DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD: COMPLEXITIES OF GENDER-BASED LAWS IN INDIA

The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 was an early attempt to address these issues, but it achieved little in terms of actually curbing the practice of dowry. By the 1980s, the scourge of horrific dowry-related crimes was rampant in India, manifesting in brutal ways. This led to the introduction of Section 498A of the IPC in 1983, specifically designed to address domestic violence and protect women's rights in marriage.

- DR. SUPREET GILL

The recent death of Bangalore techie Atul Subhash is a tragic event that has sparked intense debate about gender-based laws in India. While it's deeply concerning that the system and society collectively failed him, leading to such a drastic step, it would be a grave oversight to make sweeping statements about all women being "gold diggers" or to characterize laws like Section 85, 86 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita or the Domestic Violence Act as tools for persecuting men. Before jumping to conclusions, making generalizations and demanding amendments in legislation to make laws gender-neutral, it's crucial to examine the history of these laws, the social context that necessitated their enactment, and their evolution to date.

Historical Context and the Need for Protection: While the West witnessed the second wave of feminism in the 1960s, campaigning for legal and social equality for women, their counterparts in newly independent India were still struggling to break free from centuries-old traditions of dowry and systemic social subordination. In the decades that followed, even as the Indian economy experienced several growth spurts, women's contributions remained largely unrecognized, with many still restricted to lives of domesticity. The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 was an early attempt to address these issues, but it achieved little in terms of actually curbing the practice of dowry. By the 1980s, the scourge of horrific dowry-related crimes was rampant in India, manifesting in brutal ways. This led to the introduction of Section 498A of the IPC in 1983, specifically designed to address domestic violence and protect women's rights in marriage.