ABSTRACT
Gender inequality that is structured in the religious and societal customs appears to exist all over the world. These inequalities that are sanctioned through the norms and values of cultures and religions have become a universal phenomenon where women themselves support such practices to make them officially invisible. In this backdrop, how women are unable to grasp and comprehend in their daily life the understanding on equality and its of late discourses in a religiously driven society like in India where secular understanding of equality has become a major issue of contemporary debate. The Indian society may have undergone considerable transformation; however, the position accorded to women in India is far from the rights enshrined in the constitution. This article would adopt an explorative approach in a broader qualitative framework to examine the experience of gender inequality among married women within the major religions in India. The objectives of this article would be to examine whether secular Indian state was successful in bringing change in the lives of women in general and why lives of women have become so deplorable and what role divergent personal laws of various religions play in perpetuating gender inequality among women in India.
