Jagmohann Sharma
Supreme Court of India has come out with a Handbook on combating gender stereotypes. Announcing this on Aug 17 morning, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said this is in order to identify and remove the use of words and phrases, which are loaded with gender stereotypes, in judgments and court language. Archaic terms that disparage women can still be routinely heard in Indian courts long after falling into disuse in other countries. The idea behind it is to assist judges and the legal community to identify, understand, and combat stereotypes about women in legal discourse. It contains a glossary of gender unjust terms and suggests alternative words and phrases which may be used while drafting pleadings as well as orders and judgements. The hand-book advises against the use of adjectives such as “dutiful”, “faithful” and “obedient” for a “wife”; replaces “housewife” with “homemaker”, an “affair” with a “relationship outside marriage”, “prostitute” with “sex worker”, and the troublingly euphemistic “eve-teasing” with the more accurate “street sexual harassment”. It is for lawyers as well as the judges. This endeavour indeed deserves a big applause. But is that enough to change the basic mind-set of our Indian society considering the way it assumes, and treats women in our day to day life.
Whether it is the parents deciding the study and career goals of their daughter, or a husband deciding the duties, authority and decision-making limits of his wife in home affairs despite the fact that she is the ultimate home maker, or setting a time span for females of the family to step out and being back home, all such decisions are male dominated in most of the Indian family units. Ironically this prevails in a country which considers a girl or a woman as an embodiment of the supreme Goddess. Women are however taken for granted whereas the religious scriptures refer to them as a source of blessings.
They are considered a weaker being in a country where the word “Shakti” & “Naari” are used in a similar context. The term SHAKTI refers to the dynamic energy that is responsible for creation, maintenance and destruction of the entire universe. The Indian philosophy has always seen this SHAKTI in the form of a female incarnation whether it is mother- nature, our own mother land, Aadi-Shakti Maa Durga or our own mother who gives birth and nurtures us into what we are today. It is not just hearsay, but i have started believing that women are in no way inferior to men. In fact there is a strong realisation within me that women are manifold stronger vis-à-vis the men. They are synonymous of the real power and ultimate source of energy in every single unit and particle of the universe be it a living or a non-living thing. I consider myself fortunate enough to get a chance to work at the Regional News Unit, All India Radio Jammu and even luckier to get the responsibility to compose a monthly program on women safety and empowerment. This provides me an opportunity to meet a number of women working under extraordinary circumstances to prove their might in divergent fields of life against all odds. During all my programs and panel discussions one thing emerges undoubtedly every time and that is the basic mind-set dictated by the society. This sets the so-called inherent characteristics of women’ e.g…”Women are physically weaker than men; unmarried women are incapable of taking important decisions about their life; women are meant only to have children etc. Some roles are attributed as women only like they should do all the household chores; wives should take care of husband’s parents; women should be submissive or subordinate to men; women who do not work outside home do not contribute to household or contribute very little in comparison to their husbands and many more! It is a patriarchal mind-set indeed. I am sure Supreme Court’s handbook that offers alternative language to combat gender stereotypes will definitely bring a lot of change in the scenario at-least with the judiciary, in courts, tribunals and other legal and judicial platforms. These 31pages of a simply drafted booklet is designed to dislodge the words, thoughts and narratives imbibed over the centuries. We need a thought process revolution within our society where women have to face a lot of discrimination, challenges, threats and odds every day and every moment. There should be appropriately modified curriculum being a part of schools, colleges, workplaces and society as a whole where Patriarchal thought processes are deeply rooted and residing in our brains.
What do you say…?
(The author presently working at Akashvani Jammu as Dogri News Reader cum Translator.)
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