Rights of Married Women in India

 Today, in a world that is increasingly becoming more well-connected and informed, women seem to be left behind as they are often denied the same access and privilege of information that men have. As a consequence, many women are trapped in situations wherein knowing their legal rights would aid them to overcome their difficulties. Hence, all women, especially married women, must know the rights that they have to prevent their own exploitation.

First and foremost, a wife has the legal right to live in the matrimonial house, even after the husband dies. Even if the house is not owned by the husband, belongs to his parents, or is a rented apartment. In case of separation, she can stay at the marital house until an alternative is arranged for her or she goes to her parental house. There isn’t any directive in the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), 1955 that a married woman cannot stay at her parental house. She can lawfully stay, if and when she wants to.

Secondly, according to the 2005 amendment of the Hindu Succession Act (HSA) 1956: a daughter, whether married or not, has equal rights to inherit her father’s property as her brother. A woman has equal legal rights to inherit her husband’s property as other heirs. She can inherit it only if the husband hasn’t prepared a will or hasn’t excluded her from the will. If a husband remarries without dissolving the first marriage, the rights to the property belong to the first wife.

Thirdly, a woman can report domestic violence under the Protection of Women Under Domestic Violence Act (D.V. Act), 2005. This act criminalises physical, emotional, sexual, economical and other forms of ill-treatment. She can claim protection, maintenance, custody, compensation and continue to live in the same house.

Fourth, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 gives a woman full autonomy to abort a child without the permission of the husband. The upper limit of getting a child aborted has been raised to 24 weeks.

Fifth, Section 13 of HMA 1955 gives women the legal rights to file for a divorce without the consent of the husband. The divorce can be filed on the grounds of adultery, cruelty, desertion, thrown out of marital home, mental disorder etc. Section 13B of the Act allows divorce by mutual consent.

Sixth, Section 125 of IPC gives a married woman the legal right to seek maintenance from her husband for a lifetime. If the marriage fails, the HMA of 1955 provides women with the legal rights to claim maintenance of herself and her children from the husband during (interim maintenance) and after divorce (permanent maintenance). The amount of maintenance doesn’t include Stree Dhan and is set up by the court on the basis of the husband’s financial and living status (includes up to 25 percent of it).

Seventh, Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 prohibits the dowry system. A woman can report against her parental family or the in-laws for exchanging dowry. Any case of cruelty she faces from her in-laws on account of dowry can be reported under Section 304B and 498A of IPC that criminalises dowry harassment. The Section criminalises the dowry harassment of the bride in the form of cruelty, domestic violence (physical, emotional or sexual harassment), abetment to suicide and dowry death. Marital rape hasn’t been criminalised in India yet, but forced sex can be reported under the Domestic Violence Act and Dowry Harassment.

Lastly, The Guardian and Wards Act of 1890 gives equal custodial rights and duties to both the parents. However, if the child is below five years of age, the mother has superior rights. A woman has the right to take the child along with her while leaving the marital house without any court order. A woman can claim the custody of her children after divorce or separation, regardless of whether she is employed or unemployed. She can always claim maintenance from her husband.

Hence, the law provides more than adequate grounds for women to claim their dignity and be independent in the true sense. It is now society’s job to help them be aware and cognizant of these rights so they can be exercised.

National literature award- Sahitya Akademi awards for 2020 announced

The prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award

The Sahitya Akademi has announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards and selected 20 creators, including senior Congress leader Sri M.Veerappa Moily and Hindi poet Ms. Anamika, for the Academy Award of the year 2020. The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 24 major Indian languages, i.e., English and the 22 listed languages.

Anamika is the first female poet to be nominated for the Sahitya Akademi Award for Hindi poetry. The names announced on this academy on Friday include seven poets, four novelists, five short-stories writers, two playwrights and one memoir and epic writer.

According to the academy, the awards in 20 Indian languages ​​have been declared, while the names of those in Malayalam, Nepali, Oriya and Rajasthani languages ​​will be announced later. Moily is being awarded for the Kannada epic “Sri Bahubali Ahimsadigvijayam”, while Ms.Arundhati Subramaniam is given the Academy Award for the English poetry “When God Is a Traveller”.

Ms.Anamika to be honored for ”Tokri mein Digant” in her Hindi poetry collection “Their Gatha-2014”.
Other honored authors include Sri Harish Meenashru in Gujarati, Sri R.S. Bhaskar in Konkani, Sri Irungbam Deven in Manipuri, Sri Roopchand Hansdah in Santhali, Sri Maheshchandra Sharma Gautam in Sanskrit and Sri Nikhileshwar in Telugu. For novels Nanda Khare in Marathi, Imaiyam in Tamil and Hussain-ul-Haq in Urdu are included.

