This research paper views and examines the evolution and present status of women-centric laws in India in the light of need and impact the legislations had for fighting historic and contemporary gender disparities. Beginning with the traditional depiction of women as the weaker sex, this paper goes on explaining the social necessity for protecting women throughlegal measures. Women have faced many atrocities at the hands of men and, thus, special legislations have been brought in by the government to protect their rights in the male- dominated society and save them from discrimination and exploitation. The paper now discusses the position of women in India during various times. In the early Vedic period, the status of women was somewhat tolerable where she was involved in intellectual disputes and religious ceremonies on par with men. However, their status deteriorated much during the Mughal period and still worsened in modern times with the addition of such social evils as the sati system, dowry system, and child marriage. During the post-independence period, government brought about many acts like the Hindu Marriage Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, and the Prevention of Child Marriage Act in order to protect women from such evils and give them freedom in almost all fields. The paper presents in-depth examinations of important women-oriented laws and judgments relating to provisions against domestic violence, dowry death, forced sexual intercourse, and the constitutional right of equality. Specific legislations brought out for the protection of women in various walks of life include the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, Maternity Benefit Act, and the POCSO Act. These laws have been proposed to check various forms of violence, discrimination, and exploitation against women. The paper also brings out the inadvertent  fall-out of these laws, where some crafty women use these laws to harass men and satisfy some personal vendetta. Further, what is claimed in the paper is that over-enthusiasm in forwarding the women-centric laws sometimes leaves men at a disadvantage, resulting in false allegations followed by mental trauma. This means the overlooking of equivalent legal safeguards for men and the same social bias that holds men as the perpetrators and women as victims. Data cited in the paper reveals that owing to the stress of this false allegation, high incidence of male suicides and there is a need for balanced
legislation that offers protection from injustice to every citizen. The paper has thus suggested critical examination of women-centric laws and their revision to make them free of loopholes and biased use on innocent men. Fair implementation of laws, making both parties responsible in cases like dowry, and unbiased investigation by the judiciary and police are its demands. The ultimate goal should be a legal framework of gender equality and justice for all—women and men—and not perpetuate new forms of discrimination.

Introduction
Women are said to be the weaker sex in comparison with men. Considering the draconian state of affairs that the women had to face in the male-dominating society, the government has enumerated special legislations favouring women and protecting them from any kind of discrimination or exploitation. Women-centric laws are made to benefit women who are considered an oppressed section of society as women from prior times are subjected to the atrocities committed by men. The notion of women was assessed as a weak and suppressed section of society, and so, from time to time, various laws were made to safeguard it. These laws are made to help women as a weapon to protect themselves. The basic objective of the invention of these laws was to stop violence against women and bring them at par with
men by maintaining equality and stop the mental torture they are facing. The continued trend of inequality reflects how several women have, unknowingly, accepted the societal defined stereotypes and their doled-out roles in both the workforce and family life. Prejudice has been passed down through generations. Wide-reaching prejudice makes upward social mobility very
trying, but undeniably, empowerment of women is something society needs. This fight for independence during the twentieth century in India was the foundation of women  struggle for equality. Each state made its laws, and the status of women constitutes accordingly. There is no doubt that women in India have come a long way compared to the past. They still face many obstacles in our male-dominated society. Different legislations have been the result of political consciousness by progressive politicians who recognized that there was a need for a more inclusive society. They realized that something had to be done about these social traditions and expectations that have kept women inferior throughout history. Things have changed a lot with recent generations of women fighting
for themselves against discrimination. Women regained their voices in the twenty-first century, partly because of gender laws made to empower them. The women's emancipation movement has changed Indian culture, society, and politics. The movement had very limited success in the nineteenth century. However, from the twentieth century, the wave of women's rights gained considerable momentum in Indian society. Many ladies who were great thinkers and leaders fought for women's liberation. But they were able to wrest many rights for women, especially relating to civil, criminal, and administrative matters.
Moreover, reservations for women have been provided in educational institutions, health services, and employment in various Indian states. Situation Of Women In India And Need For The Women Centric Laws. Moreover, coming away from the introduction of centres now the second topic comes that was there any need to introduce such legislations or not?
Earlier wife was considered as ardhangini. The worst condition in the Mughal period was that of women. Customary practices like the Parda system and child marriage were quite prevalent. Then came the modern time when the women’s condition deteriorated further. All types of social evils against women were at par—like sati system, dowry system, veil system, rape, etc. After the post-independence period, the government had taken many steps to prevent the atrocities against women. Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006. Women have been given more freedom in all fields.
Laws And Judgements Favouring Women Centric Laws
There are various laws framed after independence to prevent the women like Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Special Marriage Act, 1954 etc.
● Domestic Violence:
Section 498-A of IPC deals with the subjugation of women to cruelty by her husband and in laws. It is a non-bailable, cognizable offence. Prison for 3 years and fine.
● Dowry Death:
Section 304-B of IPC is a provision made to protect the woman from the cruelty by her husband and in-laws for dowry.
● Forced Sexual Intercourse:
Section 375 IPC was enacted to aid the women for getting justice if they are forced of sexual intercourse.
● Maintenance of wife by the husband: –
According to Sec 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, a person is supposed to maintain his wife, children, and his parents who are unable to maintain themselves.
● Right to Equality in the Constitution: –
The constitution under Article 15(1) prohibits any type of discrimination based on sex and under the same, Article 15(3) provides that the state can make special provisions for women.
● Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal)
Act, 2013:
This Act requires every workplace, whether in public or private employment, to have a policy against sexual harassment at the workplace and an ICC for the redressal of complaints. Sexual
harassment has been defined in this law, providing mechanisms of reporting, inquiry, and redressal of complaints.
● Maternity Benefit Act, 1961:
The Maternity Benefit Act gives maternity benefits to women workers through paid leaves, medical allowances, and protection from loss of job during pregnancy and after childbearing. Its
objective is the protection of health and well-being of working mothers.

● Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006:
This act forbids the solemnization of child marriages and provides that every person who abets, promotes, or facilitates such marriage shall be liable for punitive action. It tries to protect the girl-
child from early marriage, which exposes her to adverse implications like curtailed education, health risks, and opportunities.
● Equal Remuneration Act, 1976:
The Equal Remuneration Act makes provisions to ensure that there is equal pay for equal work both for men and women. This Act does not allow differential wages for males and females
working at the same job description—thereby giving due consideration towards work of equal value from both genders.
● Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971:
Under certain conditions, this Act permits a woman to terminate a pregnancy in cases of risks to the woman's life or her physical or mental health, fetal abnormalities, or pregnancies resulting
from rape. It provides legal cover for accessing safe, regulated abortion services.
● The POCSO Act, 2012:
The POCSO Act is instituted against child sexual abuse and exploitation, providing a uniform and complete legal framework for protection from sexual offenses against children. It defines
various types of sexual abuse against children and prescribes stringent punishments for offenders.
This came with the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, which granted a woman the right to a life free from violence. It gave them a right to live in the same house and to claim maintenance, and also the right to custody. Stridhan is followed wherein women have the right to take all their belongings, even with the court's help if needed. Sexual violence continues to be one of the major issues faced by many women. Hence, following the anti-rape campaigns, the Criminal Law was amended in 2013 to implement laws that constituted rape and sexual offenses. Sexual harassment or assault, disrobing, voyeurism, stalking, and rape come under this law. Any person in authority, a student, or whoever ravishes a girl below the age of 16—a woman who cannot, therefore, consent—especially if she
becomes pregnant, is said to have ravished the victim in an outright heinous offense despite having imposed dominion due to their authoritative stature in life. Similarly, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act was made in the year 2012 to protect children from sexual assault and to ensure safety and care for victims of sexual assault besides taking care of the interest of a child at every stage of a judicial process. This act protects both males and females under the age of 18. Any assault made by an adult on a minor, be it a man or a woman, can be punishable under the act.

Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, had made abortion an offence until 1971, except when the procedure was necessitated to save the life of the woman. The Shah Committee went to the extent of making the humane and medically sound recommendation in 1966 that abortion be legalised to safeguard the health and lives of women. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act was passed by Parliament in 1971. Unfortunately, many families misused the provisions of the MTP Act and obtained abortions in the cases of female fetuses-following the traditional preference of sons over daughters. This could ultimately even lead to an unbalanced sex ratio. Procedures for determining the sex of the fetus were declared unlawful under this act's 2002 amendment. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act, 2021 is the recent and newest legislation that seeks to enhance access to safe and legal abortion services for termination of pregnancy on the grounds of therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian, and social issues. These would help acid in making comprehensive health care accessible to all. Women & Law Under the 1990 National Commission for Women Act, the agency, established in January 1992, is mandated to advise the government on all matters concerning women's policy. Among other functions assigned to them also involve a review of Kanpur's law and intervention or initiation of
cases before the Supreme Court on these issues.
The Act was amended in 2019 to provide enhancement of punishments for various offences so as to ensure deterrent punishment to the perpetrators and protection and security of the children. Therefore, it is submitted that the legislature has sufficient powers to enact special legislation for women and that granting more protection to them will not, in fact, be discriminatory but would serve to strengthen the concept of equality by helping them redress the historical wrongs perpetrated on them under Article 15(3) of the Constitution. Problems With Women-Centric Laws It is rightly said that excess use of anything is very dangerous. And, same is with the women centric laws. These laws were made for the protection of women and provide them with safe life. But with time, women started misusing these laws and consequences had to be faced by men. Women used these laws in a wrong way and started interfering with the right of males. These laws were also being started to be misused by women to satisfy their ego and also to harass
men. Because of these type of laws, males are kept at a disadvantageous position. Different legislations exist for the protection of women, but none for the cause of men in society. There exist laws made for the protection of women from sexual harassment at workplaces, but no such laws that could help the males. Sometimes, in order to satisfy their own ego, women charge fake allegations against men and not only ruin his career but also his reputation in society.

