Constitutional Impact on Gender Equality in India

Abstract

Culturally diverse and traditionally rich India followed a revolutionary path towards gender equality in the early fifties in the post-independence era. Delving into the historical backdrop, constitutional provisions, and concrete results of this continuous fight for gender equality, this paper explores the significant influence of the Indian Constitution on this front. Gender inequality has long been an issue in India, perpetuated by laws, traditions, and social mores that enslaved women. Justice, equality, and fraternity were pillars of the Indian Constitution, which envisioned a more just society in its illuminating preamble. Women have been empowered through the legal enactments from time to time, which have been moulded by constitutional provisions, fundamental rights, and directive principles of state policy. The constitutional provisions that ensure women's rights, such as prohibition of discrimination, equal pay for equal work, and equal access to educational and occupational opportunities. It stresses the importance of the role of the court in the protection of fundamental rights and in delivering seminal rulings that have fought against discrimination.