United Nations, December 03: The UN right treaty to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women has helped in changing the “perception of discrimination” against women in all areas within India, Justice Sujata Manohar said.
Speaking at the UN on the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Manohar cited the 1997 landmark case of Vishaka v State of Rajasthan to explain how treaty had impacted the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the right to equality guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.
“Education and economic opportunities are the key areas of women’s empowerment and sexual harassment denies to women equality of opportunities in both these vital areas,” the retired Supreme Court judge told journalists here.
“That is probably the reason why the Supreme Court of India decided to entertain public interest litigation on sexual harassment in 1997,” she added.
–PTI