The short story will be awarded to Sri Apurba Kumar Saikia in Assamese, late Sri Dharanidhar Owari in Bodo, late Hirday Koul Bharti in Kashmiri, Sri Kamalkant Jha in Maithili and Sri Gurdev Singh Rupana in Punjabi. Sri Gian Singh in Dogri and Sri Jetho Lalwani in Sindhi for his plays, while Bengali writer Sankar (Manishankar Mukhopadhyay) has been chosen for the memoir. All these will be honored with a cash of one lakh rupees, a shawl with a copper-plaque. The date for the ceremony of honor has not been set yet. 21 child authors and 18 teen authors were nominated for Baal sahitya and Yuva Sahitya Akademi awards respectively.

Myanmar: 12 people killed in security forces firing

In Myanmar, at least 12 people were killed in firing by the security forces as the protests against the military government continued for the 42nd day yesterday. According to media reports, 5 people were killed and several others injured when police opened fire on a sit-in protest in Mandalay. One person was killed in Pyay and two in Yangon where three were also killed overnight in police firing on the protestors. A truck driver in Chauk died in a police firing.
 
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group has said that more than 70 people have been killed during widespread protests against the military seizure in Myanmar on February 1. Meanwhile, the acting leader of the country’s ousted civilian government Mahn Win Khaing Than addressed the public for the first time yesterday and vowed to pursue a revolution to overturn the junta.

Deboard passengers refusing to wear masks despite repeated warnings, orders DGCA

Director General of Civil Aviation, DGCA has asked airlines to deboard passengers who do not wear their masks properly despite repeated warnings. The aviation regulator said, there must be strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols by air travellers. DGCA said it has been noticed that some travelers undertaking air journey do not adhere to COVID 19 protocols and do not wear masks properly or maintain social distancing after entering airport premises.

The DGCA has also directed that passengers shall wear masks and maintain social distancing norms at all times during the air travel. The mask shall not be moved below the nose except under exceptional circumstances.

J&K Police release names of 9 wanted terrorists & terrorist associates; announces reward on their information

Jammu and Kashmir Police has released a list of nine wanted terrorists and terrorist associates who are active in and around Srinagar. The police have announced the reward for anyone providing information about them.
 
The Kashmir Zone Police released the names and photographs of terrorists through its official Twitter handle yesterday. The police have also shared several phone numbers on which information about these terrorists can be given. The informers have been promised suitable rewards.

India’s total vaccination coverage nears three crore mark

India has inched closer to touch the significant milestone of administering 3 crore COVID-19 Vaccine doses. With over 15 lakh 19 thousand doses administered yesterday, the cumulative vaccination figure has surpassed the mark of 2 crore 97 lakh doses. India is one of the fastest countries in the world to achieve these figures in a short span of time.
 
The nation commenced the largest vaccination drive in the world on 16th January this year with vaccination of healthcare workers. Vaccination of front line workers began from 2nd February whereas the most recent phase began from 1st of this month encompassing vaccination of everyone aged above 60 years and above 45 years with specified co-morbidities. Health Ministry has informed that in just 13 days of the current phase over 78 lakh senior citizens above 60 years and nearly 13 lakh 86 thousand people above 45 years with co-morbidities have been administered the first shot of the COVID-19 Vaccine.
 
The Health Ministry has informed that the COVID-19 recovery rate in the country today stands at  96.75 per cent. It said, in the last 24 hours, 16 thousand 637 people were discharged after recovery. Till now, over 1 crore 9 lakh 89 thousand people have recovered from the COVID-19 infection. In the last 24 hours, 25 thousand 320 new cases were reported. The number of active cases in the country stands at nearly 2 lakh 10 thousand comprising around 1.85 per cent of the total reported cases.
 
The Health Ministry has informed that 158 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours due to COVID-19 taking the cumulative toll to 1 lakh 58 thousand 604. Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR has informed that over 8 lakh 64 thousand samples were tested for COVID-19 in the country yesterday. With this the cumulative testing figure has crossed the mark of 22 crore 67 lakh. As of today, two thousand 412 laboratories are engaged in the work of testing COVID samples across the country which includes one thousand 225 government and one thousand 187 private labs. 

NIA arrests Assistant Police Inspector, Sachin Waze for his role in explosives laden vehicle found near Mukesh Ambani’s house

National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze at midnight. Before arrest, he was quizzed for around 12 hrs at NIA office in Mumbai. NIA said, Waze has been arrested for his role and involvement in placing explosives laden vehicle near the house of industrialist Mukesh Ambani on 25th February. Charges under various sections of IPC including 286, 465 and 473 are levied against him.
 
NIA took over the case last Monday, after the Home Ministry’s order. Earlier, Waje had filed anticipatory bail plea in Thane sessions court. After hearing arguments from Waze’s lawyer yesterday, the court refused to grant interim protection and posted the plea for hearing on March 19. Initially Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch was investigating this case and Sachin Waze was the investigating officer.
 
