ABSTRACT

Empowerment is an active, alluring and a multidimensional process, which enables women to realise their identity and power in all aspects of life. Discrimination of women from cradle to grave is well known and predominant in our country. There is continued inequality and vulnerability of women in all sectors be it education, politics, media, health care, nutritional level, legal rights, etc. women are always exploited in our country and hence the need for empowering women. In order to fight against the socially constructed gender biasses women have to swim against the tide, strength for which can only be achieved through our policy framework, legal and judicial measures and the Constitutional powers.

The Government of India is taking steps to empower women so that their contributions are taken more seriously in all walks of life and women are not treated as secondary citizens in the country for which rules and regulations and various acts have been formed for their empowerment. The universal declaration of Human Rights gives equal status to women, however at ground level the above declaration is not practiced in our society.

In this paper the constitutional provisions and government policies related to equal status and empowerment will be discussed in detail. Various acts and its implications along with the Directive Principles of State Policy will be discussed. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, Women’s right in property, Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, etc are very crucial steps taken for empowering women and putting them on an equal platform and to protect their rights and status.
INTRODUCTION

“Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity.” — Gandhi
“The fastest way to change society is to mobilise the women of the world.” — Charles Malik
“If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you educate a woman you educate a whole family. Women empowered means mother India empowered” – Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru

“Equality is a basic feature of the Constitution of India and any treatment of equals unequally or unequals as equals will be violation of basic structure of the Constitution of India.”
As the world’s population grew, the demand for work and labor increased, and as new beliefs and systems took shape, women were plunged into the brave world and confronted with a series of challenges. India has traditionally been a male dominated society and therefore currently women suffer from social and economical disabilities. While women have made great strides, a gender equality gap still exists. Therefore it is better that ameliorative steps are taken, so that the women may make some progress and are able to shed their disabilities as soon as possible.
Part III of the Constitution of India guarantees the Right to Equality through Article 14 to Article 18. “Equality is one of the magnificent corner-stones of Indian democracy”, and through the years the Government has made various amendments and laid down various provisions which have affected women’s life. n our society women are always socialised from their tender age to be dependent on males. Her existence is always subject to men. In her childhood she is under the protection of her father, after marriage under the protection of her husband and in old age at the mercy of her sons. The patriarchal system in India made women to live at the mercy of men, who exercise unlimited power over them.
Apart from the long and heated debate over the percentage of women in legislative bodies, the situation of women in Indian society at large is a matter of alarming consideration. The depiction of Women in Indian media, be it films, television serials, news, media, visual advertisement, or modernised traditional media, is indeed an area of great concern. Comments in newspaper articles have found some of them objectionable and violating the requirements of good taste and sometimes offensive. Some objections have also been made to the appearance of scantly clad women in some commercials (Ahuja &Batra). As the tentacles of globalisation have trespassed into the electronic media, the advertising industry has been swept by the market forces with the result that sexist display depicting women in demeaning manner has become the norm. Though, it is true that the level of active participation and decision making capability of women in each and every aspect of social and political life in India has increased leaps and bounds, yet the overall conditions of women is not so good.
This paper caters to the portrayal of women in the media as that is one medium through which awareness is created and spread. And if that medium itself demeans, debase and degrade the image of the women of this country, then there are definitely allot of amends that need to be made. It also addresses the legal and policy framework within which the women in our country can achieve a better working environment.
GENDER JUSTICE

