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Infant Care as Gender Neutral
Public Breastfeeding as a Constitutional Right
Context: In a landmark ruling in February 2025, the Supreme Court of India upheld the constitutional right to breastfeed in public, delivering a significant boost to gender-sensitive public infrastructure and child welfare.
More about the Judgement
- Fundamental Right: The verdict came in the case of Maatr Sparsh: An Initiative by Avyaan Foundation v. Union of India, where the Court asserted that the right to breastfeed, nurse, and provide infant care in public spaces is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution—ensuring the child’s right to life and health.
- Directive Principle: The judgment also drew on Directive Principles of State Policy, particularly Article 39(f), which mandates the State to ensure children’s health, and Article 47, which outlines the duty to improve nutrition levels.
- Creating Infrastructure: The Supreme Court directed the government to create supportive infrastructure for breastfeeding and childcare, both in public areas and at workplaces.
- This move echoes a similar direction issued in January 2025, when the Court ruled in Rajeeb Kalita v. Union of India that all high courts must set up childcare rooms connected to women’s washrooms, equipped with feeding stations and diaper-changing tables in court complexes.
- Nomalising Public Breastfeeding: These judicial interventions are crucial in normalising and destigmatising public breastfeeding in India.
- They represent a progressive stance on ensuring that public infrastructure supports women’s continued participation in the workforce and public life.
- Stereotype: However, while these steps advance gender equality in infrastructure, they also reinforce the stereotype that childcare is solely a woman’s responsibility.
Persistent Gender Imbalance in Caregiving
- Disproportionate Burden: Indian women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid childcare responsibilities.
- As of 2024, Indian men spent an average of 75 minutes per day on unpaid caregiving, compared to 137 minutes by women.
- Without legal and policy frameworks that explicitly challenge this imbalance, meaningful change is unlikely.
- Legal Way: To truly transform caregiving roles, it is essential to legally involve fathers in childcare.
- Research has consistently shown that paternal involvement improves children’s emotional and cognitive development while enabling mothers to sustain their careers and reduce their caregiving load.
Call for Gender-Neutral, Inclusive Infrastructure
- Policy Reforms: Legal and policy reforms must now distinguish between biologically gendered tasks like breastfeeding and gender-neutral caregiving activities such as bottle-feeding, diaper changing, and putting infants to sleep—tasks that fathers are equally capable of performing.
- Reimagined Approach: The current approach of linking childcare rooms exclusively to women’s washrooms needs to be reimagined.
- To promote paternal caregiving, the government must establish gender-neutral childcare spaces that are accessible to all parents, including fathers, single dads, and queer caregivers.
- Studies: International studies underscore the impact of paternity leave policies and inclusive infrastructure in increasing men’s participation in child-rearing.
- Reshaping India’s public infrastructure in a gender-neutral and inclusive manner would send a strong message that parenting is a shared responsibility.
The Supreme Court’s recognition of public breastfeeding as a fundamental right is a pivotal moment in India’s journey toward gender equality. However, to achieve sustainable change, laws and policies must evolve to recognise and support shared parenting responsibilities.
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The Source’s Authority and Ownership of the Article is Claimed By THE STUDY IAS BY MANIKANT SINGH
