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Theory paper

Law Relating to Women and Children

Examined on Constitution of India, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 1979, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 1994, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act 2005. Article 15(3) — special provision for women and children — is the constitutional basis of every protective statute in this paper. With Arts. 21A, 23, 24, 39(e) and (f), 42, 45, 51A(e), 243D, 243T and 350A.

This page is the map of the paper: every syllabus unit, the leading cases with full summaries, and the exam questions the paper actually sets.

Units

  1. Unit 1 · Women, the Constitution and International Instruments — Module I — the social and legal status of the sexes; the Constitution and women (Preamble, fundamental rights, directive principles, reservation in local bodies); personal laws, the Special Marriage Act 1954 and the Uniform Civil Code; criminal law and women; and the position of women under CEDAW and its optional protocol
  2. Unit 2 · Women Welfare Laws — Module II — the PCPNDT Act 1994 and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971; the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986; the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2013; the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961; the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005; the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956; the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 and the Factories Act 1948; and the National Commission for Women Act 1990
  3. Unit 3 · The Social, Constitutional and International Status of the Child — Module III — socio-legal issues including child labour and female foeticide; the constitutional safeguards for children; safeguards under the general law; and international concern — the Minimum Age Convention 1973, the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child 1959, the roles of UNESCO, UNICEF and the ILO, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989
  4. Unit 4 · Special Legislation for the Protection of Children — Module IV — the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006; the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009; the National Food Security Act 2013; the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986; the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act 2005; the Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1956; the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956; and the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act 1959

Leading cases in this paper

Exam questions

Where it sits

Statutes