The body of Mansukh Hiren, the alleged owner of the explosive laden car was found on 5th March in Thane Creek. His wife claimed that he was being pressurised for taking responsibility of car. She also claimed that during November 2020 to February 2021 Waze was using that car. Waze has denied the charges.
 
Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis raised the issue in Maharashtra Assembly and later the case was shifted to Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad. Few days ago, Waze was transferred out from the Crime Branch.

Today is the last day to register for Pariksha Pe Charcha, PM’s interactive Programme for stress-free preparation of exam

Today is the last day of registration for Prime Minister’s interactive academic programme Pariksha Pe Charcha. Pariksha Pe Charcha is part of the larger movement – ‘Exam Warriors’ – led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to create a stress-free atmosphere for youngsters. Students can register for it through the official site of My Gov on innovateindia.mygov.in. This year’s Pariksha Pe Charcha is the 4th edition and will be held virtually.
 
This time, the Prime Minister’s massively popular interaction will not only have students but also parents and teachers. To get a chance to participate, students, teachers or parents can participate in Pariksha Pe Charcha competition hosted on MyGov Innovate platform. The competition is open for school students of classes 9 to 12. Each winner will get a specially designed Certificate of Appreciation.
 
A small group of students from among the winners will get the opportunity to directly interact with the Prime Minister and ask him questions. Each of these special winners will also get a digital souvenir of their autographed photograph along with the Prime Minister. 

PM Modi holds talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Gotabaya Rajapaksa; reviews topical developments, ongoing cooperation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday. They reviewed topical developments and the ongoing cooperation between India and Sri Lanka in bilateral and multilateral forums.

They agreed to maintain regular contact between relevant officials, including in the context of the continuing COVID-19 challenges. Mr. Modi reiterated the importance of Sri Lanka to India’s Neighbourhood First policy.

Poverty in the pandemic

Global extreme poverty is expected to rise for the first time in 20 years because of the disruption caused by COVID-19, exacerbating the impact of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing down poverty reduction, according to the World Bank. The pandemic may push another 88 million to 115 million into extreme poverty or having to live on less than $1.50 per day, resulting in a total of 150 million such individuals, the Bank said in its biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report.

Some 9.1% to 9.4% of the world will be affected by extreme poverty in 2020, the Bank said, compared to 7.9% in the counterfactual scenario where the pandemic had not raged across the world. Many of the newly poor individuals will be from countries that already have high poverty rates while many in middle income countries (MICs) will slip below the poverty line, as per the report. Some 82% of the total will be in MICs.

Sub-Saharan Africa, with 27-40 million new poor, and South Asia, with 49-57 million new poor, will be badly hit as per the Bank’s projections. According to it, in order to reverse this serious setback to development progress and poverty reduction, countries will need to prepare for a different economy post-COVID, by allowing capital, labour, skills, and innovation to move into new businesses and sectors. 

As the Indian government decided not to release the 2017-18 All India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey data from the 75th Round, there is an “important gap in understanding poverty in South Asia”, the report said. Consequently, the Bank has estimated India’s poverty numbers for 2017 based on “strong assumptions”, resulting in “considerable uncertainties”. In fact, a number of results in the report are incomplete, or uncertain because of the lack of data from India which, as per the report, accounted for 139 million of the 689 million people living in poverty in 2017.

Consequently, there’s also a clear need for a range of social safety-net policies. These already exist in many developing countries, but their coverage and funding needs to be expanded substantially. Such policies include cash transfer programmes, universal one-off cash payments, in-kind food/vouchers, school feeding schemes and public works programmes.

In middle-income developing countries, these are funded by the national government, whereas in low-income countries, these are often co-funded by donors. Any set of policies should also incorporate “pay to stay home” or “pay to get tested” schemes.

Looking further ahead, the poverty impacts beyond 2020 are closely related to if or when an effective vaccine is developed. Even if we take the best-case scenario and a vaccine is discovered later this year, it’s uncertain how long it would take to reach the entire global population. It could take years.

There is no guarantee developing countries would get access to the vaccine at a reasonable cost, or if everyone in developing countries would get the vaccine for free. We could end up living in a new COVID-19 apartheid, with the vaccinated and non-vaccinated residing in separate areas and working in different labour markets. This is a startling but very real possibility that no one is talking about much yet.

While this might sound far off, there are already some countries — such as Chile — issuing “immunity passports”. Such passports might determine what work people can do by determining where they can go. This could leave the poorest without access to earning opportunities or only with lower-income opportunities if their movement is restricted. The crisis is increasingly looking like a long crisis. If so, it will have repercussions on global poverty for years to come.The Conversation

Women and workplace- how far have we come?

