Women, the Personal Laws, and the Reservations India Entered

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India ratified the Women's Convention in 1993 with two declarations and one reservation, and the declarations on article 5(a) and article 16 exclude from the treaty's operation exactly the field in which most legal discrimination against Indian women survives, which is the personal laws.

The three statements India made

On articles 5(a) and 16(1): that India shall abide by and ensure these provisions in conformity with its policy of non-interference in the personal affairs of any Community without its initiative and consent.

On article 16(2), which requires that the betrothal and marriage of a child shall have no legal effect and that all necessary action including legislation shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory: that though India fully supports the principle of compulsory registration of marriages, it is not practical in a vast country like India with its variety of customs, religions and level of literacy.

On article 29(1), which submits disputes on interpretation or application to arbitration and then to the International Court of Justice: that India does not consider itself bound.

What articles 5 and 16 require

Article 5(a): States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women.

Article 16(1): all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations, ensuring on a basis of equality the same right to enter into marriage; freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with free and full consent; the same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution; the same rights and responsibilities as parents irrespective of marital status; the same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children; the same rights as to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption; the same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to choose a family name, a profession and an occupation; and the same rights in respect of the ownership, acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property.

Read that list and then read the declaration. Marriage, divorce, guardianship, adoption, succession and maintenance are, in India, matters of personal law, which differ by community. The declaration says India will comply with articles 5(a) and 16(1) only so far as it can do so without interfering in the personal affairs of any community without that community's initiative and consent. So the treaty's obligations are accepted, and the field in which they would principally operate is excluded.