Child Care Leave is a Constitutional Right

Context

Motherhood is a beautiful experience, but it can also be challenging, especially when it comes to balancing work and family responsibilities. In India, women have been fighting for their rights, including the right to child care leave. Denying women this leave is not only unfair but also a violation of the Constitution. 

Details

• The Supreme Court of India has made a landmark ruling that two-year childcare leave, in addition to the mandatory maternity leave, is now a constitutional right for women employees and cannot be denied. 
• This decision emphasises the importance of supporting women in the workforce and acknowledges the critical role of childcare in allowing women to continue their careers.

Importance of Child Care Leave

• First and foremost, child care of newborns or young children should be the prime commitment of mothers who are not working or working part-time so that the result will be a favourable health condition for the kids, specifically in the early phases.
• It creates space for this family to enjoy the best of life with their children growing, their infants being breastfed, and they put everything into them, letting the whole family experience their life rightly.
• Maternal leave is often one of the barriers that impedes women to manage their careers and family-related tasks effectively and harmoniously such that it almost always causes stress, guilt and tiredness for mothers especially.
• It is however women who have the menace of discrimination and pay inequality pressed firmly by the society. This pipelines indirectly to children leading to the phase awareness.

Constitutional Provisions

• The Indian constitution relies on the principle that people share the values of progress, equality and freedom, where any person would not be considered more valuable than others of his/her own gender.
• So the Article 15 (1) of the Indian Constitution mainly prohibits any State from dividing people among each other sexually or racially, or by their caste or religion.
• On the other hand, citizens are able to be strengthened by art 16(2), this ensures that they have the duty to enact sacrifices and selflessly serve their public with the essense of securing harmony by the highest degree of opportunity.
• For instance, Art c 42 of the Constitution expressly reiterates the country’s duty to ensure employment opportunities in fair and humane conditions in addition to the rights of women during pregnancies.

Judicial Interpretations

• The case of Air India vs. the decision that was handed down led to the resolution of whether an International Court of Justice has the jurisdiction to rule on a state’s liability for damage that is caused by that state. The Nergesh Meerza (1981) case was recognized as a landmark in the history of constitutional jurisprudence, by virtue of which the right of maternity leave was declared to be a fundamental right provided under Article 21 of the constitution, being the basic guarantee to life and liberty.
• It began with a persuasive argument that the violations of the child rights involve the right to life, liberty, and dignity and is born when the childcare leaves are missing for the problems caused in future development of children.
• The second most judicial aid in 2019 by Delhi high court was held that women employees who lays stress on their right to maternity leave from the employer would be in violation of his civil rights.
• The Court pronounced that when a person is absent (for the period of paid child care leave) s/he has got the same basic rights as everyone else who is employed and gets paid her/his other benefits. Certainly if an employee already used to get paid leave under certain conditions and now this practice is refused the employee will feel that this denial is unlawful and discriminatory.

Conclusion

In conclusion, denying women child care leave is a violation of the Constitution. It is essential to recognize the importance of child care leave for women and their children. The Constitution and judicial interpretations have consistently upheld the right to child care leave as a fundamental right. Employers and the State must ensure that women are provided with child care leave to enable them to balance their work and family responsibilities. By doing so, we can promote gender equality, empower women, and ensure the well-being of our children.

Source: ET

Also Read: Fertility levels drop in many Asian nations

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. Discuss the proposition that child care leave should be recognized as a constitutional right. Analyse the legal, social, and economic dimensions of this assertion, considering its impact on gender equality, workforce participation, and familial welfare within the framework of constitutional principles.

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