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10 Legal rights every women should know about

10 Legal rights every women should know about

Rights for every women

Women remain an exploited gender in our country. Even now, a huge percentage of women suffer because they are not aware of their rights as citizens. Knowing your rights and voicing them is the first step towards women empowerment. Here are some important Indian laws that every woman should know to ensure their safety in the society.

1. Right to Zero FIR
A victim can register her police complaint from any police station under the Zero FIR ruling by the Supreme Court.

2. Right to no arrest
According to a Supreme Court ruling, a woman cannot be arrested after sunset and before sunrise except with written permission of the Judicial Magistrate of the concerned jurisdiction.

3. Right to privacy for recording statement
A woman who has been raped has a right to record her statement in private, in front of the magistrate without being overheard by anyone else. She also has the freedom to record her statement with a lady constable or a police officer in person.

4. Right to virtual complaints
At a given period of time if a woman cannot physically go to a police station and file a complaint, there is a provision for virtual complaints where she can lodge a complaint via email or write her complaint and send to a police station from a registered postal address.

5. Right to property
A daughter has an equal birthright as her brother in HUF property. A female heir can now demand a partition of a dwelling house wholly occupied by a joint family.
However, A daughter - in - law does not have a direct claim on her father - in - law's self acquired property. Any claim of the daughter - in - law shall arise out of the rights of her husband (dead or alive) in the said property.

6. Right to untimely registration
There are many reasons as to why a woman would postpone going to the police to lodge a complaint. Police in any way cannot say no to register her complaint, no matter how late it is to register.

7. Right to not being called to the police station
This law provides Indian women the right of not being physically present at the police station for interrogation. The police can interrogate a woman at her residence in the presence of a woman constable and family members or friends.

8. Right to education
The Act makes education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 and specifies minimum norms in elementary schools. It requires all private schools to reserve 25% of seats to children.

9. Sexual harassment at workplace
Sexual harassment includes unwanted physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours in return for a promotion/ receiving an incentive/ raise.
Basically, any act on the part of a male colleague which makes a woman colleague feel awkward or uncomfortable is covered under this Act. It is left to the woman's discretion as to what is harassment in her opinion as it might differ from case to case.

10. Right to confidentiality

Under no circumstances can the identity of a rape victim be revealed. Neither the police nor media can make known the name of the victim in public. Printing or publishing the name or any matter which may make known the identity of a woman against whom an offense has been committed is punishable.

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