Constitutional Rights
and Patriarchal Barriers
to Women’s Equality
Dr V Rukmini Rao
Women’s Constitutional Rights in
India
Article 14 says that the government shall
not deny to any person equality before law
or the equal protection of the laws
 Article 15 declares that government shall
not discriminate against any citizen on the
grounds of sex
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Women’s Constitutional Rights in
India
Article 15 (3) makes a special provision
enabling the State to make affirmative
discriminations in favour of women
 Article 16 guarantees that no citizen shall
be discriminated against in matters of
public employment on the grounds of sex

Women’s Constitutional Rights in
India
Article 42 directs the State to make
provision for ensuring just and humane
conditions of work and maternity relief
 Articles 15 (A) (e) imposes a fundamental
on every citizen to renounce the practices
derogatory to the dignity of women
 The government can pass special laws in
favour of women
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Women’s Constitutional Rights in
India
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Article 16 of the Constitution of India
guarantees Equality of opportunity in matters
of public employment
(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of
birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible
for, or discriminated against in respect of,
any employment or office under the State.
Women’s Constitutional Rights in
India
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Right to Freedom
19. Protection of certain rights regarding
freedom of speech, etc.(1) All citizens shall have the right (a)
to freedom of speech and expression;
 (b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;
 (c) to form associations or unions;
 (d) to move freely throughout the territory of India;
 (e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of
India;
 (g) to practise any profession, or to carry on any
occupation, trade or business.
Women’s Constitutional Rights in
India
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Article 21. Protection Of Life And Personal
Liberty: No person shall be deprived of his life
or personal liberty except according to
procedure established by law
Article 21(A) reads "Right to Education - The
State shall provide free and compulsory
education to all children of the age of six to
fourteen years in such manner as the State may,
by law, determine."
The Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW)
Government of India is a signatory to this
convention from 1993
 to incorporate the principle of equality of
men and women in their legal system,
abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt
appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination
against women;

The Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW)
to establish tribunals and other public
institutions to ensure the effective
protection
of
women
against
discrimination; and
 to ensure elimination of all acts of
discrimination against women by persons,
organizations or enterprises

What Prevents Equality?
Patriarchy is a system which refers to
male domination, to the power
relationships by which men dominate
women
 It is a system where by women are kept
subordinate in a number of ways
 Patriarchy is an ideology and a system by
which men are privileged over women

What do Men Control?
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Women’s productive or labor power
Women’s reproduction – husband over wife –
patriarchal state controls women’s reproduction
through population control programmes
Control over women’s sexuality
Women’s mobility
Property and other economic resources
Patriarchal Institutions
Family
 With in the Family, boys learns to assert
and dominate girls to submit and expect
unequal treatment
 A man is considered as a head of the
family
 In some traditional systems men exchange
women (producing inferiorized psychology
of women – Sylvia Walby)

Religion
In India, family law is governed by
religious law
 In all religions women are subordinate to
men considered inferior, impure and sinful
 Religions influence state policy

The Legal System
In most countries the legal system is both
patriarchal and bourgeois ie favors men
and economically powerful classes
 Systems of jurisprudence, the judiciary
judges and lawyers are mostly men (few
exceptions)

The Economic System and
Economic Institutions
With in a patriarchal economic system,
men control the economic institutions, own
most property, direct economic activity,
and determine the value of different
productive activities.
 Most productive work done by women is
neither recognized nor paid for
 Housework is completely discounted.
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Political Systems and Institutions
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Almost all political institutions in society, at all
levels, are male dominated
In India, 50% reservation for women in
Panchayats has increased numbers but not
effectiveness
Women in power due to family linkages with
important men
Women in Parliament now are 9.02%
Media
Media in the hands of upper class, upper
caste men propagate class and gender
ideology.
 Messages about male superiority and
female inferiority are constantly repeated
 Sexual violence is portrayed graphically
 Women under represented in the
profession

Educational Institutions and
Knowledge Systems
Since learning and education became
formal and institutionalized, men have
assumed control over whole areas of
knowledge
 Example, female birth attendants devalued
and male gynecologists privileged
 Women prevented from studying
scriptures
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Institutionalized Violence Against
Women
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Male violence is routinely experienced by
women and is systemically condoned
Domestic violence considered routine and
normal
Sexual harassment on the street attributed to
women’s clothing etc
Restricted mobility due to fear of rape
Female feticide, witch hunting, dowry murders
routinized
Are women completely powerless?
No
 Women’s support for the rule of men is
secured by
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 Indoctrination
 Educational
deprivation
 Denial of knowledge
 Dividing women through “respectability”,
“deviance” etc
Do all men benefit as men from
patriarchy
Yes and No
 Men enjoy certain privileges
 Working class men enjoy privileges over
their women
 Disadvantages
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 pushed
into stereotypes
 Denied genuine choices
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Men who are gentle and unaggressive are
mocked for being “henpecked”