Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in India: Constitutional Provisions, Key Laws, Supreme Court Cases and Where to Get Help

Gender equality in India rests first on the Constitution. Article 14 assures every person “equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws”; Article 15(1) forbids the State to discriminate against any citizen “on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them”; Article 16(2) applies the same rule to government jobs; and Article 15(3) adds that “Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.” The Directive Principles ask the State to secure “equal pay for equal work for both men and women” (Article 39(d)) and “maternity relief” (Article 42), and Article 51A(e) makes it every citizen’s duty “to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women”. Seats for women are reserved in panchayats and municipalities (Articles 243D and 243T), and the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 reserves, as nearly as may be, one-third of the directly elected seats in the Lok Sabha, the State Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly, to take effect after a delimitation based on the first census taken after that Amendment.

Parliament has built on those provisions with specific laws: the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; maintenance under Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS, formerly Section 125 CrPC); the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and the cruelty, dowry-death and sexual offences in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS); the POSH Act, 2013; the Code on Wages, 2019 and the Code on Social Security, 2020; Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956; the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019; and the MTP and PCPNDT Acts. This guide explains what each gives, the main judgments and where to get help.

Reviewed and updated by Century Law Firm, Delhi – October 2026. Statutory references are to the Acts as in force on that date. The Constitution is quoted from India Code and from the Legislative Department’s edition as on 10 September 2026; the Acts from their India Code texts (the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita as on 6 October 2025, the Code on Wages and the Code on Social Security as on 21 November 2025, the Dowry Prohibition Act as on 30 July 2026, the POSH Act as on 1 August 2026, and the other Acts as printed on India Code, with their “as on” dates in the sources paragraph); the judgments from the Supreme Court’s own copies; and the helplines from the official websites of the National Commission for Women and NALSA.

Constitutional provisions for gender equality

The Constitution does two things for women. It forbids discrimination on the ground of sex, and it allows the State to make special provisions in their favour. The Fundamental Rights in Part III can be enforced by moving the Supreme Court (Article 32); the Directive Principles in Part IV “shall not be enforceable by any court”, but it is “the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws” (Article 37). The firm’s guides to Article 14 and Article 21 explain those two Articles in detail.

Article	What it says	What it means for women
14	“The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.”	Equal treatment by law and the State
15(1)	“The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.”	Sex alone cannot be a ground for discrimination by the State
15(2)	No citizen, on those grounds, may be subject to any disability as to “access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment” or public wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort	Equal access to public places
15(3)	“Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.”	The basis for laws and schemes made only for women
16(1) and (2)	Equality of opportunity in public employment; no citizen may, “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”	Equal access to government jobs
21	“No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”	Relied on in Vishaka (1997) and X (2022), below
21A	Free and compulsory education for all children aged six to fourteen	Girls and boys alike
39(a)	“that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood”	Directive Principle
39(d)	“that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women”	Given effect by Section 3, Code on Wages
39A	Free legal aid so that justice is not denied “by reason of economic or other disabilities”	Basis of the legal aid system (NALSA)
42	“The State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.”	Basis of maternity benefit laws
51A(e)	Every citizen’s duty “to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women”	Fundamental Duty

Reservation for women in panchayats and municipalities (Articles 243D and 243T)

Under Article 243D(3), “Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women”, and the seats may be rotated among constituencies. Not less than one-third of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are reserved for women of those communities (Article 243D(2)), and “not less than one-third of the total number of offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level shall be reserved for women” (second proviso to Article 243D(4)). Article 243T(2) and (3) make the same seat reservation in every Municipality, and Article 243T(4) leaves the reservation of chairpersons’ offices to State law. Clause (5) of each Article ends the reservation of seats under clauses (1) and (2), and of chairpersons’ offices “other than the reservation for women”, when the period in Article 334 expires; the one-third reservation for women under clause (3) is not among the reservations it ends.

Women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies: the 106th Amendment

The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 inserted Articles 330A (House of the People), 332A (State Legislative Assemblies) and clauses (ba) to (bc) of Article 239AA(2) (Legislative Assembly of Delhi). Each says that seats “shall be reserved for women”, that one-third of the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (and, in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, Scheduled Tribes) shall be reserved for women of those communities, and that “As nearly as may be, one-third … of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election” shall be reserved for women. The Legislative Department’s edition of the Constitution (as on 10 September 2026) records these Articles as inserted “w.e.f. 16-4-2026”.

Being part of the Constitution is not the same as being applied in an election. Article 334A(1) says the reservation “shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 have been published and shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of fifteen years from such commencement.” Parliament may by law continue it beyond that date (Article 334A(2)), and seats will rotate after each later delimitation (Article 334A(3)). So the reservation in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies will apply only after that census and delimitation.

Key laws for women: what each gives

The table lists the main central laws, with the current section numbers. Where a provision has moved from the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to the BNS or BNSS, the old number is shown in brackets; the new codes came into force on 1 July 2024, and offences committed before that date remain governed by the old codes. The firm’s IPC to BNS comparison tool gives any other old section’s new number.