The Preamble of our Constitution declares the rights and freedoms which the people of India intended to secure to all citizens. Our Preamble commences with the words “WE THE PEOPLE OF INIDA…” which includes men and women of all castes, religion, etc. The Preamble also renders “EQUALITY of status and opportunity” to every man and woman. It further assures “dignity of individuals” which again includes the dignity of women. Solely on the basis of the Preamble several important enactments have been brought into operation which aim at providing and protecting the status, rights and dignity of women.
The Constitution of India not only grants equality to women but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women to compensate for the cumulative socio economic, education and political disadvantages faced by them. Some of the constitutional provisions which are significant with relation to the paper are as follows:
• Article 14: Equality before law
• Article 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
• Article 15(3): Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provisions for women and children.
• Article 39(a): The state shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing – that all citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.
• Article 39(d): The state shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing – that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
• Article 42: The State shall make provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
• Article 51A(e): to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.
• 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 such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat.
• Article 15(3) recognisesthe fact that the women of India have been oppressed, socially and economically in the past and because of which they cannot participate entirely in the socio-economic activities of the nation on a footing of equality. The purpose of Article 15(3) is to eliminate this socio-economic backwardness between the two sexes and bring both the sexes at par. The objective behind Article 15(3) is to empower, strengthen and improve the status of women.
• Article 39(d), the state has to make sure that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women; for which the Parliament has enacted the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. The Act provides for payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers for the same work, or work of a similar nature and for prevention of discrimination on grounds of sex. The Act also ensures that there will be no discrimination against recruitment of women and provides for setting up of advisory committees to promote employment opportunities for women. Inspectors are to be appointed for investigating if the provisions of the Act are being complied by the employers. Non-observance of the Act by government contractors has been held to raise questions under Article 14.
Conferment of equal status of women apart from being a constitutional right has been recognised as a human right. The Apex Court in BodhisattwaGautam case observed that women have the right to be treated as equal citizens.
WOMEN IN MEDIA

Media is the buzzword of the era of globalisation. In fact, the rapid expansion of term and the concept of present form of globalisationhas been made possible only through the information revolution throughout the world. It has been widely recognised that media can play a substantial role in promoting and disseminating information and are key players in the social and economic development of women. Therefore, media largely reflects the life styles, socialisation patterns, participation levels, cultural boundaries, political manoeuvrings, religious manifestations, educational standards, social hierarchy, and of course, society images of any given society. Globalisation is a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary topic in its broadest reaches. It includes not only economic topics, but also political, social cultural and ideological ones. Political scientist, James Rosenau defines it as “a label that is presently in vogue to account for people, activities, norms, ideas, goods, services, and currencies that are decreasingly confined to a particular geographic space and its local and established practices.”
The depiction of women in Indian media is simply shoddy and at times vulgar. Commodification of women as a sex object has been relentlessly portrayed in audio- visual media. The overtones of sexual equation are much more explicit these days in our media. The women in Indian media are depicted generally as scrupulous, religiously intolerant, craving only for their own family, politically naive, socially inevitable and culturally ultra-modern. Often the criticism of the advertising stems out of big business game, believing the advertisements, rising prices and creation of artificial needs.
The advertisements in Indian media are in a horrible condition. This is a portion, which requires immediate attention of media planners. Even the women activists also seldom react to the advertisement campaign that is grossly insulting the dignity of women in different ways. In most of the advertisements in Indian media be it newspapers, or magazines, T.V. channels or otherwise, one finds that an essential ingredient is a woman. The depiction of women in advertisements is actually an insult to the women in general but we are used to enjoying them with little concern about the female respect and dignity, which used to be the salient feature of our ancient tradition.
We can say without fear of contradiction that television is essentially a female bastion. One of the main offshoots of the phenomenal growth of satellite TV has been the media focus on women- both as a key target audience that needs to be delivered to the advertiser and as the main protagonists
Of the many influences on how we view men and women, media are the most pervasive and one of the most powerful. Woven throughout our daily lives, media insinuate their messages into our consciousness at every turn. All forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuate unrealistic, stereotypical, and limiting perceptions. Three themes describe how media represent gender.
• First, women are underrepresented, which falsely implies that men are the cultural standard and women are unimportant or invisible.
• Second, men and women are portrayed in stereotypical ways that reflect and sustain socially endorsed views of gender.
• Third, depictions of relationships between men and women emphasise traditional roles and normalise violence against women.

The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986

The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 (IRWA) focuses on indecent representation of women and brings under its ambit references that are derogatory to the dignity of women. The IRWA, 1986 was enacted with the specific objective of prohibiting the indecent representation of women through advertisement, publication, writing, and painting or in any other manner. The existing Act, in its present form, covers the print media.
Key amendments proposed are as follows:

(i) Broaden the scope of the law to cover the audio-visual media and material in electronic form.

(ii) Penalties to be enhanced to a maximum of three years of imprisonment and fine of between Rs.50,000 to Rs.1,00,000 for first conviction, and imprisonment of not less than two years, but which may extend to seven years, and a fine between Rs.1,00,000 to Rs.5,00,000 for second conviction.

(iii) Police officers not below the rank of Inspectors authorised to carry out search and seizure, in addition to State and Central Government officers authorised by the State or Central Government.

