Carceral Feminism And Women's Rights: Re- Evaluating The Use Of Criminal Law To Tackle Gender-Based Violence
- IJLLR Journal
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
Meetali Singh, Amity University Lucknow
“Does Harsher Punishment Really Protect Women?”
Introduction
The growing reliance on criminal law in India to prevent gender-based violence exemplifies a complicated interplay between feminism, governmental authority, and legal reform. Over the last decade, notably since the 2012 Delhi gang rape (also known as the Nirbhaya case), public outcry has constantly pushed legislators to change legislation and strengthen punitive measures. These improvements are frequently defended in terms of safeguarding women, discouraging future crimes, and providing justice. Despite these advances, violence against women continues to increase, and the criminal justice system remains plagued by systemic inefficiencies.
This dichotomy between feminist campaigning and carceral tactics has given rise to what scholars refer to as "carceral feminism"—a type of feminism that increasingly interacts with state power to accomplish gender justice through the criminal justice system. The basic premise of this study is that, while punitive measures have symbolic value and may provide victims a sense of justice, they frequently fail to address the structural imbalances that contribute to gendered violence in the first place.
India's legal history on women's rights is rich and changing, but the disproportionate emphasis on prosecution over social transformation poses serious concerns. Does a stiffer punishment actually make society safer for women? Or does it only perpetuate cycles of violence and exclusion under the pretext of protection? This study seeks to critically examine this paradigm by investigating the limitations of carceral feminism and advocating for alternative models of justice based on community engagement, restoration, and revolutionary social change.
