Promise of gender equality must be upheld

Source: The post “Promise of gender equality must be upheld” has been created based on “Promise of gender equality must be upheld” published in “The Hindu” on 13th August 2026.

UPSC Syllabus: GS 2-  Governance

Context: India’s Independence was founded on the principle of equality for all citizens, irrespective of caste, creed, class, political allegiance or gender. The Constitution and the democratic system sought to transform this promise of equality into a lived reality for both women and men.

India’s early commitment to gender equality

1. Despite the challenges of Partition, poverty, displacement and the integration of princely states, India adopted universal adult franchise from the beginning of its democratic journey.
2. In the first elections of 1952, every Indian woman and man above the age of 21 was eligible to vote.
3. The Election Commission faced the major challenge of registering nearly 80 million eligible women, many of whom identified themselves as the daughter or wife of a male family member rather than by their own names.
4. The Election Commission persisted in registering women as individual citizens in their own right, reflecting the substantive commitment to electoral equality.
5. However, about 2.8 million women were eventually struck off the electoral rolls in 1952 because they could not be registered under their own names.
6. India has since made considerable progress, with the gender gap in voting closing in 2019, demonstrating greater political participation by women.

Emerging challenges to gender equality

1. The principle of women’s independent identity is increasingly being challenged through online abuse and doxxing.
2. Several women who participated in the Jantar Mantar protests were reportedly doxxed, with their names, phone numbers, addresses and other personal details being circulated online.
3. They were subjected to vile online abuse and threats of rape and murder, demonstrating how women’s public participation can expose them to gendered intimidation.
4. The response to women protesters also highlighted gendered expectations. Women who used abusive language were specifically criticised, while similar behaviour by male protesters received comparatively less attention.
5. Referring to women protesters as “misguided daughters” can be seen as a paternalistic approach that treats adult women as individuals requiring guidance rather than as equal political citizens.
6. Such responses risk shifting the focus from democratic accountability and citizens’ right to protest towards the personal conduct of protesters.
7. The growing use of personal information against women in public life shows that the ownership of one’s own identity, once central to achieving electoral equality, can itself become a tool of intimidation.

Way forward

1. The promise of gender equality must be upheld not merely in law but also in political participation and public discourse.
2. Women must be able to participate in protests, elections and public life without facing gender-specific abuse, threats or intimidation.
3. Democratic institutions and political leadership should promote equal standards of accountability for men and women.
4. Stronger protection of personal data and effective action against doxxing and online threats are necessary to protect women’s participation in the digital age.
5. India must preserve the hope of equality that was central to the nation-building project at Independence.

Conclusion: India’s journey from registering women as independent voters in 1952 to achieving near gender parity in voter participation reflects substantial progress. However, the emergence of gendered political expectations and online intimidation shows that formal equality must continually be converted into substantive equality. Protecting women’s dignity, identity and freedom of political expression is essential to uphold the original promise of Independence.

Question: “The promise of gender equality made at the time of Independence is facing new challenges in the digital and political sphere.” Discuss.

Source: The Hindu