Human rights and equality

1. HUMAN
RIGHTS
AND
EQUALIT
Y

2. WHAT IS
HUMAN
RIGHTS??
• Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms
that belong to every person in the world, from
birth until death.
•They apply regardless of where you are from,
what you believe or how you choose to live your
life.
•They can never be taken away, although they
can sometimes be restricted – for example if a
person breaks the law, or in the interests of
national security.
•These basic rights are based on shared values
like dignity, fairness, equality, respect and
independence.
•These values are defined and protected by law.

3. EXAMPLES FROM HISTORY
•Evolution of Human Rights in India can be traced back to the fifteenth
century B.C from Vedas. Traditionally Human rights are known as
“natural rights of man” which includes life, liberty and happiness of the
people.
• There many examples of great protests and acts for establishment of human
rights and equality. Some of which are as follows :

4. •In the ancient period Kautilya had pleaded
with the king to protect the rights of the
people and also the dignity of the people.
Arthasastra not only dealt with civil and
political rights formulated by Manu but also
included several economic rights for the
people.
• Buddhism and Jainism protected the
moral order and dignity of the people.
After Buddha, Ashoka’s policy of non-
violence made him protect the Human
rights which include equality, fraternity,
happiness and liberty of the individuals.
Ashoka secured freedom from hunger,
disease, deprivation and prohibit torture
and inhuman treatment.
•

5. 2. Medieval India was popularly known as the
Muslim period or Muslim era. During the Pre-
Mughal period, Hindus were forced to adopt
their culture and religious practices. But in later
Muslim period Akbar the great, he brought
many changes towards the Hindus to practice
their own religion. It can be clearly seen that
“Human Right policy of universal reconciliation
and tolerance” was followed by the ruler and
the same was followed by his son Jahangir.
3. The modern developments of human rights in
India emerged during the British period. The
torture made by the British against Indians
induced the Indians to protest against the rule of
Britishers and encouraged the freedom fighters
for the freedom movement to safeguard their
liberties and fundamental rights and freedoms.
The national movement emphasised by Gandhiji
not only to free India from foreign rule but also
to abolish the practice of Sati, untouchability,
Harijan’s rights etc.

6. Gandhiji launched Non-violent struggle to emphasize self-governance and
fundamental laws for themselves.Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra
Vidyasagar stood against the violence against women’s in India including
‘sati pratha’, child marriage and other outbreaks of violence. They criticized
discrimination made against women.
Jyotiba Phule founded “satyashodhak samaj” to ensure equality among the
oppressed class and promote the education of girls. Likewise, Arya samaj
and Ramakrishna mission in 1899 were struggling for promoting education
for all the sections of the society. Human rights and basic fundamental
freedoms are the only things for the Indians to fight against the Britishers.
Indian National Congress in 1927 set up a committee to draft “Swaraj
Constitution” on the basis of the declaration of rights. The most important
provisions of the Indian constitution are considered to be fundamental
rights from Article 14 to Article 31. These rights are considered to be
essential for the human being to live peacefully and with liberty in the
country. In Part IV the constitution of India provided directive principles of
state policy for the implementation of those human rights.

7. WOMEN’SRIGHTS:
“Women’srights
are humanrights!”
•We are all entitled to human rights. These include the
right to live free from violence and discrimination; to
enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health; to be educated; to own property; to
vote; and to earn an equal wage.
•But across the globe many women and girls still face
discrimination on the basis of sex and gender. Gender
inequality underpins many problems which
disproportionately affect women and girls, such as
domestic and sexual violence, lower pay, lack of access
to education, and inadequate healthcare.
•For many years women’s rights movements have fought
hard to address this inequality, campaigning to change
laws or taking to the streets to demand their rights are
respected. And new movements have flourished in the
digital age, such as the #MeToo campaign which
highlights the prevalence of gender-based violence and
sexual harassment.