These amendments seek to ensure that more effective protection is provided against indecent representation of women by covering newer forms of communication like internet, multimedia messaging etc., beyond the print and audio-visual media. This would aid in addressing the problem of increased objectification of women thereby ensuring dignity of women.
SOCIAL STATUS

For the better social status of women there are protective and preventive legislations seeking to better the status of women. The reformists have sought to deal with the difficult social practices like Sati, child marriage and widow remarriage through the legislation. Although it is relevant to mention that the effort to bring about social change through legislation is still being pursued with mixed results. The Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, The Commission of Sati Act, 1987, The Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act 2002, the Maternity Benefit Act 1961, The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, are some of the few examples.
Various judicial rulings have also marked their impression in a positive and an adverse manner on the status of women. The adverse ruling in the famous Mathura case, wherein the Supreme Court acquitted the police constables accused of custodial rape of a minor girl, led to widespread protests and the government appointing a law commission to review the rape law. Consequently, ‘custodial rape’ was introduced in the statute books as a more heinous crime and the onus of proof in similar cases was shifted to the accused. However in the famous Shah Banocase the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court had an opposite effect. The Apex Court held that a Muslim husband is liable to pay maintenance to the divorced wife beyond the iddat period. Despite protests and pressure from women’s group, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 was passed excluding Muslim women from the purview of Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. The Vishaka judgment, where a village level worker was raped as in retaliation for her efforts to prevent child marriage in a village in Rajasthan. The Apex Court held that sexual harassment of women at workplace resulted in the violation of the fundamental rights to equality and the right of life and liberty, including the right to work with dignity. The Apex Court formulated measures to prevent sexual harassment, relying on the content of international conventions and norms, along with providing a basic definition of sexual harassment at the workplace. The Vishaka judgment changed the jurisprudence on sexual harassment and the National Commission for Women went on to formulate a Code of Conduct for preventing Sexual Harassment at the Workplace (1997).
In GithaHariharan the Supreme Court has interpreted s. 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, as well as s. 19(b) of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, to mean that when the father is not in actual charge of the affairs of the minor either because of his indifference, or because of an agreement (oral or written) between him and the minor’s mother, and the minor is in exclusive care and custody of the mother, or the father for any other reason is unable to take care of the minor because of his physical and/or mental incapacity, the mother can act as a natural guardian of the minor and all her actions would be valid even during the lifetime of the father, who would be deemed ‘absent’ for the purpose of s. 6(a) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, and s. 19(b) of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890.
EDUCATION FOR WOMEN – FOR THEIR EMPOWERMENT

Women Empowerment is a global issue and discussion on women political right are the fore front of many formal and informal campaign worldwide. The notion of Women empowerment was introduced at the International Women’s Conference, NAROIBI in 1985. Education is a marker for Women Empowerment as it enables them to take challenges and respond to them, confront their traditional and societal role and change their life.
Education is a powerful tool to social transformation. Women should be given greater access and gender sensitivity should be developed.
Literacy rate in inca has risen strikingly from 18.3% in 1951 to 64.8% in 2001. Not only is an illiterate women at the mercy of her husband or father, she also does not know that this is not the way of life for women across the world. Within the framework of a democratic polity, our laws, development policies, plan and programmes have aimed at women’s advancement in difference spheres. From the fifth five year plan (1974 – 78) onwards there has been a marked shift in the approach to women issues from welfare to development. In recent years, the empowerment of women has been recognised as the central issue in determining the status of women. The National Commission of Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the right and legal entitlements of women. The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the constitution of India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of Panchayat and Municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation for their participation in decision making at the local level.
RESERVATION

The first post-independence Lok Sabha (the People’s Council or the Parliament) had 4.4% women. The Indian women’s movement gained actual momentum in the 1980s. The Parliament has reserved seats for women in the Panchayat and Municipality elections. These reservations have been provided under Article 243D and 243T of the Constitution of India. According to Article 243D(3), “not less than one-third, (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled up by direct election in every Panchayat, shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat”. Article 243T(3) of the Constitution provides similar provisions for reservation of seats for women in direct election in the government.
LEGAL PROVISIONS

