Women Rights

Will move cautiously on challenges to Hindu Succession Act provisions: SC

The Supreme Court has observed that it would move cautiously while examining challenges to provisions of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and that it would be wary of shattering the Hindu social structure and its basic tenets that have been in existence for thousands of years. A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan was hearing petitions challenging certain provisions of succession under the 1956 Act. "Do not demean the structure of the Hindu society that we already have. As a court, we are putting you to caution. There is a Hindu social structure and you do not bring it down... We do not want our judgment to break something that has been there for thousands of years," the bench observed. The top court said that while women's rights were important, there had to be "a balance between social structure and giving rights to women." The bench referred the parties before it to the Supreme Court's mediation centre to explore settlement pending consideration of the broader ...

Time to address issue of maternal autonomy, foetal rights: Delhi HC

It is time that lawmakers address the question of delineating the balance between maternal autonomy and foetal rights at the stage of viability, the Delhi High Court has observed. 'Foetal viability' refers to the stage where a foetus can survive outside the womb. The court observed that with the increasing number of cases seeking termination of pregnancy beyond the statutory limit, the question of foetal viability has assumed considerable importance in abortion jurisprudence and the ultimate responsibility to settle the matter rests with the law-making authority. Constitutional courts have, in the absence of legislative clarity, sought to balance competing interests through case-specific adjudication. However, the absence of a clear statutory framework leaves the matter unsettled, the high court said. The high court made the observations while allowing a 15-year-old minor girl to undergo medical termination of pregnancy of 27 weeks, which was a result of sexual assault committed up

Taliban has suppressed Afghan women's rights, says US SIGAR report

According to the report, the US allocated only around $342 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in fiscal year 2025, a sharp drop from over $968 million in 2023

Govt must fix demand side issues to grow women's participation in workforce

This exhortation stems from a realisation that, at around 33 per cent (World Bank, 2024), India's female labour force participation (LFPR) ranks low globally

NCW launches Yashoda AI: First-of-its-kind AI literacy drive for women

/ -- To advance women's AI literacy and digital awareness across India, the launch of Yashoda AIYour AI SAKHI for Shaping Horizons with Digital Awareness took place at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, on May 22, 2025. This initiative is a key step toward empowering women to contribute meaningfully to a Viksit Bharat driven by technology and inclusion. Led by the National Commission for Women (NCW), the Yashoda AI Abhiyan stands as India's pioneering nationwide effort to empower womenespecially from rural and semi-urban communitieswith essential skills in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital safety. More than just a training initiative, this campaign is designed to spark a transformation: it equips women with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the digital world with confidence, fostering digital literacy, safety, and self-reliance. The program goes beyond traditional learning by hosting in-depth discussions on critical issues such as ...

Happy Women's Day 2025! Why the world celebrates the day on March 8

Every year on March 8, we celebrate International Women's Day to honor and appreciate women worldwide. But few know the significance of this date and why it was chosen for the celebration

Women's rights under threat 30 years after equality plan adopted, says UN

Thirty years after world leaders adopted a historic blueprint to achieve gender equality, a new United Nations report says women's and girls' rights are under attack and gender discrimination remains deeply embedded in economies and societies. The report released Thursday by the UN agency focused on women's rights and gender equality found that nearly one-quarter of governments worldwide reported a backlash to women's rights last year. Despite some progress, including on girls' education and access to family planning, UN Women said a woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by a partner or family member and that cases of conflict-related sexual violence have increased by 50% since 2022. The report, released ahead of International Women's Day on Saturday, also noted that only 87 countries have ever been led by a woman. Globally, women's human rights are under attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we're seeing the ...