Law	What it gives	Key sections
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005	Civil remedies against physical, sexual, verbal and emotional, and economic abuse and dowry harassment in a domestic relationship	Ss. 2, 3 (definitions), 12 (application), 17 to 23 (right to reside, protection, residence, monetary, custody, compensation, interim and ex parte orders), 31 (breach)
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023	Monthly maintenance and interim maintenance for a wife, children and parents	S. 144 (formerly s. 125 CrPC); ss. 146, 147 (alteration, enforcement)
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961	Punishes giving, taking and demanding dowry; dowry belongs to the woman	Ss. 2, 3, 4, 4A, 6, 8, 8A
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – marriage-related offences	Cruelty by husband or his relatives; dowry death; kidnapping to compel marriage	Ss. 85, 86 (formerly 498A IPC), 80 (formerly 304B), 87 (formerly 366)
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – sexual offences	Rape, assault on modesty, sexual harassment, disrobing, voyeurism, stalking, insulting modesty	Ss. 63, 64 (formerly 375, 376), 74 to 79 (formerly 354, 354A to 354D, 509)
Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013	Duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment; Internal and Local Committees; time-bound inquiry	Ss. 2(a), 2(n), 2(o), 3, 4, 6, 9 to 11, 26
Code on Social Security, 2020 (replaced the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961)	Maternity benefit, rest after delivery, crèche	Ss. 59, 60, 67
Code on Wages, 2019 (replaced the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976)	No gender discrimination in wages or recruitment for the same or similar work	S. 3
Hindu Succession Act, 1956	Daughter a coparcener by birth; a Hindu woman’s property is hers absolutely	Ss. 6, 14
Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019	Instant triple talaq void and punishable; subsistence allowance and custody for the wife	Ss. 3 to 7
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006	Child marriage voidable (void in some cases); injunctions; punishment	Ss. 2(a), 3, 9, 10, 12, 13
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (amended 2021)	Safe, legal termination of pregnancy within time limits; consent; privacy	Ss. 3, 4, 5, 5A
Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994	Bans sex determination and sex selection	Ss. 6, 22, 23, 27
Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987	Free legal services for every woman	S. 12(c)
National Commission for Women Act, 1990	National body to examine safeguards for women and look into complaints	S. 10

Domestic violence: the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

The DV Act gives a woman quick civil orders from a Magistrate against abuse in the home. It came into force on 26 October 2006. An “aggrieved person” is “any woman who is, or has been, in a domestic relationship with the respondent and who alleges to have been subjected to any act of domestic violence by the respondent” (Section 2(a)). A “domestic relationship” covers people who live or have lived together in a shared household and are related “by consanguinity, marriage, or through a relationship in the nature of marriage, adoption or are family members living together as a joint family” (Section 2(f)), so it can include a live-in partner, a mother, a sister or a widow. The respondent is the person in that domestic relationship against whom she seeks relief (Section 2(q)). The Act as printed on India Code still says “any adult male person”, with a proviso allowing a wife or live-in partner to complain against relatives of the husband or male partner. But in Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora (6 October 2016; Justices Kurian Joseph and R.F. Nariman) the Supreme Court declared “that the words “adult male” in Section 2(q) of the 2005 Act will stand deleted” and that the proviso, “being rendered otiose, also stands deleted”. Relief can therefore be sought against female relatives too, such as a mother-in-law or sister-in-law, although a woman cannot be ordered to leave the household (proviso to Section 19(1)).

“Domestic violence” under Section 3 includes conduct that harms or endangers the woman’s health, safety, life, limb or well-being, “whether mental or physical”, and “includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse”, as well as harassment to meet “any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security”. Verbal and emotional abuse includes “insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults or ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a male child”; economic abuse includes depriving her of resources she is entitled to, including stridhan.

How to apply and how fast the court must act

Under Section 12(1), “An aggrieved person or a Protection Officer or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person may present an application to the Magistrate seeking one or more reliefs under this Act”. The Magistrate is the Judicial or Metropolitan Magistrate where she lives (even temporarily), where the respondent lives, or where the violence took place (Section 2(i)). The first hearing “shall not ordinarily be beyond three days from the date of receipt of the application” (Section 12(4)), and the Magistrate “shall Endeavour to dispose of every application … within a period of sixty days from the date of its first hearing” (Section 12(5)). On an affidavit that prima facie shows domestic violence, the Magistrate may pass ex parte orders (Section 23(2)).

Section	Order	What it can do
17	Right to reside	“every woman in a domestic relationship shall have the right to reside in the shared household, whether or not she has any right, title or beneficial interest in the same”; she cannot be evicted “save in accordance with the procedure established by law”
18	Protection order	Stops violence, entering her workplace, contacting her (including electronically), and operating joint accounts or alienating her stridhan without leave
19	Residence order	Restrains dispossession, directs the respondent to leave the household (but “no order under clause (b) shall be passed against any person who is a woman”), or orders alternative accommodation or rent; can direct the return of her stridhan (s.19(8))
20	Monetary relief	Loss of earnings, medical expenses, damaged property and maintenance for her and her children, “adequate, fair and reasonable and consistent with the standard of living to which the aggrieved person is accustomed”
21	Custody order	Temporary custody of children to the woman; visits by the respondent may be refused if harmful to the child
22	Compensation order	Compensation and damages “for the injuries, including mental torture and emotional distress”
23	Interim and ex parte orders	Orders at any stage, including without hearing the respondent where the application prima facie discloses violence
31	Breach	Breach of a protection order is an offence: imprisonment up to one year, or fine up to ₹20,000, or both

The DV Act is “in addition to, and not in derogation of” other laws (Section 36), so a woman may also file a criminal complaint or claim maintenance under Section 144 BNSS. The firm’s guides to the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and to Section 17 and the right to reside go into more detail.