To uphold the Constitutional mandate, the State has enacted various legislative measures intended to ensure equal rights, to counter social discrimination and various forms of violence and atrocities and to provide support services.
Certain Legal Provisions made under the law can be specified under different heads:
• Violence and Discrimination at Home
A. Pre Conception Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act 2003
B. Prohibition of Child Marriage (PCM) Act 2006
C. Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act 2005
D. Dowry Prohibition Act 1961
E. IPC Section 498A
• Violence and Discrimination in Public Places
A. Protection of the Interest of Women Workers
B. The Equal Remuneration Act 1976
C. Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers
D. Maternity Benefits Act 1961
E. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill 2012
F. Rape Law ( Section 375 and 376 of IPC )
G. Immortal Traffic Prevention Act 1986
• Special Initiatives for Women
A. National Commission for Women
B. Reservation for Women in Local Self – Government (73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992)
C. National Plan of Action for the Girl Child (1991-2000)
D. National Policy for the Empowerment of Women, 2001
E. Gender Resource Centre
CONCLUSION

It might be observed that, India has enacted many constitutional and legislative provisions for the empowerment of women. Many schemes and statues have been formed for improving the fortune of women, which have also shown positive and optimistic results. But the reality is that still there is a lot to be done. Our top priority should be given in developmental plans for improving female literacy so that the number of educated females increases in the country. One concurrent example of gender discrimination is glass ceiling effect. The term “glass ceiling” used to describe an invisible barrier where women are deprived of opportunities at all levels of employment and are discriminated only because they are women. No doubt women have the potential to achieve an equal footing with men. But, it is the social practice which is being followed in this country for ages where the male community thinks of itself as a superior to women has made a barrier preventing women from rising above a certain point. Empowerment of women could only be achieved if their economic and social status is improved. This could be possible only by adopting definite social and economic policies with a view of total development of women and to make them realise that they have more potential than men and if they want to they can achieve whatever they want to in their life. The first and foremost priority should be given to the education of women, which is the grass root problem, because once women realise their rights and learn about the social norms of the society there is no one stopping them. To conclude the authors would like to borrow Swami Vivekananda’s words; “That nation which doesn’t respect women will neither become great now, nor will it ever in the future.”

Euthanasia, a word that’s been dicing in and out of the Indian Legal System’s scenario for decades now, is of two types; Active and Passive, active being doing of a deliberate action to cause a patient to die and passive being stopping life-saving treatment in order to letting the life of patient end its natural way, gradually.

In this milieu, the disputation of the controversial theme of euthanasia, the passive type being allowed, the need for allowing active type is in question, and in my opinion, the anticipated amendment in our Law Statutes.

“I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, not suggest any such counsel!“said by Hippocrates, Father of Modern Medicines
Versus
“Death solves all problems…no man, no problem.”… Joseph Stalin

From time immemorial, the debate on legalisation of Euthanasia has been going on, not just in India but the world.
In my view, ‘Right to Life’ under Article 21 of the Constitution should extend its purview over Right to Die. As important as it is to have one’s ‘Right to Life’ in place, it is equally important to allow one to maintain his ‘Right to Die’, of course in certain peril situations only.

The ArunaShaunbagh case, with spine-chilling facts, and so-called optimism oriented judgement by Supreme Court has led the fumes to fire among both, the favourers and non-favourers of Euthanasia. Supreme Court further asked the Parliament for elimination of Section 309 from the Indian Penal Code, considering it to be a threat to constitutional value of Article 21 after the case of GianKaur vs. StateofPunjab was presented in the Court. Although, certainly there is a need to endorse Supreme Court’s word in the same case of reading Section 306 and Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code independently, wherein the claim being attempt to commit suicide and abetment to suicide may not be read together and have their own place in the Statute, independent of each other. The 210thReportof Law Commission on Humanization and Decriminalisation of Attempt to Suicide reads, “No wonder so long as society refuses to face this reality its coercive machinery will invoke the provision like Section 309 I.P.C. which has no justification right to continue remain on the statute book.”

Anti-euthanasia debaters content that if ‘Right to life’ would include ‘right to die’, then it would be incompatible and inconsistent with the concept of the former. But, what needs to be noted herein, is that, the caretakers of such patients who are in conditions worse than that of a corpse, exercise exactly the same ‘right to live’ as well, without having to stretch out their efforts, money and patience on someone for 37 years, the end of which is again, death. The Right would not include just mere existing, but the right to a dignified lifestyleas well. Therefore, there should absolutely be no quandary when one thinks of possessing the right to die if one is waning out anyway, unfortunately painfully.
One of the main issues raised here is ‘emphasis on care’ by medical practitioners, quite contrary to what patients expect and seek out of them, which is ‘emphasis on cure’. Over the years, science developed till extents of prolonging one’s life but could not outreach nature’s command of ultimate death. If the perpetuation is as sorrowful and miserable for the patients and the caretakers as the disease or circumstances of one’s condition initially, then there is no reason as to why with the sufferer’s consent, can euthanasia not be legalised. The intention of providing palliative care at low-cost methods if there is no scope of cure could metaphorically replace the notion of letting off the burden from one’s own moral conscious and infuse the agony of gradual death in another body.

