Uniform Civil Code is essential for gender justice, says Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker

Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker advocates for Uniform Civil Code for gender justice and discusses balancing development with environmental protection.

As Uttarakhand gears up to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on November 9, Assembly Speaker and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ritu Khanduri Bhushan termed the measure as “essential for gender justice” since customary law is often discriminatory against women.

Speaking to The Hindu on a range of issues, Ms. Bhushan said the requirement that live-in relationships be registered with local authorities under the UCC in Uttarakhand was a measure for the “protection of young women” who were, according to her, tossed aside when relationships soured.

Also read | The politics of the Uniform Civil Code

“Women are the weakest section of society, and customary law is discriminatory against women. The UCC in that regard is a tool of empowerment, especially in the context of property rights for women, they gain from having a UCC. In a State like Uttarakhand with its rural population, this is essential. Other rights are also guaranteed to women, for example, even today, if a woman wants a divorce, it’s not easy. Under certain customary laws of certain religions, even adoption is not allowed, forget about single women adopting,” she said.

The UCC cleared by the Uttarakhand Assembly makes it mandatory for couples in live-in relationships to register with the local authority, and the same applies if the relationship ceases. Children born of the union are considered legitimate and women have a right to maintenance if the relationship ends. Failing to register the relationship could lead to prosecution. All these clauses have raised apprehensions of a ‘nanny state’ and of the harassment of couples by local authorities at the behest of parents and other relatives.

Ms. Bhushan, however, feels that the issue has to be seen in the context of Uttarakhand, and that the door could be open to amendments, if needed.

“This is not about Delhi or big cities. In small towns, there have been too many cases where women are taken for a ride, used, and thrown away. For the protection of women under such circumstances, registration is required. I don’t deny that it may leave the door open to harassment by authorities, and to that I will say that this is not the end of the discussions over the shape of the UCC. At the initiation stage itself, at the public consultation level on the UCC, we considered over two lakh suggestions, and it is possible that some clauses are reconsidered once a period of time elapses and we have experience of the UCC in action,” she said.