8. •Governments are also ensuring that women have
their rightful place in society. Some of the measures
taken in India are –
• Equal pay for equal work
• Laws preventing sexual harassment at
workplace
• Encouraging participation of women in
management of companies and making the
presence of a woman director in a company
mandatory
•But women’s Rights is still an ongoing movement and
it will take a long time to attain full equality but unless
both the genders realize that gender equality is
beneficial for not just women but also men , the goal
will be a long way off.
Clara Zetkin founded
International Women's
Day in 1910

9. CURRENT
AFFAIR:
TALIBAN AND
PEOPLE OF
AFGHANISTAN
•Taliban are back - what's next for Afghanistan?
After 20 years of war, the Taliban has swept to victory
in Afghanistan.
The group completed their shockingly rapid advance
across the country by capturing Kabul on 15 August.
It came after foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan
following a deal between the US and the Taliban, two
decades after US forces removed the militants from
power in 2001.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and
displaced millions.
Taliban forces have pledged not to allow Afghanistan to
become a base for terrorists who could threaten the
West.
But questions are already being asked about how the
group will govern the country, and what their rule means
for women, human rights, and political freedoms.

10. EFFECT OF TALIBAN ON
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
• Women must not speak loudly in public as no stranger should hear
a woman's voice.
• Women should not appear in the streets without a blood relative
or without wearing a burqa.
• The modification of any place names that included the word
"women". For example, "women's garden" was renamed "spring
garden". And many more restrictions….
◦ While in power in Afghanistan, the Taliban became notorious
internationally for their misogyny and violence against women. Their
stated motive was to create a "secure environment where the
chasteness and dignity of women may once again be
sacrosanct", reportedly based on Pashtunwali beliefs about living
in purdah.[Since the Taliban seized most of Afghanistan in 2021, there
are many concerns.
• Uneasy is the head that wears the crown’ is a famous
quote we know . The Taliban influence over
Afghanistan was not uncommon. The problem does
not lie with Islam but with the mindset of the people
implementing them. Now before coming to the section
of women’s rights violence we need to understand a
fact. Now, some countries follow different
Islamic sects and hence accordingly there is a
difference in beliefs. This is trying out to be a
headache and we see that the conflicts are increasing
manifold. Now in the name of implementing Sharia or
Islamic law, terrorism is promoted in the name of
religion. Little learning is a dangerous thing we all
know and this is effecting the future of many innocent
lives. The dictatorial hegemony is being rampant
without any solid reason.

11. How a democracy can
help in overcoming the
Taliban dominance
In this section we will explore how a
democracy can change the face of
Taliban dominance:
• China: As of now, the standpoint of China is neutral in the Taliban
conquest but it is heavily influenced by Pakistan. China has a
very powerful dominance in world politics and we must
remember that it is one of the permanent members of the
Security Council. So there is no harm in issuing a veto to stop
the matter.
• United States: The United States of America are the most
concerned regarding the internal politics in Afghanistan. It has
already seen the highest number of refugees in terms of moving
out. The Taliban is piling up on the US due to which the nation
was forced to withdraw its troops in Afghanistan. For now the job
of USA should be to pile on the pressure through International
Relations.
• India: India always shared a strong bond with Afghanistan but
today India is going to play a vital role in stopping the dominance
of Taliban. The continuous pressure of Pakistan is indeed very
concerning proclaiming that India is anti Islamic. The problem
goes further to KASHMIR ISSUE. A lot depends on the external
affairs to control the dominance.
• Australia and Great Britain are neutral though England is in
serious internal conflict with Afghanistan.
The Taliban dominance is
an issue of global concern
but its fate lies majorly on
the following countries:
China, United States of
America, India, Russia,
Australia, Great Britain and
Pakistan.

12.  GROUP MEMBERS-
SIDDHANT RAY
 RAJNEESH
CHIPLUNKAR
 PRIYANKA DEB
 UTTARAN DAS
 AMRITA
CHAKRABORTY