Women's Day 2025: Theme, history, significance and all you need to know

International Women's Day is celebrated every year on Mar 8 globally. The day honors women's contributions in a variety of sectors and increases awareness of gender equality

SC dismisses plea challenging women-centric laws on allegation of misuse

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea challenging certain provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act and alleging misuse of women-centric laws. "You can go and raise all these grounds in Parliament," a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran told the counsel appearing for the petitioner. The petitioner's counsel said they were seeking to challenge certain provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, including sections 2 and 3. While section 2 of the Act deals with definition of dowry, section 3 pertains to penalty for giving or taking dowry. The counsel said the petitioner was concerned about these laws which adversely impacts men. The public interest litigation (PIL) names laws like the Dowry Prohibition Act, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, and the provision on cruelty to women in the erstwhile Indian Penal Code to question their validity. The plea filed by petitioner Rupshi Singh highlighted the alleged malice in law, the unreasonableness cont

Afghan women's group hails ICC's decision to arrest Taliban leaders

An Afghan women's group on Friday hailed a decision by the International Criminal Court to arrest Taliban leaders for their persecution of women. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced Thursday he had requested arrest warrants for two top Taliban officials, including the leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. Since they took back control of the country in 2021, the Taliban have barred women from jobs, most public spaces and education beyond sixth grade. In a statement, the Afghan Women's Movement for Justice and Awareness celebrated the ICC decision and called it a great historical achievement. We consider this achievement a symbol of the strength and will of Afghan women and believe this step will start a new chapter of accountability and justice in the country, the group said. The Taliban government has yet to comment on the court's move. Also Friday, the UN mission in Afghanistan said it was a tragedy and travesty that girls remain deprived of educatio

DBT schemes for women not freebies, result of struggles: Brinda Karat

As political parties jockey to woo women with schemes and promises of sops every election season, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat feels that these are reflections of their assertion as independent citizens even as these schemes take away the discourse from women's rights and make them mere "beneficiaries". In an interview with PTI, she, however, welcomed cash transfer to women while stressing that it was not a "freebie" as women contribute almost seven per cent of the GDP through unpaid labour. It shows that political parties have realised that women cannot be taken for granted, said Karat, a well known activist who is among the founding members of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), one of the largest women organisations in the country. Asked about direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes for women being brought in by political parties in the run up to eleections, she said, "That is a result of women's movements, women's organisations, the struggles and the consciousness

Stop employing women or face closure: Taliban's diktat to all Afghan NGOs

The Taliban says it will close all national and foreign nongovernmental groups in Afghanistan employing women. It comes two years after they told NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they didn't wear the Islamic headscarf correctly. In a letter published on X Sunday night, the Economy Ministry warned that failure to comply with the latest order would lead to NGOs losing their license to operate in Afghanistan. The ministry said it was responsible for the registration, coordination, leadership and supervision of all activities carried out by national and foreign organisations. The government was once again ordering the stoppage of all female work in institutions not controlled by the Taliban, according to the letter. In case of lack of cooperation, all activities of that institution will be cancelled and the activity license of that institution, granted by the ministry, will also be cancelled. The Taliban have already barred women from many jobs and mos

SC seeks Centre's reply on plea asking guidelines for safety of women

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to examine a plea seeking direction for framing pan-India guidelines to provide a safe environment for women, children and transgender persons in society. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice to different ministries of the Centre and its instrumentalities and posted the matter for further hearing in January. Senior advocate Mahalakshmi Pawani, appearing for the petitioner Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association, said several incidents of sexual abuse against women are taking place in smaller cities, which are going unreported and pushed under the carpet. "After the RG Kar Medical College Hospital incident of Kolkata where a trainee doctor was raped and murdered, around 95 incidents of sexual violence have taken place but were not highlighted," Pavani said, adding that like Scandinavian countries, offenders should get punishments such as chemical castration. The bench said it will not entertain many of the prayers mentioned

