The Impact and Social Barriers under Indian Legal System in Special Preferences to Women Protection: Critical Study

Abstract

In India, women's safety and protection are still major issues even if there are several legal protections. A number of laws, such as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, are designed to shield women from exploitation, violence, and discrimination. This study critically evaluates these legal frameworks' efficacy as well as the difficulties in putting them into practice. The study examines international instruments, government reports, court rulings, statutes, constitutional provisions, and academic literature using a doctrinal and analytical research technique. The results show that weak enforcement of laws, rather than their lack, is the main problem. The effectiveness of legislation protecting women is weakened by slow police response, drawn-out legal proceedings, inadequate investigation, a lack of legal knowledge, and a lack of institutional support. Women are also deterred from pursuing justice by social obstacles such economic reliance, social stigma, patriarchy, and lack of education. The study come to the conclusion that in order to effectively safeguard women, more robust implementation mechanisms, institutional accountability, legal awareness, gender sensitization, and wider societal reforms are needed to close the gap between legal provisions and real-world situations.