Maintenance: Section 144 BNSS (formerly Section 125 CrPC)

If a person “having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain … his wife, unable to maintain herself”, a Magistrate of the first class may order “a monthly allowance for the maintenance of his wife” (Section 144(1) BNSS). For this Chapter, ““wife” includes a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried” (Explanation). While the case is pending, the Magistrate may order interim maintenance and the expenses of the proceeding, and an application for interim maintenance “shall, as far as possible, be disposed of within sixty days from the date of the service of notice of the application”. A wife is not entitled to the allowance “if she is living in adultery, or if, without any sufficient reason, she refuses to live with her husband, or if they are living separately by mutual consent” (Section 144(4)); but if the husband offers to maintain her only if she lives with him, the Magistrate may consider her grounds for refusing, and his having “contracted marriage with another woman” or keeping a mistress is a just ground (proviso and Explanation to Section 144(3)). The allowance may run from the date of the application (Section 144(2)); for non-payment the Magistrate may issue a warrant and order imprisonment of up to one month, if recovery is sought within one year of the amount falling due (Section 144(3)). Maintenance can also be ordered under Section 20 of the DV Act and, for a Muslim wife divorced by instant talaq, as a subsistence allowance under Section 5 of the 2019 Act. The firm’s maintenance case FAQs answer common questions.

Dowry, cruelty and dowry death

“Dowry” means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given, directly or indirectly, by one party to a marriage to the other, or by the parents or anyone else to either party, “at or before or any time after the marriage in connection with the marriage of the said parties”, but does not include dower or mahr where Muslim personal law applies (Section 2, Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961). The Act’s main rules:

Provision	Rule	Punishment or effect
Section 3 (giving or taking dowry, or abetting it)	Presents given to the bride or bridegroom at the wedding “without any demand having been made” and entered in a list kept under the rules are excluded (s.3(2))	Imprisonment of not less than five years, and fine of not less than ₹15,000 or the value of the dowry, whichever is more; less than five years only “for adequate and special reasons”
Section 4 (demanding dowry)	Demanding dowry, directly or indirectly, from the parents, relatives or guardian of the bride or bridegroom	Imprisonment of six months to two years and fine up to ₹10,000
Section 6	Dowry received by anyone other than the woman must be transferred to her within three months, and is held in trust for her until then	Failure: six months to two years, or fine, or both
Section 8(2)	“Every offence under this Act shall be non-bailable and non-compoundable.”	–
Section 8A	In a prosecution for taking (or abetting the taking of) dowry under Section 3, or demanding it under Section 4, “the burden of proving that he had not committed an offence under those sections shall be on him”	–

The BNS deals with violence linked to marriage and dowry. Section 85 BNS (formerly Section 498A IPC) punishes a husband or his relative who “subjects such woman to cruelty” with imprisonment up to three years and fine. “Cruelty” under Section 86 means “any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman”, or harassment “with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security”. The offence is non-bailable, and cognizable if information is given to the police by the woman or a relative by blood, marriage or adoption (or, if none, a notified public servant). Section 80 BNS (formerly Section 304B IPC) defines “dowry death”: where a woman dies of burns or bodily injury, or “otherwise than under normal circumstances”, within seven years of her marriage, and “soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry”, the husband or relative “shall be deemed to have caused her death”. The punishment is imprisonment of not less than seven years, which may extend to life; the offence is tried by a Court of Session. See the firm’s notes on Section 498A IPC (now Section 85 BNS) and on Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

Sexual offences against women under the BNS

Chapter V of the BNS, “Of Offences against Woman and Child”, contains the sexual offences. The main ones, with their old IPC numbers and the punishments as stated in the BNS:

BNS section (old IPC)	Offence	Punishment
63, 64 (375, 376)	Rape; the age of consent is eighteen	Rigorous imprisonment of not less than ten years, up to life, and fine (s.64(1)); for rape by police officers, public servants and others listed in s.64(2), life imprisonment means the remainder of natural life
74 (354)	Assault or criminal force to a woman intending to outrage her modesty	One to five years and fine
75 (354A)	Sexual harassment: unwelcome physical contact and explicit sexual overtures, demand for sexual favours, showing pornography against her will, sexually coloured remarks	Rigorous imprisonment up to three years, or fine, or both; for sexually coloured remarks, up to one year, or fine, or both
76 (354B)	Assault or criminal force with intent to disrobe	Three to seven years and fine
77 (354C)	Voyeurism: watching or capturing the image of a woman in a private act, or disseminating it	One to three years and fine; on a second conviction three to seven years
78 (354D)	Stalking: following and contacting a woman repeatedly “despite a clear indication of disinterest”, or monitoring her “use … of the internet, e-mail or any other form of electronic communication”	Up to three years and fine; on a second conviction up to five years
79 (509)	Word, sound, gesture or object intended to insult a woman’s modesty, or intruding on her privacy	Simple imprisonment up to three years and fine; compoundable by the woman with the court’s permission

Exception 2 to Section 63 says: “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape.” A wife subjected to sexual abuse can still use the DV Act, where “sexual abuse” is expressly part of domestic violence (Section 3), and Section 85 BNS. The firm’s posts on Section 63 BNS and gender-neutral rape laws and on marital rape discuss these questions.

