1986 – Amendments to the Indian Penal Code, 1862 – Sections outlining unlawful treatment of women, including dowry death, abduction, or rape, have been incorporated into the Indian Penal Code.

1986 – Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act – The Act prohibits the indecent representation of women in publications, paintings, and through advertisements.

1986 – Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act – The Act outlines where and how children can work and where they cannot. It is one of the most debated acts regarding children in India.

1987 – Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act – The Act was developed to provide an effective prevention of the commission of sati, i.e., the burning or burying alive of a woman.

1990 – National Commission for Women Act – An Act to constitute a National Commission for Women. The National Commission for Women was set up in 1992 to: review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women, recommend remedial legislative measures, facilitate redress of grievances, and advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.

1994 – The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition Of Sex Selection) Act – An Act to provide for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders and for the prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide.

1997 – The Supreme Court of India framed a set of guidelines for workplaces to follow as regards sexual harassment against women. These were known as Vishakha Guidelines.

The Constitution (86^th Amendment) Act – This amendment introduced in 2002, made free and compulsory education for all children in the 6-14-year age group regardless of gender a fundamental right.

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act – The Act legally defined domestic violence and is friendly to poor and illiterate women. Some states have developed strong implementation models.

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act – The Act gave Hindu Women legal rights to ancestral property.

2006 – Prohibition of Child Marriage Act – An Act to provide for the prohibition of solemnisation of child marriages. Under the Act, a child is a male who has not completed 21 years of age and a female who has not completed 18 years of age. Contracting, performing, conducting or directing a child marriage is a punishable offence. Unless proved otherwise, the parents or guardians of the child are considered to have failed to prevent the child marriage and hence are also held accountable.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act – An Act to provide for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years.

2012 – The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act – An Act to strengthen the legal provisions for the protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation. It applies to all young people under the age of 18 years and provides protection from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography

2013 – Criminal Law (Amendment) Act – The amendments sought to make provisions relating to gender-based violence. New offences, including acid attack, sexual harassment, and stalking, have been incorporated into the Indian Penal Code. Penalties for the more serious crimes, such as gang rape and causing serious injury, have been increased.

2013 – Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention Prohibition and Redressal) Act – The Act provides protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace.

NALSA Vs. Union of India – The Supreme Court of India gave recognition to transgender persons in India as a ‘third gender’ giving them equal rights as any other citizen in the country. This judgement clearly stated that gender is inextricably linked to a person’s identity, and everyone has the right to self-determine their gender, with or without biomedical validation.

2016 – Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act – An Act to prohibit the engagement of children in all occupations and to prohibit the engagement of adolescents in hazardous occupations and processes.

2017 – On 11 October 2017 a two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that sexual intercourse with a minor (below 18 years) wife is rape. It read down the exemption to section 375 of the Indian Penal Code which did not initially consider it to be rape where the wife was between the ages of 15-18. This brought the rape laws in consonance with the POCSA Act, which makes it a statutory rape if the victim was under 18 years.

Right to Privacy Judgement – The judges of the Supreme Court of India in a unanimous verdict held that privacy is a fundamental right. The judges conceptualised privacy as being central to citizens’ ability to have control over information shared about them, the right to decisional autonomy, the right to be let alone by the state, and the right to choose their own sexual partners as well as their gender identity and sexual orientation.

Triple Talaq Judgement – The Supreme Court of India passed a judgement by 3:2 majority, declaring the practice of triple talaq (Talaq e Biddat) as illegal and void. It is a practice among Indian Muslims where an instant divorce is effective as soon as the word “Talaq” has been pronounced thrice.

On 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court of India decriminalised gay sex between consenting adults. The Supreme Court ruled that parts of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which pertain to homosexual sex are unconstitutional. This ruling will contribute towards the reduction of discrimination and violence against LGBT persons.

2018 – Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018 – Pursuant to the gang rape of a 7-year-old girl child, the Indian government in April passed an ordinance making the punishment for rape of a girl below the age of 12 the death penalty. In August the Act was passed by Parliament.