From Prohibition to Protection: Legal Safeguards for Women Working Night Shifts

The paper will discuss the legal shift of the night shift employment of women in India, which was prohibited by law, to a system of conditional protection. It relies on the constitutional provisions, judicial rulings, federal and state laws, and global norms in arguing that, although the statutory architecture has changed considerably, the lack of enforcement and the exclusion of the informal sector mean that the law does not reach the workers who need it the most. Specific reforms, such as the ratification of ILO Convention No. 171 and the protection of informal workers, are suggested.