Ishita Anand Gurjalwar & Bhavya Dixit, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
ABSTRACT
Through this paper, the author seeks to establish a relationship between Indecent representation of women and its relation to existing norms of patriarchy. Publicity and visual media play a major role in shaping various aspects of how one treat each other in a society. The history of women being represented a certain way can be traced back to the era when the first few important mythological texts of India were being written down. Several verses of the Puranas, Vedas and Manusmriti have found their way to how women are treated and presented in today’s print and visual media. Women, being the oppressed over a long period of time find it very difficult to establish their own image in the society. They have been trivialized to mere objects to satisfy a male’s sexual desires. Such representations lead to violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution where women are denied the Right to live life with human dignity. However, the travesty of the Indian legal system is that though there are a plethora of laws to address the issue, there are no measures of punitory justice for stereotyped and derogatory portrayal of women. In order to combat this issue, the legislature has taken proactive steps towards protecting the image of women by implementing The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. The Act along with certain provisions of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita have helped provide the basis for punishing those involved in the publication and circulation of material that threaten the modesty of a woman. This paper helps in understanding the changes that have taken place in the societal sphere post the implementation of this Act.
Keywords: Circulation, Indecent Representation of Women, Patriarchy, Punishment, Sexualize
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