05 December 2022

MAINS QUESTIONS

Q1. In a society where they have more control over their sexual and reproductive rights, women will be more productive and healthy. Comment. What changes to our society are necessary to address this? (15M)

Paper & Topic: GS I – Women Empowerment

Introduction:

• Women in our country have experienced a wide range of things, from being forced to stay at home to their current resurgence as superwomen. The road to women’s liberation in India has been very active. The opportunity to evaluate the position and “space” that women in India today have has never been better than it is right now, 70 years after India won her freedom.

Body:

• The nation still pays very little attention to the sexual and reproductive rights of women. Only a few issues relating to reproductive rights, such as child marriage, female foeticide, sexism, and menstrual health and hygiene difficulties, are understood in India.
• Political parties have pledged to uphold laws prohibiting child marriage, require marriage registration, provide access to reproductive and menstrual health services for all Indian women, criminalise marital rape, and ensure strict adherence to the Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act (PCPNDT Act). These promises are mentioned in the election manifestos of several parties.

Challenges:

• Maternal fatalities are among the highest in the world in India, according to data from UNICEF India and the World Bank. In India, there are 45,000 maternal deaths annually, or one every 12 minutes on average.
• In India, unsafe abortions are the third most common reason for maternal demise. Abortion is the most prevalent cause of abortion in India, according to studies, where it occurs in half of all pregnancies. Abortions are only performed in public or private healthcare facilities 22% of the time.
• The stigma and views toward women, especially young, unmarried women seeking abortions, as well as the lack of access to safe abortion clinics, particularly public hospitals, all play a factor in this.
• Despite the fact that parental or partner consent is not legally required, some doctors refuse to perform abortions on young women or insist that they seek their consent before they can. Numerous women are consequently forced to undertake risky and unlawful abortions.
• Abortions are only legal under the 1971 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
• Women must submit a lengthy and complex application to a medical board and the courts for permission to undergo an abortion if the pregnancy has lasted longer than 20 weeks.
• Non-medical considerations like the cost of raising a child, how that would effect one’s professional possibilities, or any other non-personal considerations are not taken into account by the legislation.
• Because of the secrecy surrounding unsafe abortion, which also conceals significant worries related to these issues, such as the significant obstacles preventing young girls from getting reproductive health care, especially abortion services, women lose their lives as a result.

 Legal Aid:

• Regarding women’s reproductive rights, the Supreme Court has taken a somewhat progressive stance.
• The court made it plain in the Navtej Johar case that women have a right to sexual autonomy, which is a crucial component of their right to personal liberty.
• In accordance with Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, the Puttaswamy decision clearly recognised that women have the fundamental freedom to choose how they want to produce children.
• In the context of girls’ reproductive rights, the Supreme Court ruled in Independent Thought v. Union of India that “female children’s human rights are very much alive and kicking whether she is married or not and need respect and appreciation.”
• These verdicts have a big impact on women’s sexual and reproductive rights. Along with their rights to equality, bodily integrity, and life, we must safeguard their right to safe abortion.

 How to Continue:

• India’s sexual and reproductive rights must address concerns including maternal mortality, access to safe abortions, and access to maternity care.
• Removal of stigma and discrimination against women, girls, and LGBTI people based on their sexual orientation, gender, and access to care, availability of birth control, acceptance of adolescent sexuality, and a ban on coerced medical procedures, including coerced sterilisations
• The MTP Act requires significant revisions in order to be inclusive and sympathetic to the suffering of married women who are coerced into becoming pregnant and carrying it to term against their will. Additionally, a woman should receive compensation for the financial strain that comes with raising a child.
• Current discussions about democracy must take access to safe and legal abortions into account as a public health concern and a crucial component of sexual and reproductive equality in order to create a just society that abhors all forms of prejudice.
• These issues need to be discussed and demanded for by civil society and development actors.
• Women have advanced significantly over time in a variety of fields, and the gender gap has significantly shrunk. But all that growth has been slammed hard, sometimes to the point of negation, by the realities of maternal health, the annual death toll from abortion, and the trafficking of women and girls.

Conclusion:

• According to Swami Vivekananda, it is impossible to think about the welfare of the world if women’s status is not improved. A bird can’t fly through the air with just one wing.

