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The Early Years: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Breaks the Cage [Blog Series on US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg]

Galen Sherwin - 6th November 2020

Gender Equality

In 1972, the year I was born, a young law professor became the founding director of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project. Ruth Bader Ginsburg built the groundwork for modern feminist jurisprudence while at the ACLU, bringing a series of cases to the Supreme Court aimed at toppling the numerous overt, sex-based laws and policies that […]

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Transgender Persons Rules 2020: A Halfhearted Attempt at Redemption

- 9th October 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Gender Equality

Justice Chandrachud of the Indian Supreme Court, in the landmark Navtej Singh Johar judgment, opined that, “our ability to recognise others who are different is a sign of our own evolution.” The journey of transgender rights in India finds its origin in the landmark judgement of National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India. Whilst […]

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One step closer to gender justice: Equal inheritance rights to Hindu daughters

Parkhi Saxena - 1st September 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Gender Equality

The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark order delivered on 11 August, 2020, cleared all legal cobwebs surrounding equal division of a Hindu ancestral property. Through this judgement, the Court declared that daughters will have inheritance rights equal to that of a son on ancestral properties. Before this, the daughters did not have equal […]

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The Patriarchal Justice System of Bangladesh Fails Laws Preventing Dowry Violence

Adity Rahman Shah - 12th August 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Gender Based Violence| Gender Equality

Being a party to the CEDAW, Bangladesh promises to promote women`s equality in every sphere. But the discriminative approaches to Dowry crime prevention framework in Bangladesh brought by the existing patriarchal justice system is violating women`s right to equality before law under the national and international human rights standards. In Bangladesh, section 2 (j) of […]

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OxHRH

Protecting Abortion, Respecting Disability: Moving Beyond “Fetal Impairment” Grounds in the Treaty Bodies

- 29th July 2020

Gender Equality

In June 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States narrowly maintained that states could not unduly burden women’s access to abortion. The case in question, June Medical Services v. Russo, re-kindled the United States’ ever-fraught debate on whether the Constitution protects a woman’s right to choose. The renewed debate re-launched discussions on another human […]

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Hungary Passes Law Ending Legal Recognition of Transgender People

Paras Ahuja and Rahul Garg - 25th June 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Gender Equality

On 19 May 2020, the Parliament of Hungary passed the controversial T/9934-Amendment Bill [“Amendment”], amending Act I of 2010, Civil Registration Procedure [“Act”]. The Act lays down the procedure for national registration and certification of births, deaths and marriages based on one’s gender. Article 44(3) of the Act requires registration of names based on one’s […]

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OxHRH

The Impacts of COVID-19 on Access to Abortion

- 23rd June 2020

Gender Equality

The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for sexual and reproductive rights (SRR) protection are becoming increasingly apparent, with state lockdowns and the re-routing of resources leaving many without access to sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH). In a joint statement, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the European Parliamentary Forum for SRR expressed concerns over the […]

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OxHRH

Pre-Menstrual Syndrome Induced Insanity – A Double-Edged Sword

Madhulika T - 23rd June 2020

Gender Based Violence| Gender Equality

In a judgment with wide-ranging consequences, the Rajasthan High Court (“High Court”) in India has accepted the defence of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (“PMS”) induced insanity into the criminal jurisprudence of India. At face value, it could be argued that this is a progressive development in the law. However, a close inspection of the judgement and the evidence […]

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OxHRH

Abortion Law Reform in India: One Step Forward & Two Steps Back

Shivani Vij - 27th April 2020

Gender Equality

In an important development, the Lower House of the Indian Parliament on 17 March 2020 passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill 2020, providing for purportedly beneficial provisions furthering a woman’s right to abort. After seeking majority votes in the Upper House and the President’s assent, the Bill will become law. Though intended to […]

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OxHRH

India’s new Abortion Bill Falls Short of Protecting Reproductive Autonomy

Adyasha Samal - 22nd April 2020

Gender Equality

India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has introduced the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill 2020 (the Bill) in the Parliament. The Bill seeks to make abortions more accessible by increasing gestational limits, introducing a privacy clause, and allowing single women to abort due to contraceptive failure. This comes in the backdrop of multiple […]

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OxHRH

Does State laicity in Québec breach gender equality?

Émilie Coralie Bouchard - 16th April 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Gender Equality| Religion

The ongoing debate on State laicity in Québec recently took a new twist before the courts. Shortly after the enactment of the new Act respecting the laicity of the State, judicial proceedings were commenced, challenging the prohibition on wearing religious symbols while exercising certain public functions (section 6), and the obligation to have one’s face […]

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