The BNSS adds procedural protections. Information about a cognizable offence may be given at any police station, “irrespective of the area where the offence is committed”, orally or by electronic communication, in which case it is taken on record “on being signed within three days by the person giving it” (Section 173(1)); if it is given by a woman against whom an offence under Sections 64 to 71, 74 to 79 or 124 BNS is alleged, “such information shall be recorded, by a woman police officer or any woman officer”. A rape survivor is medically examined by a registered medical practitioner “with the consent of such woman or of a person competent to give such consent on her behalf”, and is to be sent for examination within twenty-four hours of the information (Section 184(1)). And “Save in exceptional circumstances, no woman shall be arrested after sunset and before sunrise”, and even then only with the Magistrate’s prior permission (Section 43(5)). The firm’s guide on how to file a police complaint and FIR explains the steps.

Sexual harassment at the workplace: Vishaka and the POSH Act, 2013

Before any statute existed, the Supreme Court in Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (13 August 1997; Chief Justice Verma and Justices Sujata V. Manohar and B.N. Kirpal), a petition “for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of working women under Articles 14, 19 and 21”, laid down guidelines for all workplaces and said they “would be treated as the law declared by this Court under Article 141 of the Constitution”. The guidelines defined sexual harassment, required a complaints committee “headed by a woman”, and were “binding and enforceable in law until suitable legislation is enacted to occupy the field”.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, in force since 9 December 2013, is that legislation. Section 3(1) says: “No woman shall be subjected to sexual harassment at any workplace.” Its definition of sexual harassment (Section 2(n)) lists the same five kinds of unwelcome conduct as the Vishaka guidelines, and Section 3(2) adds that implied or explicit promises of preferential treatment, threats about her employment, interference with her work, “creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work environment” or humiliating treatment may amount to sexual harassment. An “aggrieved woman” is “a woman, of any age whether employed or not” (Section 2(a)); “workplace” is widely defined and covers government and private offices, hospitals, sports venues and more (Section 2(o)).

• Every employer must constitute an Internal Committee, presided over by a senior woman employee (Section 4).
• Each district has a Local Committee for establishments that have no Internal Committee “due to having less than ten workers or if the complaint is against the employer himself” (Section 6).
• The complaint is made in writing “within a period of three months from the date of incident” (or of the last incident in a series); the committee may extend this by up to three months for recorded reasons (Section 9).
• Conciliation is possible at the woman’s request, but “no monetary settlement shall be made as a basis of conciliation” (Section 10).
• “The inquiry under sub-section (1) shall be completed within a period of ninety days” (Section 11(4)).
• An employer who fails to constitute an Internal Committee, or to take the action required by Sections 13, 14 and 22, is punishable with fine up to ₹50,000 (Section 26).

Century Law Firm’s video on the POSH Act, 2013 and the Vishaka guidelines:

Equal pay and maternity benefit: the Labour Codes

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 is no longer in force. Section 69 of the Code on Wages, 2019 repealed it (with the Payment of Wages, Minimum Wages and Payment of Bonus Acts), and India Code records that Sections 1 to 41 and Section 69 came into force on 21 November 2025 (notification S.O. 5322(E) of that date). Section 3(1) of the Code now provides: “There shall be no discrimination in an establishment or any unit thereof among employees on the ground of gender in matters relating to wages by the same employer, in respect of the same work or work of a similar nature done by any employee.” An employer may not cut anyone’s wages to comply, and may not “make any discrimination on the ground of sex while recruiting any employee for the same work or work of similar nature and in the conditions of employment”, except where a law prohibits or restricts women’s employment in that work (Section 3(2)).

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 has likewise been replaced. Section 164(1) of the Code on Social Security, 2020 repeals it, and that item came into force on 21 November 2025 (S.O. 5319(E)); India Code now lists the 1961 Act as “Rep., Act 36 of 2020”. Chapter VI of the Code carries the rules forward. Under the First Schedule it applies to every factory, mine and plantation (including Government ones), to every shop or establishment in which ten or more employees are or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months, and to others the appropriate Government notifies.