Q2. Discuss the main components of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Also analyse whether such a law is necessary in a democracy like India. (250 Words)

 Paper & Topic: GS III – Internal Security of India

Introduction:

• A person may be labelled as a “terrorist” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Amendment (UAPA) Bill, which is anti-terror legislation. In a wide range of alleged offences, including as those committed against journalists in Manipur, tribals in Chhattisgarh, those using social media through proxy servers in Jammu and Kashmir, and others, the state’s application of this clause has considerably expanded.
• According to information from the Ministry of Home Affairs given in Parliament in March, a total of 1126 cases were filed under the UAPA in 2019, a significant increase from the 897 cases brought under the law in 2015. In recent decisions granting bail to three student activists, the Delhi High Court held that common criminal offences cannot be broadly defined as “terrorist activities.”

 Body:

 The main components of the UAPA Act are:

• It gives the government the authority to label people as terrorists if they aid terrorist causes, plan or carry out terrorist activities, or engage in other acts that are related to terrorism.
• It has been observed that after a terrorist organisation is made illegal, its members establish a new organisation to further the terrorist cause, therefore this was done.
• Additionally, while the agency is conducting an investigation, the bill gives the Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) the authority to authorise the attachment or seizure of property.
• Before seizing any properties having links to terrorism, the investigating officer must first acquire permission from the Director General of Police (DGP) in accordance with the current Act.
• States across the country have reported seeing homes owned by alleged terrorists. Under these circumstances, it becomes very challenging to secure DGP permission from several states, and the delay as a result may allow the accused to change properties.
• It gives NIA employees with the rank of Inspector or higher the authority to conduct investigations.
• According to the current Act, only workers with the level of Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police or higher are permitted to conduct investigations.
• No changes are being made to the laws governing arrest and bail. The clause that states that the investigating agency, not the accused, has the burden of proof has also not changed.
• The 2005 International Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism has also been revised to the Second Schedule.

How Fundamental rights are affected:

• The basics of natural justice are violated by allowing the central authority to declare someone a terrorist if it “believes” in doing so without adhering to a rigorous judicial procedure.
• The “Fourth Schedule,” which will be attached to the Parent Act, must include the person’s name. Such a person’s only legal option is to submit a de-notification application to the Central Government, which will be examined by a Review Committee the Government formed.
• A person will likely experience what is equivalent to “civil death” after receiving an official terrorist classification, which may include a social boycott, job loss, media hounding, and maybe an attack from self-declared vigilante organisations.
• Individuals’ rights to free speech and expression are violated by the Amendment, which also poses a threat to opposing points of view.
• The law may target a minority or group, which would limit their capacity to practise their culture.
• It is feasible to utilise the UAPA’s provisions to prosecute writers, educators, attorneys for putative terrorists, and human rights activists in addition to criminals and terrorists because of its rather broad scope.
• Even if the defendant is ultimately cleared of the accusations, the lengthy legal process may delay the case’s hearing for a number of years following the arrest. If bail is declined, they must remain in custody the entire time.
• The provisions of the Act prohibiting arbitrary or unlawful interference with a person’s personal space and place of residence constitute a violation of that person’s freedom and privacy.
• The Act permits police officers to conduct searches, seizures, and arrests only on the basis of their “personal knowledge” without first obtaining the written approval of a higher-ranking official.

Freedom versus National Security:

• With the use of this law, organisations that support criminal activity in India are to be effectively stopped.
• Its primary goal is to give authorities the authority to take action in response to actions that undermine India’s integrity and sovereignty.
• People and organisations must be distinguished, and it is essential to remember that the Constitution protects the former’s right to life and liberty.
• “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to buy a little transient Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety,” stated Benjamin Franklin once.

 Moving ahead:

• To urge UAPA to act more responsibly, institutional adjustments must be made to ensure that the proceedings are transparent.
• Assets and property of a person must be seized with adequate grounds.
• To protect a person’s dignity, freedom, and equality in society, the legislation must provide judicial remedies for those who have been wrongfully accused.
• Additionally, the government needs to reconsider its position on matters involving federalism and the rights to life and liberty.

 Conclusion:

• The criminal justice systems of developed countries, from which India has drawn its Constitution and legal framework, place a high priority on the rights of the accused. That serves as the framework for our legal system as well. Natural justice is violated by both the UAPA itself and the decision to begin designating individuals as terrorists before a conviction has been reached in court.