Another attempt made for adding a feather to their hat by the anti-euthanasia preachers is that the patients afflicted by chronic mental illnesses like that of depression, schizophrenia and different types of substance abusers, are subject to taking their life as a psychiatric emergency, which in it’s true sense is a call for help or assistance. But then, the demand for legalisation of euthanasia is not for such patients. There must, most definitely, be measures taken before granting the permission of euthanasia to a patient, like, the request being voluntary, well-considered and lasting, conviction of the fact that the pain faced by the patient is unremitting and unbearable, consent of the patient after informing him about his prospectus or situation, absence of any alternative solution, due consultancy of an informed physician and termination of life in a medically appropriate fashion.

Taking their refuge under Supreme Court’s judgement onP. Rathinam’s case andBirdichand Mishrilal vs. State of Maharashtra case, the anti-euthanasia preachers cite instances as to when a person suffering mental illness would be prone to commit suicide mentioned therein.

However, the same case cites ‘The individual does not destroy himself in hope of thereby achieving a noble post mortem reputation or a place among the eternally blessed. Instead he wishes to subtract himself from a life whose equality seems a worse evil than death,’ written by eminent psychiatrist RobertJ.Kastenbaum in his book ‘Death, SocietyandHumanExperience’. This absolutely affirms the contrary stance. Therefore, the demand of legalisation of euthanasia is a logical and legitimate one and not just for ending life like it’s ordinary.

Realistically speaking of the availability of our country’s medical facilities, adhering to the demand of legitimating euthanasia would prove to a boon for the other poverty-stricken, aged and jeopardised patients who do have chances of being saved and living a sedate life. Thus, the idea of extending the vision from protecting and caring for one cadaver-like person to another hale person which would save finances and physical, social and emotional efforts of both, caretakers and medical institutions, holds much more wisdom in itself rather than sermonizing the Constitutional flavour of positivity in despaired situations.

The advantage of sanctioning Euthanasia would encourage the idea of organ donation which could help many patients waiting for transplantation of organs but are left exposed due to lack of the same. When one life would end, it could give out life to another person, struggling to be saved.

Our constitution has always been subject to many interpretations of various articles and provisions provided in it. The landmark judgements in many cases have been capable of quashing the existing antecedents and making yet another point of view come to limelight and stretching it out unless there is another judgement passed countering the same.

They say sometimes that nature has been cruel by taking away a life. But, there are times when nature becomes ruthless and makes one’s life as that of a living dead, killing the person each day.

The innate need of medical practitioners and our judiciary of ‘holding on to’ for the mere sake of maintaining the positive element of our Constitution give torture and desolation to many patients. With the advancements seeping in, another idea which needs to be ingrained in the mindsets is of ‘letting go’. Apart from the logical and legal point of view, there is another basis of morality involved in any sensitive issue as this one. The exertion of not allowing a man to exercise his right to die in the broader term of right to life is probably because our authorities are quite unsure of their capabilities in deciding according to the facts of a particular case, to free a man of his misery for his own good. The fear of being questioned about the judgement to end a life with consent of the patient, probably, is weakening the judiciary as it hesitates from taking an unflinching decision in this cause.

‘Right to life’ and ‘right to die’ and interlinked and connected deep through.
“Euthanasia is a long, smooth-sounding word, and it conceals its danger as long, smooth words do, but the danger is there, nevertheless.” – Pearl Buck

