Anti-woman Ninth Schedule norms to go

NEW DELHI: It could be another major step towards women’s empowerment. The government is considering a proposal of weeding out discriminatory provisions against women from the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, which would give equal land ownership and property rights to women. The proposal had been endorsed by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi when she was the chairperson of the National Advisory Council.

There are 284 laws in the Ninth Schedule, mainly related to land reforms and property rights. Certain provisions of these laws are against interests of women. The government proposes to examine the issue, a source in the ministry of women and child development said.

“It seems an irony that the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution still has laws which discriminate against women. It is felt that all such laws should be separately examined within a time frame and steps initiated to have them amended... The central government could play the necessary co-ordinating role,” the empowered body had stated.

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Ms Gandhi in May 2005 which considered various issues including providing complete legal equality for women in all spheres, including equal rights of ownership of property and agricultural land, a source in NAC said.

As gender equality is one of the important component of the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP), its custodian NAC has been pursuing the issue with the government. “To fully empower women politically, educationally, economically and legally,” is one of the six basic principles for governance as envisaged in the NCMP.

The Ninth Schedule was created in 1951 by amending the Constitution. The amendment, initiated by prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, aimed at pushing land reforms, legislation for which had been stymied by challenges in the courts.

rajeev.jayaswal@timesgroup.com