majority. In November 2019 the review petitions were kept pending and wider questions were referred to a larger bench, so cite the decision with that caveat.

How this is examined

The CEDAW essay is the standard Unit V question. Sections 2 to 5 give the international half; sections 6 and 7 the national half. Learn the Article 1 definition word for word. If the question is the broader “rights of women: national and international developments”, shorten section 4 to one line per Article and lengthen section 7.