{"id":86913,"date":"2026-10-16T18:27:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T12:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=86913"},"modified":"2026-10-16T18:27:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T12:57:37","slug":"women-led-development-gender-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/16-10-2026\/women-led-development-gender-justice","title":{"rendered":"Women-Led Development and Gender Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Social Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The National Commission for Women (NCW) held a consultation on <strong>women\u2019s right to property <\/strong>and their access to social and economic justice.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Women\u2019s empowerment<\/strong> involves enabling women to exercise their rights, access resources, make independent choices and participate equally in social, economic and political life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Women-led development<\/strong> seeks to recognise women not merely as beneficiaries of development programmes but as active participants and leaders in shaping institutions, communities and the economy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Distributive vs. Compensatory Justice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Distributive justice<\/strong> focuses<strong> <\/strong>on the fair distribution of resources, opportunities and capabilities to address structural inequalities and enable individuals to participate meaningfully in development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Compensatory justice<\/strong> seeks to remedy existing or past disadvantages through protective measures, targeted assistance, legal remedies and compensation for harm suffered.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constitutional and Legal Framework for Women\u2019s Property Rights<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 14 <\/strong>guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws, while <strong>Article 15<\/strong> prohibits discrimination on grounds including sex.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 15(3) <\/strong>permits the State to make special provisions for women and children.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 300A<\/strong> provides that no person shall be deprived of property except by authority of law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Hindu Succession Act, 1956,<\/strong> as amended in <strong>2005<\/strong>, gave daughters equal coparcenary rights in Hindu joint family property.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 <\/strong>and <strong>Special Marriage Act, 1954<\/strong> in addition to the laws relating to maintenance, and inheritance have progressively strengthened women\u2019s legal position regarding their right to property.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Judicial Intervention<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court in <strong>Air India Statutory Corporation v. United Labour Union (1996)<\/strong> held that the <strong>Preamble and Articles 38, 39, and 46<\/strong> aim to establish an egalitarian social order and that distributive justice is a foundational constitutional goal to restructure the economic order.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Supreme Court in Consumer Education and Research Centre v. Union of India (1995) <\/strong>emphasised that socio-economic and distributive justice are integral components of the right to life and human dignity under <strong>Article 21<\/strong> of the Constitution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Supreme Court in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020)<\/strong> held that daughters have equal coparcenary rights by birth in Hindu joint family property, just as sons do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the Challenges?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Patriarchal social norms:<\/strong> Women are often expected to relinquish their inheritance in favour of male relatives, while family and community pressures discourage them from asserting their legal rights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gap between legal rights and actual ownership: <\/strong>The existence of statutory protections does not automatically translate into women acquiring, retaining or exercising control over property and productive assets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Barriers to access to justice: <\/strong>Litigation costs, procedural delays, limited access to legal aid and dependence on family members prevent women from pursuing property claims.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives for Women\u2019s Empowerment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Beti Bachao Beti Padhao:<\/strong> The initiative seeks to address gender-biased sex selection and promote the survival, protection and education of the girl child.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Legal Services Authority (NALSA): <\/strong>The legal services framework provides eligible women access to free legal aid and assistance to pursue their rights before courts and other legal forums.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mission Shakti:<\/strong> The Ministry of Women and Child Development implements this umbrella programme through its Sambal and Samarthya components to strengthen women&#8217;s safety, security and empowerment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>NAVYA (Nurturing Aspirations through Vocational Training for Young Adolescent Girls) <\/strong>focuses on girls aged 16\u201318 years under PMKVY 4.0.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Launched in 2025, the programme introduces young women to digital marketing, cybersecurity, AI-enabled services, and environmentally sustainable jobs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY):<\/strong> Under the scheme, women receive \u20b95,000 in two instalments for the first living child and \u20b96,000 for the second child (girl child only).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Vigyan Jyoti Scheme<\/strong> supports girls from Classes IX to XII to study STEM through mentoring, lab exposure, workshops, and guided support.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Enforcement of existing laws: <\/strong>Priority should be given to implementing existing property and inheritance laws along with resolving disputes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthen legal literacy:<\/strong> Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Panchayati Raj Institutions and local legal services authorities can work together to inform women about inheritance rights, documentation and available remedies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Improve access to justice: <\/strong>Legal aid, community-level assistance, simplified procedures and time-bound grievance redressal can make it easier for women to enforce their rights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/society\/advancing-the-women-led-development-model\/article71589766.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The National Commission for Women (NCW) held a consultation on women\u2019s right to property and their access to social and economic justice.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Women\u2019s empowerment involves enabling women to exercise their rights, access resources, make independent choices and participate equally in social, economic and political life. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Women-led development seeks to recognise women not merely as beneficiaries of development programmes but as active participants and leaders in shaping institutions, communities and the economy. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/16-10-2026\/women-led-development-gender-justice \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86913"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86915,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86913\/revisions\/86915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}