India’s supreme court has issued a handbook for judges urging them to use archaic terms that disparage women and perpetuate gender stereotypes, like seductress, vamp, spinster and harlot when talking about women.
In India’s courts, outdated terms that have fallen out of use in other countries, but which demean women and perpetuate gender stereotypes, are still disturbingly common. It’s disheartening to see scenarios where a spouse is referred to as “innocent” or “lady,” and where instances of sexual harassment are frequently downplayed.
The Supreme Court has clarified that the objective of the Gender Sensitization and Sexual Harassment Prevention Handbook is to ensure that legal reasoning and documentation are devoid of harmful notions related to women.
India’s Chief Justice, Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, rightly pointed out in the handbook that if such stereotypes serve as a basis for judgments, they can obstruct the objective and impartial application of the law. This perpetuates discrimination and exclusion.
Ranjana Kumari, the head of Delhi’s Social Research Center, underscored Chandrachud’s message that words carry weight beyond mere language; they significantly influence legal decisions.
Challenging Cultural Assumptions
Criticism is directed towards cultural assumptions that imply women inherently possess certain characteristics, such as the belief that all women desire to have children or are more emotionally sensitive than men.
Considering that these assumptions still persist in Indian society, the effectiveness of transforming language remains uncertain.
As recently as 2020, a judge in Karnataka’s high court deemed it “inappropriate” for a woman to fall asleep after experiencing sexual assault.
In 2018, a judge in Kerala described a 24-year-old woman who defied her family to marry a Muslim man as “vulnerable and easily exploitable in many ways.”
Source: Guardian