• Maternity benefit is paid “at the rate of the average daily wage for the period of her actual absence” (Section 60(1)).
• A woman qualifies if she has actually worked for the employer for “not less than eighty days in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery” (Section 60(2)).
• The maximum period is “twenty-six weeks of which not more than eight weeks shall precede the expected date of her delivery”; a woman with two or more surviving children gets up to twelve weeks (Section 60(3)).
• A woman who legally adopts a child below three months, or a commissioning mother, gets twelve weeks from the date the child is handed over (Section 60(4)).
• She is entitled to a medical bonus of ₹3,500 (or a notified amount) if the employer does not provide pre-natal confinement and post-natal care free of charge (Section 64), and to two nursing breaks a day until the child is fifteen months old (Section 66).
• It is “unlawful for her employer to discharge or dismiss her during or on account of such absence” (Section 68(1)).
• No employer may knowingly employ a woman during the six weeks after her delivery, miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy (Section 59(1)).
• Establishments with fifty employees (or such number as the Central Government prescribes) must have a crèche, and the woman must be allowed four visits a day (Section 67(1)).

Property and inheritance rights

Since the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, Section 6(1) of the Hindu Succession Act provides that in a Mitakshara joint Hindu family the daughter of a coparcener shall “by birth become a coparcener in her own right the same manner as the son”, with “the same rights in the coparcenery property as she would have had if she had been a son” and the same liabilities. Dispositions, alienations and partitions made before 20 December 2004 are saved. In Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (11 August 2020), a three-judge bench (Justices Arun Mishra, S. Abdul Nazeer and M.R. Shah) held that the substituted Section 6 confers coparcener status “on the daughter born before or after amendment in the same manner as son with same rights and liabilities”, and that “Since the right in coparcenary is by birth, it is not necessary that father coparcener should be living as on 9.9.2005.” Under Section 14, any property possessed by a female Hindu “shall be held by her as full owner thereof and not as a limited owner”. The firm’s guides to the Hindu Succession Act and to claiming a share in ancestral property explain how to claim.

The Married Women’s Property Act, 1874 is sometimes cited as making a married woman’s earnings her own. Section 4 does say that the wages and earnings of a married woman from her own employment, occupation or trade, and savings and investments from them, “shall be deemed to be her separate property”. But Section 2 says that nothing in the Act “applies to any married woman who at the time of her marriage professed the Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion, or whose husband, at the time of such marriage, professed any of those religions”. For Hindu women, Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act is the relevant rule.

Marriage: child marriage, forced marriage, triple talaq and adultery

Under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 a “child” is a male under twenty-one or a female under eighteen (Section 2(a)). A child marriage is “voidable at the option of the contracting party who was a child at the time of the marriage”, and the petition may be filed “at any time but before the child filing the petition completes two years of attaining majority” (Section 3). It is “null and void” where a minor child is taken or enticed out of the guardian’s keeping, compelled by force or deceit, or sold for marriage, or sold or trafficked after it (Section 12). A Judicial or Metropolitan Magistrate who is satisfied that a child marriage “has been arranged or is about to be solemnised” shall issue an injunction prohibiting it (Section 13). A man above eighteen who marries a child faces rigorous imprisonment up to two years, or fine up to ₹1 lakh, or both (Section 9); anyone who performs, conducts, directs or abets a child marriage faces rigorous imprisonment up to two years and fine up to ₹1 lakh (Section 10). For an adult, a marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act is voidable if the consent “was obtained by force” or by fraud (Section 12(1)(c)); the petition must be presented within one year after the force ceased or the fraud was discovered, and is barred if she has since lived with him as husband and wife with her full consent (Section 12(2)(a)). Kidnapping or abducting a woman so that she “will be compelled, to marry any person against her will” is punishable with up to ten years under Section 87 BNS (formerly Section 366 IPC).

In Shayara Bano v. Union of India (22 August 2017), a five-judge bench ruled: “In view of the different opinions recorded, by a majority of 3:2 the practice of ‘talaq-e-biddat’ – triple talaq is set aside.” Parliament then enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, deemed to be in force from 19 September 2018. In the Act, “talaq” means “talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq having the effect of instantaneous and irrevocable divorce pronounced by a Muslim husband” (Section 2(c)). Any pronouncement of such talaq upon his wife, “by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal” (Section 3), and is punishable with imprisonment up to three years and fine (Section 4). The wife is entitled to a subsistence allowance for herself and dependent children (Section 5) and to custody of her minor children (Section 6), as the Magistrate determines. Bail may be granted only after hearing her (Section 7(c)). The firm’s guide to Muslim divorce in India covers the other forms of divorce.

In Joseph Shine v. Union of India (27 September 2018), the Supreme Court struck down Section 497 IPC (adultery), which punished only the man, and only if the husband had not consented or connived; Justice Indu Malhotra wrote that “Section 497 is struck down as unconstitutional being violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution.” The BNS has no offence of adultery. Adultery remains relevant in matrimonial law: it is a ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act (see the firm’s guide to grounds of divorce under Section 13).

Reproductive rights: the MTP Act and the ban on sex selection

Since the 2021 amendment (in force from 24 September 2021), Section 3(2) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 allows a registered medical practitioner to terminate a pregnancy that “does not exceed twenty weeks” on his own opinion, and a pregnancy of more than twenty but not more than twenty-four weeks, “in case of such category of woman as may be prescribed by rules”, on the opinion of two practitioners. The opinion must be that continuing the pregnancy “would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury to her physical or mental health”, or that there is a substantial risk of serious abnormality in the child. Where a pregnancy is alleged to have been caused by rape, “the anguish caused by the pregnancy shall be presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health” (Explanation 2). The time limits do not apply where termination is necessitated by “substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by a Medical Board” (Section 3(2B)), or where it is “immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman” (Section 5(1)).