Women working from home are facing many challenges. Working women in India are fighting a hard fight for work and salary. They are underestimated a lot in their capabilities. Along with having a full-time job they are burdened with most of the domestic responsibilities. This was revealed in the LinkedIn Opportunity Index, 2021 survey report. According to the report, 22 percent of women in Asia-Pacific countries are not given the expected importance compared to men.

By the 18th century women were able to engage only in occupations related to the textile industry, where they had to work in low wages and in dreadful conditions. The situation changed when all the healthy men enlisted in the army in the First World War. Then women were included in transportation, hospitals and even arms factories.

By the end of the First World War came, women were pressurized to give up their jobs automatically, so that the soldiers who returned from war again can take that job. In her book Feminine Mystique, the American writer Betty Freedom wrote that after the Second World War, women were tried to convince them that their lives were only in the boundary wall

NITI Aayog’s agenda for 2017-20 stated that women are paid less wages and get less productive employment and they get less paid than non-paid jobs. The devaluation of women in the market is because their experience, education and skills are underestimated. Over the decades, there has been an attempt to establish the myth that women themselves do not want employment, but this is not true.

In the year 2018, a study said that India’s eight crore adolescent girls have a lot of expectations about their careers, but their expectations will be fulfilled, it is difficult to say. What is more is that during the calamities and pandemics, all efforts are made to connect women with the labor force and this goal can be achieved if we all work together.

Women are capable of doing all kinds of jobs just like men if not more. This has been proved by women over and over again that they can succeed in all fields if given the opportunity. Women don’t want to oppress anyone but to grow together and make the world better. They are making some great contributions in various fields such as science, literature, medicine and defence.

In India, on Women’s Day a big step was taken in the direction of gender equality. The Navy deployed four women officers on its warships after 24 years, the Navy spokesman said that two women officers have been deployed on INS Vikramaditya and two other INS Shakti. One of the women officers on board the tanker vessel INS Shakti is a doctor.

England beat India in 1st T-20 match; leads five match series 1-0

In Cricket, England beat India by eight wickets in the first T-20 match at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad last night. Put into bat first, India scored 124 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the stipulated 20 overs with the help of Shreyas Aiyyar’s 67 runs off 48 balls. Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya were the other two notable contributors to the Indian team, scoring 21 and 19 runs respectively.
 
For England, Pacer Jofra Archer registered three wickets while Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes took a wicket each. In reply, England chased down the target of 125 in 15.3 overs riding on Jason Roy’s 49, Jos Buttler’s 28 and Jonny Bairstow’s 26 not out. For India, Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal took a wicket each. England now leads five match series 1-0. The second T-20 will be played tomorrow at the same venue. 

I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar to virtually inaugurate Amrit Mahotsav exhibitions at six places today

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar will inaugurate today exhibitions at six places virtually. The six places are  Bangalore,  Pune, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Moirang District in Manipur and Samba District in Jammu and Kashmir. In addition,Shri Prakash Javadekar will also inaugurate an exhibition at the National Media Center in New Delhi today. 

The exhibitions are being  organised in pursuance of the vision of the Prime Minister and to contribute to the festive fervor to the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav  as part of India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations. Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav commenced yesterday,  75 weeks prior to Independence Day 2022,  and would continue till Independence Day 2023.

Earlier, the  Prime Minister had said that the festival of 75 years of independence would be a festival, in which the spirit of freedom struggle, tribute to the martyrs and their pledge to create India would be experienced. The festival  will also showcase the country’s achievements in the 75 years to the world and also give a framework for resolution to us for the next 25 years. 

National Eligibility cum Entrance Test to be conducted on 1st August this year

National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be conducted on the 1st of August  this year. NEET-UG 2021 will be conducted in 11 languages. National Testing Agency yesterday informed that the detailed information related to the test will be provided shortly. The Agency advised the candidates to keep visiting the website nta.ac.in and ntaneet.nic.in for further details.

Cumulative number of COVID vaccine doses administered in country crosses two Crore 80 lakh

Union Health Ministry has said that the cumulative number of COVID vaccine doses administered in the country crossed two Crore 80 lakh till last evening. They include 72 lakh 84 thousand 406 Healthcare workers who have taken the first dose  and  41 lakh 76 thousand 446 Healthcare workers who received the second dose of vaccines. Besides, over  72 lakh 15 thousand Frontline workers got the 1st dose and over 9 lakh 28 thousand took the second dose.
 
The Ministry also said, 71 lakh 69 thousand 695 beneficiaries above 60 years age and as many as 12 lakh 30 thousand 704 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific co-morbidities got the 1st dose of vaccine. Total 18 lakh 40 thousand 897 vaccine doses were given till 8 pm yesterday, the fifty sixth day of nationwide COVID19 vaccination.