International Women’s Day

Lord Loomba Excerpts

Friday 8th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Loomba (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman and trustee of the Loomba Foundation. A court in India is currently considering an application by a young woman, aged 25, to allow the medical termination of her pregnancy on the grounds that she suffered cruelty and marital rape by her husband, against whom she had earlier filed a petition for divorce. The young woman is currently 20 weeks pregnant, and medical terminations are permissible in India until 24 weeks of pregnancy on various grounds, including change of marital status during the pregnancy such as widowhood or divorce. The young woman has initiated divorce proceedings, but the husband has not consented to them. The case is ongoing and will be concluded imminently.

I tell noble Lords this story because it is an all too commonplace, everyday situation where women, not only in India but in many countries around the world, find that the odds are stacked against them. The law can be a blunt instrument and a slow process when it comes to dealing with situations like this, however enlightened some judges may be. A young woman who has no money or support network should be as entitled as any other to protection from the law to escape from violence and oppression. The prospects of single parenthood and poverty are bleak indeed. A young woman’s ability to free herself from the situation of domestic violence and rape, and to make choices based on the circumstances she then has to face, should be enabled and respected.

As many of your Lordships know, my primary concern has long been the plight of widows and their dependants around the world. But today, as we discuss International Women’s Day, I am thinking of the women trapped in violent marriages and women who, after divorce, can face very similar prejudices, such as being ostracised from families, unable to provide for their dependants and vulnerable to exploitation. As with widowhood, blame often plays a part in marginalising women, and that blame is not only vaguely justified but completely irrelevant to the women’s circumstances and need.

My plea today is that, while we celebrate women’s empowerment and seek to build on the progress made in this country, as in many others, we remember those for whom time has stood still and who remain as oppressed as ever they were. Let us give special thought to women who are marginalised by society, to women trapped in abusive marriages, to women running households singlehandedly for whatever reason. My plea is for respect, understanding and empowerment, to do what we can to provide support for those who need it most, and to change cultures and open hearts and minds to genuine equality of treatment for women, as individuals and by society.