Turkish police detain protesters demanding stronger protection for women

Police detained dozens of people in Istanbul who tried to join a rally on Monday calling for greater protection for women in Turkiye, where more than 400 women have been murdered this year. The demonstrators tried to enter the main pedestrian street, Istiklal, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in defiance of a ban on all protests in the area. Earlier, police barricaded all entrances to Istiklal and to the city's main square, Taksim, while authorities shut down several metro stations to prevent large gatherings. Many demonstrators were protesting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision in 2021 that withdrew Turkiye from a landmark European agreement known as the Istanbul Convention. The treaty, which aims to protect women from violence, was signed in Istanbul in 2011. Erdogan's decision came after some members of his Islamic-rooted ruling party accused the treaty of promoting LGBTQ+ rights and other ideals they said were incompatible with

Afghan women banned from hearing other women's voices in new Taliban rule

Taliban's latest decree further limits women's freedom by barring them from reciting prayers aloud, even in the presence of other women

Sri Lanka's presidential election: No female contender amongst 38 nominees

But since Sri Lanka introduced the universal franchise in 1931, the number of women in parliament has never crossed a threshold of 7%

UN to engage with Taliban in Afghanistan despite new laws limiting women

The United Nations will continue to engage all stakeholders in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, a U.N. spokesman said, even though Afghanistan's rulers issued a ban on women's voices and bare faces in public and severed ties with the U.N. mission after it criticized them. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York defended the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, and its head Roza Otunbayeva, who said that the new laws provided a distressing vision for Afghanistan's future. She said last week the laws extend the " already intolerable restrictions on the rights of women and girls, with even the sound of a female voice outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation. The laws were issued after they were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. The Taliban had set up a ministry for the " propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice after seizing power in 2021. They say the laws are based on their interpretation of Sharia law. The ministry

Justice Hima Kohli fierce protector of women's rights: CJI Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud hailed Justice Hima Kohli on Friday, saying she is not just a woman judge but also a fierce protector of the rights of women. The CJI was holding a ceremonial bench for Justice Kohli, who is due to retire on September 1. Justice Kohli was the ninth in seniority among the apex court judges. With her retirement, the top court will be left with only two women judges -- Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Bela M Trivedi. "It has been a pleasure to sit with Justice Kohli. We have exchanged very serious ideas and thoughts. There have been times when she supported me. Hima, you are not just a woman judge but also a fierce protector of the rights of women," the CJI said. Attorney General R Venkataramani said Justice Kohli dedicated her entire life to the cause of justice. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, "We have always seen a very tough exterior on the bench but we have also seen a very soft, humane and compassionate side of Justice Kohli." "She

Arizona Supreme Court clears way for voters to decide on right to abortion

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 200-word summary that abortion advocates used to collect signatures for a ballot measure is valid, clearing the way for voters to decide on the constitutional right to an abortion. Under the measure, abortions would be allowed until an embryo or foetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks. There are some exceptions for later-term abortions to save the mother's life or to protect her physical or mental health. The decision comes on the heels of a Thursday ballot printing deadline in Arizona. The Arizona Right to Life, the organisation that sued the ballot measure campaign, argued that the petition summary was misleading. The high court justices rejected that argument, as well as the claim that the summary for the proposed amendment failed to mention it would overturn existing abortion laws if approved by voters. We have noted that (r)easonable people can differ about the best way to describe a principal provision,

Over 18.4 mn women-owned MSMEs in the country, says Jitan Ram Manjhi

There are over 1.84 crore women-owned MSMEs in the country and the government has taken a number of initiatives to increase the participation of women in the sector, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Jitan Ram Manjhi said on Thursday. He said in the Lok Sabha that the women owners of Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) registered on Udyam and Udyam Assist Platform (UAP), since the launch of Udyam on July 1, 2020 and the launch of UAP on January 11, 2023 in the country, is 39 per cent. "Number of women-owned MSMEs as on July 23, 2024 is 1,84,59,809," he said during Question Hour. Manjhi said the government has taken a number of initiatives to increase the participation of women in MSMEs in the country such as amendment of the Public Procurement Policy in 2018 and mandating central ministries and departments and undertaking to procure at least three per cent of their annual procurement from women entrepreneurs to benefit women entrepreneurs. He said to suppor