Equal rights in adoption for women soon
House Panel OKs Gender-Neutral Bill On Guardianship
House Panel OKs Gender-Neutral Bill On Guardianship
New Delhi: In a big step forward towards empowering women across religious divide, a parliamentary Standing Committee has unanimously recommended that women be given equal rights in guardianship and adoption of children.
In its report on the Personal Laws Amendment Bill, 2010 introduced in the Rajya Sabha on April 22the Standing Committee on Law and Justice has said personal laws cannot be kept away from the principles of gender equality and gender justice. The committee is of the view that the amendments proposed in the bill would place the mother on an equal footing with the father with respect to the right of guardianship and the right to adopt, it said.
The bill, which seeks to amend the Guardians and Wards Act (GWA), 1890, and the Hindu Adoption Maintenance Act, 1956, is likely to be tabled in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing monsoon session.According to GWA, which applies to Christians, Muslims, Parsis and Jews, if a couple adopts a child, the father is the natural guardian.
The proposed amendment allows the mother to be appointed as a guardian along with the father so that the courts do not appoint anyone else in case the father dies.
The second amendment, proposed in the Hindu Adoption Maintenance Act, 1956, (applicable to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs) aims to remove the hurdles in the way of a married woman to adopt and also give a child for adoption. At present, unmarried and divorced women and widows are allowed to adopt a child but women separated from their husbands and engaged in lengthy divorce battles cannot adopt a child.
The amendment would allow a woman separated from her husband to adopt with the consent of her husband even during the time of divorce proceedings. However, if he is declared to be of unsound mind, no consent from the estranged husband will be required.
* The amendment bill, applying to all religions, allows the mother to be appointed a guardian along with the father so that courts do not appoint anyone else in case the father dies