Equality and the Truth of Brahma

• NCJ Number: 191751
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 7 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 1069-1096
• Author(s): Naina Kapur
• Date Published: September 2001
• Length: 28 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Based on a keynote address given in March 2000 at "International Women's Day, 2000: Confronting Global Violence Against Women," University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Annotation

This article discusses the need to revive the tool of equality for more effective decision making in cases of violence against women in India and suggests that feminists and judicial decision makers must change their attitudes.

Abstract

In India there is currently a lack of understanding of women's rights as human rights. This is reflected in the inability of feminists and the criminal justice system to disentangle themselves from the rules and procedures of criminal law reform. What is needed is an analysis of the way in which law and legal perceptions perpetuate women's disadvantage. The conservative nature of judicial decision making in India continually uses tradition as an argument. This is even more of a pattern in cases that involve the rights of women. Judicial judgements are replete with references to women's traditional roles and images, even when these images are instrumental in leading to violence and abuse. The Indian courts' role regarding women has involved either protecting them or judging them. Even so-called progressive decisions that tend to favor women allow a woman's virginity rather than her equality rights to determine the outcome. Respecting women's dignity in the context of violence requires taking into account women's full personhood, the uniqueness of women's context and real life experience, and the need for complete and full realization of women's rights in society. Change must begin with a living model of equality at the grassroots level and move to the theoretical premise of substantive equality provided by the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Also, Project Equality -- designed and delivered by Sakshi, a Delhi-based nongovernment organization (NGO) in the Asia-Pacific region -- illustrates how collaborative and inclusive education of judges can better equip them for effective decision making in women's rights cases. This article concludes with a discussion of how a shift from scientific to rights-based judicial decision making can impact women in situations of violence. 8 notes and 36 references