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The Indian Penal Code Of 1860 Disregards The Rights And Entitlements Of Women In India- A Discussion

LEGAL HISTORY PAPER

“THE INDIAN PENAL CODE OF 1860 DISREGARDS THE RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS OF WOMEN IN INDIA- A DISCUSSION”

DONE BY:
AVISHA GUPTA

INTRODUCTION

Criminal law of a country, in its quest to preserve social order and solidarity, not only prescribes a set of norms of human behavior but also forbids the human conduct that exhibits disrespect to these norms. It does so by stipulating punitive sanctions for such a conduct. However, this forbidden conduct and the prescribed penal sanction depends upon the socio-moral ethos of a community. Therefore, penal law of a country needs to be appreciated and understood in the backdrop of its prevailing social, moral and cultural values, and political ideologies.
The Indian Penal Code, 1860, was drafted by the first law commission under the Presidentship of T.B. Macaulay. After some further revision it came into effect from 1st January 1862, and by virtue of article 372 of the Constitution, it is still operative in India. The forbidden human conduct and the associated punitive measures mentioned in the IPC apply to all people irrespective of them being men or women. When presented in this manner the IPC seems essentially and inherently gender neutral. This approach however, does not take into account the differential impact of IPC on men and women due to the differential status, socialization, and resources available to men and women in reality. A close examination of the extent to which the IPC has followed and incorporated the patriarchal value, ensuring male domination, power and authority is therefore necessary.
Before going into a gender analysis of specific provisions of the IPC, it is imperative to note that the legal language itself tends to marginalize women by saying that ‘he’ includes ‘she’. Very obviously this marginalization of women in legal language is a mere reflection of her marginalization in real life. The legal discourses referred to women rather patronizingly as a paradanashin woman...