"Women’s rights are human rights and should be treated as such." To quote President KR Narayanan from a speech he made at the Convention on Liberal Values in New Delhi on January 6, 1996 ".....It would be seen that in the evolution of human civilisation, economic, cultural, social, civil and political aspects have come together to produce what are now called human rights. At the heart of the human rights lie rights and values associated with the individual human being which, in modern parlance or rather western parlance, are called liberal values, but which are inherent in every civilisation of the world". Recently, the War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague, Netherlands in a landmark judgement in a case involving three former Bosnian Serb commanders declared rape to be a crime against humanity.

The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts of 1993 mark historic events in the empowerment of Indian women as they ensure one-third of total seats for women in all elected offices of local bodies in rural areas and urban areas. In the rural areas, above one million women are going to emerge as leaders/decision makers at the grassroots level and enter public life through the existing 0.25 million bodies. Of these, about 75,000 will be the chairpersons of local institutions at the village, block and district levels, as per the Act.The fact that women’s rights need to be safeguarded in every country of the world cannot be overemphasised. In a historic decision, the Rajasthan government is changing the service rules to punish employees who are found guilty of torturing their wives. As reported in a national daily, the punishment could involve sacking and action would correspond the crime with punishments including suspension and stoppage of increments.

It is the duty of the State to remove inequities in the personal laws of various religions. Recently it has been made compulsory to include mother’s name along with that of the father in various forms required to filled for an Indian child while seeking admission in a school and otherwise. Progressive laws such as these protect women’s rights.

The report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) released by the government recently mentions the steps taken by it to contain the negative impact of restructuring of the economy that India has embarked upon. It enumerates the steps that have been taken to protect women. The Government of India made a special effort to increase its support to social sectors and started a number of schemes aimed at the poor, particularly poor women, and women in the informal sector. These include Rashtriya Mahila Kosh and Mahila Samakhya programmes.

The Integrated Child Development Programme (ICDS) run by the government is the largest in the world. Government figures show that ICDS has brought down infant mortality rate (IMR) from 55.1 in 1970 to 28.2 in 1992 and in case of female babies from 131 in 1978 to 80 in 1992. Life expectancy of women has risen sharply according to the report and stands at 58.1 years which is higher than that for men at 57.7 years. Statistically speaking, at the beginning of the century, women were not expected to survive beyond 23.96 years. They have, however, still to catch up on the literacy rate which now stands at 39.29 per cent for women as opposed to 64 per cent for men. Keeping in line with the government’s policy on equal opportunity, there are 65 women in senior positions in the Indian Foreign Service. It is commendable that despite various hurdles the government has managed to ensure equal career opportunities for women. The National Literacy Mission through the Total Literacy Campaigns (TLCs) has played a key role in raising awareness on issues of gender equity. The National Perspective Plan for Women (1988-2000) was drawn up as an important strategy to change social attitudes.

The government has taken a number of steps and enacted a number of legislations to protect and safeguard women and ensure that their rights are not abused. One such measure is the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961. Before the enactment of this law, the grant of maternity leave and cash benefits were included in the Factories Act, 1948, Mines Act 1952 and Bidi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 amongst others. Under the Central Service (Leave) Rules 1972, "female government employees are at present entitled to maternity leave for a period of 135 days from the date of commencement. During such period the employee is paid leave salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave". But laws, unless enforced, tend to be ignored and abused.