Q61. Write short note on “International Labour Organisation”.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a UN specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. The ILO was founded in accordance with Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles, commonly called the Labour Section on April 19, 1919, by the Peace Conference as an autonomous body associated with the League of Nations. It became the first specialized agency of the United Nations in 1946. In fact, ILO is the only international organisation that survived the Second World War even after the dissolution of its parent body ‘the League of Nations’.
The ILO has the following principle strategic objectives:
- to promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work;
- to create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment;
- to enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all;
- to strengthen tripartism and social dialogue.
These objectives are realized in a number of ways:
- formulation of international policies and programmes to promote basic human rights, improve working and living conditions, and enhance employment opportunities;
- creation of international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations, backed by a unique system to supervise their application;
- an extensive programme of international technical cooperation;
- training, education, research, and publishing activities to help advance all of these efforts.
187 Conventions and recommendations on social and labour issues have been adopted since 1919. ILO Headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland. Being an original signatory of the treaty of peace, India became a member of ILO in 1919.
Q62. What is “Domestic Violence”?
Section 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 defines the term ‘Domestic Violence’ as follows:
For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it—
(a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or
(b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or
(c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or (d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.
The expression “Domestic Violence” has been defined in see 3 of the Act. It is very comprehensive. It embraces wide range of wrongs. Roughly it includes physical injury, mental harm, sexual harassment, economic exploitation, emotional abuse and many acts of commissions and omissions rooted in gender discrimination, inequality, subordination and injustice.
Q63. A Hindu wife “X” wants to live separately from her husband “Y”, without taking a divorce, on account of cruelty. Advise her.
She can ask for judicial separation from husband under Section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Either party to the marriage, whether solemnized before or after the commencement of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 can under Section 10 of the Act, file a petition for judicial separation. After a decree is passed in favour of the parties, they are not bound to cohabit with each other. It is a temporary suspension of marital rights between the spouses. The parties remain husband and wife. Thus, in judicial separation, the marriage subsists.
Judicial separation can be allowed only if the marriage is valid. If the parties want to resume cohabitation, an order of the court rescinding the decree will be necessary. Generally, the court will rescind the decree whenever parties ask for it. If the cohabitation is not resumed for a period of one year or more after the passing of the decree of judicial separation, any party may apply for divorce under Section 13 (1-A) (i) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
After a decree is passed in favor of the parties,
- They are not bound to cohabit with each other;
- They are entitled to separate from each other and all basic marital obligations remain suspended;
- Marital intercourse no longer remain enforceable;
- Marital obligations and rights are not available to them;
- They cannot remarry during the period of separation;
- Either party may be entitled to get maintenance from the other if the situation so warrants.
- If any of them remarries, he or she will be guilty of bigamy.
- In the event of one of the parties dying, the other party will inherit the property of the deceased spouse. (Narasimha Reddy and others v. M. Boosamma AIR 1976 AP 77)
Q65. Meena is working as a clerk in a government office. The office manager, Rajesh, keeps threatening her that unless she agrees to do some sexual favour to him, she will lose her job. Advise Meena on what remedies she can ask for.
In the Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, (1997) 6 SCC 241 case, the guidelines issued by a three-judge bench comprising of Chief Justice Verma, Justice Sujata V. Manohar and Justice B.N. Kripal widened the meaning and scope of sexual harassment. It defined sexual harassment as an unwanted sexual determination which is directly or impliedly intended to cause the following:
- Physical contact or advances.
- A demand or request for sexual favours.
- Sexually coloured remarks.
- Showing pornography.
- Any other unwelcome conduct whether it is physical, verbal or non-verbal.
After 16 years of Vishakha case, The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 was enacted with the objective to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at the workplace and for the prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and for matter connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Under Section 9 of theSexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, she can register a complaint. The Section lays down that any aggrieved woman may make, in writing, a complaint of sexual harassment at workplace to the Internal Committee if so constituted, or the Local Committee, in case it is not so constituted, within a period of three months from the date of incident and in case of a series of incidents, within a period of three months from the date of last incident
Q70. Explain in short property rights of women.
Hindus:
Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956explicitly declares the law that a female holds all property in her possession whether acquired by her before or after the commencement of the Act as an absolute owner and not as a limited owner. The rule applies to all property movable and immovable howsoever and whenever acquired by her, but subject to the qualification mentioned in Subsection (2).
According to sub-section 14(2) of the Act, the female Hindu does not become absolute owner of the property acquired by gift, will or any other instrument, decree or order of a Civil Court or an award if such gift, will or instrument, decree, order or award gives her only restricted right.
A Hindu woman has the same right to her deceased parents’ property as that of a Hindu male. Similarly, there is no distinction between the rights of a man and a woman, when it comes to the inheritance of property from a deceased parent. In fact, a woman, being the mother, is entitled to an equal share as the wife and children of her son who has died intestate.
Muslims:
A Muslim woman governed by the Muslim Personal Law, is entitled to get 1/8th share of her husband’s property if the couple had children, else she gets 1/4th share. When the parents of a Muslim woman die, even daughters become the rightful legal heirs of their estate. However, the quantum of the share of a female heir is half of that of the male heirs.
Christians:
In case of Christians, Parsis and Jews, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 is applicable. A Christian woman is entitled to a pre-determined share.
Parsi:
A Parsi widow is entitled to get an equal share as her children besides the deceased’s parents who get half of the child’s share, in her husband’s estate. And in the absence of the parents, the property is distributed between the Parsi woman and her children, so that the widow and each child receive equal shares in the estate of the deceased.