Elusive Equality: Constitutional Guarantees And Legal Regimes In South Asia, Malaysia and China

This volume focuses on conceptions of equality and looks at how different constitutional systems—plural, secular, theocratic or socialist—approach the issue of equality in different spheres of activity. The question it raises is: what does the right to equality mean for women under these differing constitutional provisions? At one end of the spectrum lies theocratic Malaysia which has a hybrid constitution, neither Islamic nor secular; at the other end is China with its secular socialist constitution which recognises neither religion nor custom in its legal regime. India, simultaneously secular but recognising personal laws, falls in the middle, while Nepal presents a fascinating example of a country transitting from Hindu monarchy to democracy, and framing a constitution that recognises equality as a fundamental right.