Society Should Not Punish Women For Their Choices: CJI DY Chandrachud

CJI DY Chandrachud recently made a public appearance with Law Minister Kiren Rijju and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin for the Additional Court Buildings ceremony at the Madurai campus. The CJI condemned societal misogyny and conveyed that society should not punish women for their choices.

The legal profession does not have as many female lawyers as it does males. The CJI conveyed that one of the reasons that women are not given preference during hiring in the legal profession (as is the case with other professions) owing to their childbearing capabilities.

Traditionally, women are considered more involved in taking care of their families than men. Employers from the legal field, therefore, see this as a hindrance to women being able to do justice to their office roles if hired.

Of 50,000 men enrolling themselves in the legal profession, there were only 5,000 women. The CJI commented that familial obligations and childbearing are a choice and that women should not be published for it.

It is unfair that these tasks are ostensibly dumped on women. Men might choose to involve themselves in the same tasks as they rightly should. However, unlike the case with women, men are not punished for the choices they make.

Workplaces are said to see less harassment when there are fewer women. CJI conveyed that such biases need to be unlearned and support should be provided for women who wish to balance both family and work.

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How Can Society Choose To Not Punish Women For Their Choices?

The Delhi High Court had the facility of creches to support women who have children. The same facility can be installed at public and private sector enterprises throughout the country.

Women in legal professions are not paid much initially. However, this is not the case with only women. Young advocates are not paid and are paid very little if paid when they enter legal services in the courts. The senior advocates believe that this is a learning curve for the youth in the legal field and justify the meagre wages paid to them.

Even though most young advocates face the same issue, when viewed from an intersectional lens this becomes emasculating for Dalit female lawyers who join the legal profession. Poor wages in the legal field force their hand to choose a different profession to fill their stomachs.

Even outside the legal field, India cannot boast of parity in payment.

Study reveals that more than 50% of women in India are unable to step outside of their homes owing to the burden of domestic chores. Additionally, childcare duties traditionally fall on women.

Women who identify differently than the sex assigned at birth face additional challenges at workplaces that are different from the challenges that cisgender women face. They face frequent misgendering and are denied basic facilities such as gender-neutral bathrooms. There are very few transgender women in India who hold positions of power.

Women are still not guaranteed menstrual leaves at workplaces. The Supreme Court shied away from issuing directives out of fear of interfering in the policy domain. The CJI conveyed that a policy granting menstrual leaves might get in the way of hiring women.

The UN Chief stated that Gender Equality is still 300 years away. Treating women equally is not a very difficult choice to make. Only a mindset shift cannot bring about a change. The willingness to grant women equal status and move toward Nari Shakti must also reflect in the infrastructure and policies of the country.

The views expressed are the author's own.