“You keep the title of’president’ even if you served only one term. The same goes for rapists.” – Christy Leigh Stewart
The horrid night of 16th December, 2012 saw a beastly, callous and unsparing act of a savage and lethal gang-rape of a naive Nirbhaya (Fearless) girl in her twenties, done by five ruthless so-called ‘future of India’ young men, which led to refractory wrath amongst each citizen of the country, leadingto a swift amendment in India’s Criminal Law in 2013.
A report was submitted by the committee (JVC) appointed by Government of India, in the context of VAW (Violence against Women), comprising of Ex-Chief Justice of India, Justice Verma, Justice Leila Seth and Gopal Subramanium for bringing out suitable and needed suggestions for amendments in India’s Criminal Law Act, which could make the punishments harsher and creates terror in minds of such demon-faced accused. Some of the prominent suggestions made by the Committee were setting up a Rape Crisis Cell which must provide immediate legal assistance to the victim after notifying the FIR; installation of CCTV cameras at entrance and in questioning room of all police stations; provision for filing FIR report online;medical examination of the sexual assault survivor; amending Section 100 of Indian Penal Code by extending right of private defence in cases of acid attacks; insertion of Section 166A in IPC that making police officers duty bound to assist victims of sexual offences irrespective of crime’s jurisdiction; an amendment to certain sections of Armed Forces Special Powers Act to eliminate the need to take sanction of the Central Government to bring to prosecution any member falling under the Act’s purview; training police personnel appropriately to deal with sexual offences; and increasing number of police personnel by introducing the concept of community policing. Some of the learned committee’s prudent and judicious recommendations were adhered to, whereas some were instilled with changes.
The amendments brought in the Criminal Law Act, post the Criminal Law Ordinance by the legislature were definitely more austere in nature than the then existent laws. Although, it was subjected to many cursory looks accusing them of taking hasty decisions in order to meet deadlines. Hasty decisions and speedy trial have been condemned by a recent judgement pertaining to dowry death laid down by Justice M.Y. Eqbal as he quoted that it would not be justice delivered.
Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, also known as Anti-Rape Act, amends the Indian Penal Code, 1860, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, 2012. In accordance with rape and sexual offences, many significant amendments came in, some cohering to the JVC report.
As per recommendations, a provision has been madefor rigorous imprisonment of any public servant failing or disobeying to record information in sexual offences, and punishment of 20 years to life imprisonment from 7 years to life imprisonment for rape and life imprisonment to death in murder in case of rape resulting in death or vegetative state. Similarly, the term of imprisonment has been doubled in case of Gang Rape. One of the much entailed changes has been increasing the age to give consent for sexual intercourse from 16 years to 18 years, anti the suggestion though.Perhaps, certain other significant alterations made without mention of these in the JVC report, but their non-prevalence in the earlier criminal law are protection against disclosure of identity of victim, undertaking special procedures to assist differently abled persons in identification of the accused while the process being video graphed, recording of information of such offences by woman officers and recording of statements by Judicial Magistrates, protection against confrontation of victim by accused and removal of sanction needed to prosecute a public servant. Requirement for fast-tracks courts, providing compensation by state in addition to what is payable by accused, barring history of consent for intercourse, and enabling stringent laws than the previous provisions for gang rape of child, disrobing and punishment of rape have been some other punctilious enhancements, again not in compliance with the JVC Report, yet, nevertheless, aiding the security of women in our country.
Justice Krishna Iyer, in 1980, in RaffiqueCase said. “When a woman is raped, what is inflicted in not a mere physical injury, but, a deep sense of some deathless shame.” Acquiesce in this, the burden of criticism did not spare the legislature and many accusations were made upon them for their hurried decisions which were not in conformity with the JVC Report. Non-inclusion of Marital Rape raged several human rights’ and women rights’ organisations. Also, not observing the change suggested by the JVC Report on eliminating need for sanction for prosecuting any person falling under the purview of Armed Forces Special Powers Act, turned many aversive to the legislation making them doubt the latter’s veracity and raising numerous questions upon the same. Similarly, contrasting to some of the aforesaid mentioned in the initial ordinance, the Act did not abide by the meaningful exhortation of the Committee relating to Stalking, Voyeurism, Touching, passing of sexually coloured remarks, demand of sexual favour, and assault to disrobe a woman, upsetting not only the masses, but as the news read, the United Nations as well. The negative aspect of increasing consensual age for sexual intercourse from 16years to 18 years has been raised as well, for a change, for the benefit of men of the country. As one reaches age of puberty by age of 16, it can be easily assumed that there is a wide scope of exploitation of the males by the girls.
Regardless, the overhaul of Section 375 of Indian Penal Code and inclusion of various sub-laws to it making the provision very extensive in its disposition is respect-worthy just as is Section 376 wherein pre-amendment provisions governing specific cases of rape warranting enhanced punishment was strengthened.
Some of the other amended sections under the Indian Penal Code in the Gazette of India are 100, 354, 370, 370A, 375, 376, 376A-D and509 whereas the newly inserted are sections 166A, 166B, 326A, 326B, 354A-D. The Code of Criminal Procedure Code, Indian Evidence Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act have observed certain crucial amendments and insertions.

