Special Women Rights

1. Government can make provision in favour of women for ensuring just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief and ensures equal pay for equal work
2. There are some grounds available to the wife only, both in Hindu and civil marriages
3. A hindu wife is entitled to be maintained by her husband. If there is a decree of maintenance against the husband and the couple have been living apart for over one year, it would be a ground for the wife to seek dissolution of marriage. Here again the Muslim Personal Law has a different set of conditions for the annulment of an Islamic marriage.
4. An abortion or miscarriage due to natural causes is not an offence. Therefore, the law does not deal with it. However, violent and forceful abortion is a crime. The punishment could even be life imprisonment.
5. The Hindu Succession Act gives male and female heirs almost equal right to inheritance. Any property possessed by a female Hindu shall be held by her as full owner and not as a limited owner.
6. The Child Marriage Restraint Act specifies the cut-off age for marriage as 18 years, protecting women from child marriage.
7. For the guilty of bigamy(multiple marriages) the punishment is up to seven years imprisonment.
8. Up to 7yrs of marriage if women commit suicide IPC can punish the suicide victim's husband with up to 10 years imprisonment if found guilty.
9. Law punishes individuals who have insulted the modesty of a woman. Offensive language, sounds, gestures and intrusion of a woman's privacy are punishable, an individual who has assaulted a woman, used criminal force on her or outraged her modesty in any other way can be punished with imprisonment of up to 2 years.