The data also shows that the maximum number of males committed suicide due to mental trauma that they suffer from because of false allegations charged by their female counterparts than the stress of workloads or any other reasons. Section 498-A, 376 of IPC have been mostly used by females to humiliate men. These legislations were made by the parliament to protect women but the result of this had backfired and women themselves started to humiliate males.

Women are able to harass men and misuse these legislations because there is mindset fixed because a male is more powerful than woman, so it is the woman who always has to suffer and not the males. Legislation paid no attention to its worst consequences which have been affecting males and made strict laws favoring women. Many males, who cannot prove their innocence, commit suicide in order not to face sarcastic comments of the society.
Even if a woman is arrested, there are several instructions made and even they get bailed easily -but in case in male is arrested, practically they have to face several atrocities. Legislation had formulated various laws for women but not even a single law for men. Domestic Violence Act is there to protect husband and his family from the women, but if husband is harassed by his wife, then there�s no specific law. Favoring of women empowerment does not means that in order to favor one gender we should cause damage to other gender. And, now talking about judiciary, its main objective is to protect the innocent and
punish the accused after proper investigation. But whenever a case comes into the court related to the crimes against women, then only the court gets slightly tilted toward the victim's side, that
is, the lady's side. Whereas in the case of Dr.N.G Dastane v S. Dastane, SC held that, though physically, cruelty is presumed to be done mainly by the husband being the powerful, but the mental cruelty can be done by both husband and wife. Even the wife can do mental cruelty on the husband. In the case of Anil Bharadwaj v. Nimlesh Bharadwaj- "If a wife refuses to have sexual intercourse with
her husband without any reasonable cause, it will amount to cruelty". Solutions The legislations which are women centric in nature and are inflexible should be scrutinized properly to remove any loopholes if present in them.
They require protection; therefore, making a few women-centric laws does not harm anything, but the point to be kept in mind is that if any legislation is made to help the women victims then it should not destroy an innocent male’s life. The legislation should be made, keeping in mind the rights of both males and females. Despite strictly implanting the dowry laws against the groom's family, still, there are cases related to the same. The reason for its existence is that only the people who take dowry arepunished and not the bride’s family who is giving dowry which is also a crime under Dowry

Prohibition Act. Mostly, the people who give dowry are the ones who ask for dowry. So, it is necessary that the laws are properly implemented. Moreover, as mentioned above, the judiciary also gets a little biased whenever a case comes in to the court regarding a crime committed by women. It needs to be stopped, and a proper investigation should be done no matter by whom the heinous crime gets committed. One should keep gender equality in mind before making any legislation. The courts need to do proper investigation and police without presuming that the accused male is guilt and had for sure committed the crime without proper evidence.
Conclusion
Laws are multi-faceted. Laws need to be changed according to requirements. Women-centric legislation made several times to avoid the abuses against them in society. It was the requirement when they were implemented, and the require exists still. But, along with it, it is also necessary to see that no one is innocent is getting punished or armed by such laws in any war whatsoever.
Also, tiring work in the hand of judges to see that the approach of the society that the women are the ones who are always the women-centric laws should not affect them while they are passing the judgement. Therefore, the prime motive behind the introduction of women-centric laws was to prevent any kind of exploitation of the women and to protect the rights of the married women. The females started blackmailing the males, harassing them, and humiliating them by making false allegations.

References
1.www.legalserviceindia.com – women and law
2. https://girlpowertalk.com/women-centric-legislation-in-india/ – laws regards toh winter and
there misuse
3.https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-5790-women-centric-laws-in-india-beneficial-
or-detrimental-.html/- solutions and suggestions for the same