Therefore, the main concern exhibited amidst the entire process is the safety of women. This one cause has been screaming for recognition and adherence for time immemorial now. Even though the macabre drama of Nirbhaya Case brought out vehement uproar compelling the Legislature to awaken and terrorise the monsters outraging the modesty of women, it has still not been able to completely eradicate this heinous and vicious crime. According to statistics reported by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 93 women are raped daily in India under questionable circumstances. Despite the amended law and the spine shrilling Nirbhaya Case, the number of reported rape cases has increased from 24,923 in 2012 to 33,707 in 2013, shaming the country’s capital with estimated figures increase from 585 to 1,441 within the span of an year. While flashing light upon one of the most important recommendation of the JVC report, it seems necessary to bring about Educational Reforms infusing better landmarks for making morality basis of such children stronger who turn to becoming cold-blooded criminals.

“Rape is no excess, no aberration, no accident, no mistake–it embodies sexuality as the culture defines it. As long as these definitions remain intact–that is, as long as men are defined as sexual aggressors and women are defined as passive receptors lacking integrity–men who are exemplars of the norm will rape women.”
- Andrea Dworkin

“I called on the state president of my party Saif-ud-Din Soz yesterday (Friday) evening and handed over my resignation. I have asked him to submit my resignation to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah,” Sharma told Saturday.

The Congress MLA from the Akhnoor assembly constituency said he had resigned against the manner in which the regularisation of thousands of casual workers engaged by the government since 1994 was being handled.

He said he was unhappy with the working of Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather of the National Conference who heads the cabinet sub-committee empowered to recommend the regularisation of daily wagers in the state.

Sharma had also recently locked horns with another senior minister belonging to his party over the controversy whether or not timely action by the flood control department could have saved Srinagar city from getting submerged in flood waters Sep 7.

According to the company, tickets can be booked Oct 21-26, 2014 for travel between Nov 1 to Dec 15, 2014.

“SpiceJet has fundamentally changed the air travel paradigm in India this year, with offers that are frequent and often lower than train fares,” said Sanjiv Kapoor, chief operating officer, SpiceJet.

“These sales have helped the airlines fill empty seats, allowed more Indians to travel by air than ever before and have helped air travel grow significantly year-over-year benefitting the entire travel ecosystem and larger economy.”

Online travel company MakeMyTrip said that through such sales airlines are able to drive purchases further out, improve forward-loads and yields by incentivising earlier purchases and gaining yield predictability by filling up seats earlier.

“Travellers also use this opportunity to upgrade the transport-leg of their holiday to flight instead of rail or other land transport options,” said Ranjeet Oak, senior vice president, MakeMyTrip.

Vinay Gupta, founder and chief executive of TripFactory commented that :“This sale offers a good opportunity for people to book ticket for near term travel. The sale announced today on the occasion of Dhanteras will attract many people to book ticket for travel in the coming days.”

SpiceJet’s offer follows AirAsia India’s discount scheme which was started earlier this week with fares starting at Rs.999.

“The Avventura showcases Fiat’s commitment to India to produce cars designed for India and manufactured for India,” said Nagesh Basavanhalli, president and managing director, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, India operations said.

“As per our 3 pillar strategy, we have strengthened our dealer network, after sales service and with our unique 2014 product portfolio we aim to become one of the most favoured car companies in India.”

According to the company, the Avventura is designed keeping Indian conditions and need in mind and will be produced at its Ranjangaon plant in Pune.

And ex-military man, Altman remained active in showbiz for about six decades and his career went through many ups and downs. Canada-based documentary filmmaker Ron Mann has captured his life comprehensively in the two-and-a-half hour documentary titled “Altman” while working closely with the late filmmaker’s widow, Kathryn.

From archival footage to family albums, Mann used all the information he could lay his hands on to create the documentary, which tells a lot to movie lovers about the director who brought new trends like overlapping dialogues, casual form of acting and new sound recording techniques to Hollywood.

