Discrimination against Women and Human Rights

Abstract

Human rights are those minimum rights which are compulsorily obtainable by every individual as he/she is a member of human family. The constitution of India also guarantees the equality of rights of men and women. The history of the struggle for human rights is one of a long and continuous struggle marching in step along with the process of socio-economic transition. The first generation of human rights is that which originated in Europe in the 18^th Century. Concerned with the civil rights of the individual in society such as the right to individual freedom, freedom of speech, thought and faith,the right to own property and so on. The second generation of human rights emerged in the 19 century out of the political and economic struggles of the emergent working class and included political and economic demands,like the right to participate in the exercise of political power, the right to fixed hours of work; the right to minimum wages ;the right to form unions and so on.

The third generation of human rights emerged in the 20^th Century through the socio-political turmoil of two World Wars and centered on the socio-cultural rights of nations and peoples including environmental and collective rights like the right to self-determination of nations and the rights of indigenous people.Thus, the history of human rights has moved a long way till the international community under the banner of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948). Apart from civil and political rights, the Declaration recognized the basic human rights of the organized toiling masses of the world