Save in the cases in clause (a), “no pregnancy shall be terminated except with the consent of the pregnant woman” (Section 3(4)(b)); for a woman under eighteen or a mentally ill woman, her guardian’s written consent is needed (Section 3(4)(a)). The practitioner may not reveal her name and particulars (Section 5A). In X v. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi (29 September 2022; Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, A.S. Bopanna and J.B. Pardiwala), the Supreme Court read the Act and Rules to cover unmarried women: “all women are entitled to the benefit of safe and legal abortions”, and the “artificial distinction between married and single women is not constitutionally sustainable.” It also held that rape in Rule 3B(a) of the MTP Rules includes marital rape, “solely for the purposes of the MTP Act and any rules and regulations framed thereunder”, and that a woman need not file a case to prove it. See the firm’s article on the MTP Act.

The Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 bans any centre, laboratory, clinic or person from conducting pre-natal tests, “including ultrasonography, for the purpose of determining the sex of a foetus”, and forbids anyone to “cause or allow to be caused selection of sex before or after conception” (Section 6). Advertising such facilities is an offence (Section 22). A doctor or clinic that contravenes the Act faces up to three years and fine up to ₹10,000, and on a later conviction up to five years and ₹50,000 (Section 23(1)). Every offence is “cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable” (Section 27). The Supreme Court in X (2022) clarified that its reading of the MTP Act does not dilute the PCPNDT Act.

Landmark Supreme Court judgments on women’s rights

Judgment	Date	What the Court decided
Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan	13 August 1997	Laid down binding guidelines against sexual harassment at the workplace under Articles 14, 19 and 21, in force until legislation; followed by the POSH Act, 2013
Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora	6 October 2016	The words “adult male” in Section 2(q) of the DV Act “will stand deleted”, and with them the proviso, so a DV application can name female relatives too
Shayara Bano v. Union of India	22 August 2017	By 3:2, “the practice of ‘talaq-e-biddat’ – triple talaq is set aside”; followed by the 2019 Act
Joseph Shine v. Union of India	27 September 2018	Section 497 IPC (adultery) struck down as violating Articles 14, 15 and 21; Section 198 CrPC unconstitutional to that extent
Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma	11 August 2020	Daughters are coparceners by birth under substituted Section 6 HSA, whether born before or after 2005, and whether or not the father was alive on 9 September 2005
X v. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi	29 September 2022	Unmarried women are entitled to terminate pregnancies on the same terms as married women; marital rape counts as rape for the MTP Act and Rules

The firm’s guides to public interest litigation and judicial review explain how such challenges reach the courts.

Where a woman can get help

The right office depends on the problem, and more than one can be approached at the same time.

• Emergency: the National Commission for Women lists 112 (the Emergency Response Support System, a “Pan-India single number … based emergency response system for citizens in emergencies”), 181 (National Women Helpline), 1098 (CHILDLINE) and 1930 (Cyber Crime Helpline).
• Police: an FIR for a cognizable offence can be given at any police station, orally or electronically (information sent electronically is taken on record when she signs it within three days, Section 173(1)(ii)), and a woman’s information about a sexual offence is recorded by a woman officer (Section 173(1) BNSS). In Delhi, the firm’s ACP, DCP and CAW Cell finder shows the offices for each police station.
• Domestic violence: an application to the Magistrate under Section 12 of the DV Act, directly or through a Protection Officer.
• Workplace harassment: the Internal Committee of the employer, or the district’s Local Committee (POSH Act, Sections 4, 6 and 9).
• National Commission for Women: set up “in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990”; its functions include to “investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the Constitution and other law” (Section 10(1)(a)). Its website lists a 24×7 helpline, 14490, and an online complaint portal.
• Delhi Commission for Women: examines matters relating to safeguards for women, with jurisdiction “within National Capital Territory of Delhi”; office at Vikas Bhawan, I.P. Estate, New Delhi (as its website states).
• Free legal aid: under Section 12(c) of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, every person who has to file or defend a case is entitled to free legal services if that person is “a woman or a child”. NALSA’s website lists a toll-free helpline, 15100, and an online legal aid application; legal aid is available “from the Court Tribunal/Authority at first instance to the Supreme Court of India”, at any stage, and includes legal advice without filing a case; under Section 13(1) the authority must be satisfied that the person “has a genuine case to prosecute or defend” (as NALSA explains).

Century Law Firm, Delhi, acts in matrimonial, domestic violence, maintenance and related matters in the Delhi courts. To discuss a matter, see the firm’s practice areas page.

