Sunday, July 18, 2010

SC supports pregnant students

Even though India is still amazingly conservative on topics like dating, live-in relationships and premarital sex, its Supreme Court has made some radical rulings in the past. After giving a nod to live-in relationships and declaring premarital sex as not an offence, the SC is now asking educational institutions to be more considerate to their pregnant students by relaxing attendance rules for them. What is  so great about this order is that single pregnant women are also included in this consideration. In India, it is no secret that an unwed mother is disapproved of and an illegitimate child stigmatized for life. It is therefore an exceptionally drastic step for the highest judicial body to take.

"If any woman candidate is deprived or detained in any of the semesters just on the ground that she could not attend classes being in advanced stage of pregnancy or due to delivery, such an act would not only be completely in negation of the conscience of the Constitution but also of women’s rights and gender equality this nation has long been striving for," the court observed.

5 comments:

bibhash k jha said...

gud to know that at least law makers are not social hypocrites .. hope to see changes in society too .

Lilibeth said...

Absolutely - glad that the lawmakers are slowly coming out of their hypocritical shells - but the key sentence is '...changes in society..' and to my mind, that is the crux. As a society we are masters at the art of double-speak, double-values and double-lives. We are also masters of faff and finding ways of dodging the Constitution and laws of the land. In this reality, does a single/unwed mother really have a chance? Yes, if she cocks her snook at this chimera called 'society', she will be able to make a life for herself. But her strength will have to also be powerful enough to afford her child a good life. The question that comes to my mind is whether even her friends and family will stand by her and help her in her endeavor? or will they take advantage of her? or will they cause hers and her child's downfall and painful ostracism from their own glass houses?

Unless our mindset changes from deep, deep within us and we believe in our values, we can never live truthfully...

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Indian Home Maker said...

High time.

Unknown said...

This is very important, given we still have sex-segregated hostels.