Winner of the Golden Palm for “MASH” and “The Player” as well as Honorary Oscar, Altman never conformed to Hollywood trends and style and kept innovating new techniques of filmmaking throughout his career. Even rejections failed to stop him. His passion for cinema and never-say die spirit kept him on his toes, even when he was declared down and out or when he faced serious health issues.

He was not just a moviemaker. In his long innings, he tried various mediums of art form – movies, television and theatre.

In the documentary, Ron has used a lot of photos, unreleased footage of his films, behind the scene videos and bites from his interviews. He has also added voiceovers by Kathryn and Altman’s sons – Robert and Stephen – to fill in the gaps.

The documentary is not only an informative piece of work, but also does justice to the maverick filmmaker, known for cult classics like “McCabe & Mrs. Miller”, “The Long Goodbye”, and “They Live by Night”.

At the beginning of the five-minute recording, the woman appears in front of her father and an IS fighter who states that she will be the first woman in the central Syrian province of Hama to be stoned for adultery.

She is seen begging for forgiveness from her father, but he refuses at first. A jihadi then persuades him to forgive her so her soul can ascend to heaven.

The man leads his daughter to a hole dug in the ground, then gathers stones which are then used by the IS members to pelt the woman with until she dies.

The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified and it was unknown when the stoning occurred.

In July, two Syrian women were executed by stoning in the northern province of Raqqa, the IS’s main stronghold in Syria, on similar charges.

The IS proclaimed an “Islamic caliphate” in the Syrian and Iraqi territories under its control in late June.

We are offering you some easy-to-follow beauty tips that will help you put all your qualms about looking good to rest and focus only on having a good time, said a statement.

* Oily skin is a big no-no – Keeping the October heat in mind, make sure your skin is cleansed before applying makeup. Try to keep the make up as minimal as possible to avoid it peeling off. Use a skin cleanser to gently remove dirt, excess oil and make-up from your skin. Make sure you wash your face with water at regular intervals throughout the day to rid it of oil and sweat.

* Keep your skin type in mind before opting for facials – Listen to what your skin is telling you. Homemade masks and face packs are one of the best and natural ways of getting smooth and glowing skin. There are different types of masks for oily and dry skin that you can opt for according to your skin type:

- Tomato Mask: For oily skin, mash up a ripe tomato and leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water.

- Banana Mask: For dry skin, mash up a ripe banana, add some honey to make a soft pulp. Apply it on your face and neck for 15 minutes and rinse with water.

- Honey Mask: Apply pure honey to your face and neck. Allow it to set until dry for about 15 minutes. Rinse with warm water.

- Orange Mask: Peel out a slice of orange and gently rub the orange juice onto your skin. Keep it for 15 minutes and then rinse. You’ll get an instant glow.

* Beauty sleep is a must: During the festive season, you tend to get puffy eyes due to all those late night parties. Splashing cold water into the eyes and using eye pads with cucumbers, potatoes or green tea bags will help reduce puffiness and keep you radiant as ever.

* Mind your diet: You tend to over eat during the festive season with all the sumptuous feasts laid out around you. Unfortunately, your skin has to bear the brunt of all that over-indulgence. Amidst all those oily snacks and desserts, do not forget to eat your greens and keep yourself sufficiently hydrated.

* Ditch the frizz: October heat can make your hair go limp on occasions where you need to dazzle the crowd. In order to avoid that, use a mild shampoo, a good conditioner and some light serum afterwards to give the desired bounce to your hair. Avoid using hot dryers and irons, and in case you use hairsprays, glitter or any other hair products, make sure you wash off all the chemicals from your hair completely.

* Avoid experimenting at the last moment: Trying out new facials on the day of your party might just turn out be disastrous. However, going for milder facials like a Vitamin C peel or an instant hydrating mask might just give your skin the glow it needs.

“Taking 2008-2009 as the base, the decline in militancy has been of the order of 60 to 70 percent in the state,” Abdullah said while attending the Police Commemoration Day function in Srinagar.

“A few reasons were there…not to proceed on the AFSPA. Particularly the withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan. We were led to believe that the year 2014 was going to be a violent year for the state because the withdrawal of the international forces from Afghanistan would lead to an increase in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

“That has not happened. Therefore, regardless of what happens over the next few months, I do hope the Modi government will take a serious look at the issue of the AFSPA, more so now, given the fact that there has been considerable decrease in violence in the state,” he said.