भारत में महिलाओं के अधिकार और लैंगिक समानता – हिंदी में सारांश (Summary in Hindi)

संविधान: अनुच्छेद 14 हर व्यक्ति को कानून के समक्ष समानता देता है। अनुच्छेद 15(1) के अनुसार राज्य केवल धर्म, मूलवंश, जाति, लिंग या जन्मस्थान के आधार पर किसी नागरिक से भेदभाव नहीं करेगा, और अनुच्छेद 15(3) राज्य को महिलाओं और बच्चों के लिए विशेष प्रावधान करने की अनुमति देता है। अनुच्छेद 16 सरकारी नौकरी में लिंग के आधार पर भेदभाव मना करता है। अनुच्छेद 39(घ) समान कार्य के लिए समान वेतन, अनुच्छेद 39क निःशुल्क विधिक सहायता और अनुच्छेद 42 प्रसूति सहायता की बात करते हैं, और अनुच्छेद 51क(ङ) हर नागरिक का कर्तव्य बताता है कि वह महिलाओं के सम्मान के विरुद्ध प्रथाओं का त्याग करे। (यह सारांश हमारा अपना सरल हिंदी रूप है, संविधान के आधिकारिक हिंदी पाठ का उद्धरण नहीं।)

आरक्षण: पंचायतों और नगरपालिकाओं में सीधे चुनाव वाली कम से कम एक-तिहाई सीटें महिलाओं के लिए आरक्षित हैं (अनुच्छेद 243घ, 243न)। संविधान (एक सौ छठा संशोधन) अधिनियम, 2023 ने लोक सभा, राज्य विधान सभाओं और दिल्ली विधान सभा में लगभग एक-तिहाई सीटें महिलाओं के लिए आरक्षित की हैं, परंतु अनुच्छेद 334क के अनुसार यह आरक्षण संशोधन के बाद की पहली जनगणना के आंकड़े प्रकाशित होने और फिर परिसीमन होने के बाद ही लागू होगा, और अनुच्छेद 334क(1) के अनुसार संशोधन अधिनियम के प्रारंभ से पंद्रह वर्ष की अवधि समाप्त होने पर प्रभावी नहीं रहेगा, जब तक संसद विधि द्वारा इसे आगे न बढ़ाए।

घरेलू हिंसा और भरण-पोषण: घरेलू हिंसा से महिलाओं का संरक्षण अधिनियम, 2005 की धारा 12 के अंतर्गत पत्नी, लिव-इन साथी या परिवार की कोई भी महिला मजिस्ट्रेट से संरक्षण आदेश, साझे घर में रहने का अधिकार (धारा 17), निवास आदेश, भरण-पोषण सहित आर्थिक राहत, बच्चों की अस्थायी अभिरक्षा और प्रतिकर माँग सकती है। घरेलू हिंसा में शारीरिक, यौन, मौखिक, भावनात्मक और आर्थिक दुर्व्यवहार शामिल है। भारतीय नागरिक सुरक्षा संहिता, 2023 की धारा 144 (पहले दंड प्रक्रिया संहिता की धारा 125) के अनुसार जो पत्नी अपना भरण-पोषण नहीं कर सकती, उसे पति से मासिक और अंतरिम भत्ता मिल सकता है; तलाकशुदा पत्नी, जिसने दोबारा विवाह नहीं किया, भी इसमें आती है।

दहेज और क्रूरता: दहेज प्रतिषेध अधिनियम, 1961 में दहेज लेने या देने पर कम से कम पाँच वर्ष का कारावास (धारा 3) और दहेज माँगने पर छह महीने से दो वर्ष तक का कारावास (धारा 4) है। भारतीय न्याय संहिता, 2023 की धारा 85 और 86 (पहले आईपीसी की धारा 498क) पति या उसके रिश्तेदारों की क्रूरता के लिए तीन वर्ष तक का कारावास, और धारा 80 (पहले धारा 304ख) विवाह के सात वर्ष के भीतर दहेज-मृत्यु के लिए कम से कम सात वर्ष से आजीवन कारावास तक का दंड देती है।

यौन अपराध और कार्यस्थल: भारतीय न्याय संहिता की धारा 63 से 79 में बलात्संग, यौन उत्पीड़न, दृश्यरतिकता और पीछा करने जैसे अपराध हैं। ऐसी सूचना किसी भी थाने में दी जा सकती है और महिला अधिकारी द्वारा दर्ज की जाती है (बीएनएसएस धारा 173); सामान्यतः किसी महिला को सूर्यास्त के बाद और सूर्योदय से पहले गिरफ्तार नहीं किया जा सकता (धारा 43(5))। कार्यस्थल पर यौन उत्पीड़न की लिखित शिकायत आंतरिक समिति या स्थानीय समिति को तीन महीने के भीतर की जाती है, और जांच नब्बे दिन में पूरी होनी चाहिए (पॉश अधिनियम, 2013 की धारा 9 और 11)।

वेतन, प्रसूति और संपत्ति: वेतन संहिता, 2019 की धारा 3 समान काम के वेतन और भर्ती में लिंग-भेद मना करती है। सामाजिक सुरक्षा संहिता, 2020 के अंतर्गत, जिसने 21 नवंबर 2025 से प्रसूति प्रसुविधा अधिनियम, 1961 का स्थान लिया है, अधिकतम छब्बीस सप्ताह की प्रसूति प्रसुविधा मिलती है। हिंदू उत्तराधिकार अधिनियम की धारा 6 के अनुसार बेटी जन्म से बेटे की तरह सहदायिक है, और विनीता शर्मा (2020) के अनुसार इसके लिए पिता का 9 सितंबर 2005 को जीवित होना आवश्यक नहीं।

विवाह और प्रजनन अधिकार: लड़की के विवाह की न्यूनतम आयु अठारह वर्ष है (बाल विवाह प्रतिषेध अधिनियम, 2006)। तीन तलाक शून्य और अवैध है तथा तीन वर्ष तक के कारावास से दंडनीय है (2019 का अधिनियम)। व्यभिचार अब अपराध नहीं है (जोसेफ शाइन, 2018)। गर्भ का समापन बीस सप्ताह तक एक डॉक्टर की राय पर और कुछ श्रेणियों में चौबीस सप्ताह तक हो सकता है, और अविवाहित महिलाओं को भी यही अधिकार है (X, 2022)। भ्रूण का लिंग जानना अपराध है (पीसीपीएनडीटी अधिनियम)।

सहायता: आपात स्थिति में 112, महिला हेल्पलाइन 181, राष्ट्रीय महिला आयोग की हेल्पलाइन 14490 और साइबर अपराध हेल्पलाइन 1930। विधिक सेवा प्राधिकरण अधिनियम, 1987 की धारा 12(ग) के अनुसार हर महिला निःशुल्क विधिक सहायता की हकदार है; नालसा की हेल्पलाइन 15100 है।

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

India’s framework for women’s rights starts with the Constitution’s promise of equality (Articles 14, 15 and 16), its permission for special provisions for women (Article 15(3)) and its directions on equal pay and maternity relief (Articles 39(d) and 42). Reservation for women already applies in panchayats and municipalities; the 106th Amendment is now part of the Constitution, but the reservation in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies takes effect only after the census and delimitation that Article 334A requires.

Specific laws turn those promises into remedies: civil orders and the right to reside under the DV Act, maintenance under Section 144 BNSS, the Dowry Prohibition Act and Sections 80, 85 and 86 BNS, the sexual offences in the BNS with their procedural safeguards, the POSH Act, equal pay and maternity benefit under the new Labour Codes, daughters’ coparcenary rights, and the 2019 Act on triple talaq. Help is available through the police, the Magistrate, the workplace committees, the women’s commissions and, free of cost for every woman, the legal services authorities.

Sources used for this post: the Constitution of India, Articles 14, 15, 16, 21, 21A, 39, 39A, 42, 51A, 243D and 243T (India Code) and Articles 239AA(2)(ba)-(bc), 330A, 332A and 334A inserted by the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 (Legislative Department, The Constitution of India 2026, as on 10 September 2026, footnotes “w.e.f. 16-4-2026”); from India Code: the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, ss. 2, 3, 12, 17–23, 31, 36 (s.2(q) as read after Hiral P. Harsora); the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, ss. 43(5), 144 (incl. (3) proviso and Explanation, and (4)), 173, 184 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, ss. 63, 64, 74–80, 85–87 (both as on 6 October 2025; old IPC/CrPC numbers and classifications from the firm’s Gazette-checked comparison data); the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, ss. 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 8A (as on 30 July 2026); the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, ss. 2, 3, 4, 6, 9–11, 26 (as on 1 August 2026); the Code on Wages, 2019, ss. 1, 3, 69 and the Code on Social Security, 2020, ss. 59, 60, 64, 66, 67, 68, 164 and the First Schedule, with their commencement footnotes (S.O. 5322(E) and S.O. 5319(E), 21 November 2025) (both as on 21 November 2025); the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, ss. 6, 14 (as on 1 June 2026); the Married Women’s Property Act, 1874, ss. 2, 4; the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, ss. 1, 2(c), 3–7 (as on 1 July 2026); the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, ss. 2, 3, 9, 10, 12, 13 (as on 15 April 2026); the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, ss. 12(1)(c) and 12(2)(a), 13 (as on 15 April 2026); the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, ss. 3 (incl. 3(4)), 4, 5, 5A as amended by Act 8 of 2021; the PCPNDT Act, 1994, ss. 6, 22, 23, 27 (as on 31 May 2026); the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, ss. 6, 13 (as on 1 June 2026); the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, s. 17; the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, ss. 2(d), 3, 8 (as on 1 September 2026); the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, s. 12 (and s. 13(1) as stated by NALSA); the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, s. 10 (as on 21 September 2025); the Supreme Court’s own copies of Hiral P. Harsora v. Kusum Narottamdas Harsora (6 October 2016, https://api.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/44159.pdf), Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (13 August 1997, https://api.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/13856.pdf), Shayara Bano v. Union of India (22 August 2017, https://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2016/6716/6716_2016_Judgement_22-Aug-2017.pdf), Joseph Shine v. Union of India (27 September 2018, https://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2017/32550/32550_2017_Judgement_27-Sep-2018.pdf), Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (11 August 2020, https://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2018/32601/32601_2018_33_1501_23387_Judgement_11-Aug-2020.pdf) and X v. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi (29 September 2022, https://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2022/21815/21815_2022_2_1501_38628_Judgement_29-Sep-2022.pdf); and the websites of the National Commission for Women (ncw.gov.in), the Delhi Commission for Women (dcw.delhi.gov.in) and NALSA (nalsa.gov.in), read in October 2026.