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Women in Indian Judiciary, Recent events: Passing of Justice Fathima Beevi…
Women in Indian Judiciary
Best Practice
International Association of Women Judges: Focus on judging with a gender perspective, global participation in judicial training.
Spanish model - 'Plan of equality in the Judicial career': Aims at eliminating gender discrimination.
Current Gender
Gap in Judiciary
High Courts: Average of 11.8% women judges; some high courts without any.
Bar Council of India: Lack of women representation.
History: Only 11 women judges in 71 years of the Supreme Court.
Global Awareness: OECD countries have 53% women judges on average (2014).
Supreme Court: Four women judges out of the sanctioned strength of 34.
Constitutional
Position
Government and Supreme Court emphasis on giving weightage to deserving women candidates.
Appointment under Article 217 (High Courts) and Article 124 (Supreme Court) without reservation.
Bridging
the gap
Ensuring impartial judgment through diversified life experiences.
Rule of law and SDG achievement: Gender balance linked to fairness and transparency.
Diverse perspective in decision-making; women judges bring unique experiences.
Lack of gender sensitivity in judgments; more women representation may improve this.
Principle of reasonable representation: Women constitute nearly 50% of the population.
Challenges
Patriarchal nature of Indian society: Deep-rooted societal bias.
Gender-insensitive infrastructure: Lack of basic facilities like women’s toilets in courts.
Stringent eligibility criteria for lower judiciary: Disadvantages for women due to age and continuous practice requirements.
Frequent transfers: Challenging for women due to societal expectations.
Failure of collegium system: Lack of transparency and male dominance.
Way Forward
Mandatory gender sensitization training for lawyers: Breaking gender biases.
Concrete data on women representation: Collection by the Supreme Court.
Encouraging more women in the legal profession: Government and Bar Council initiatives.
Transparency in the selection process: Addressing gender disparity effectively.
Reservation for women in the judiciary: Legislation for 50% reservation.
Recent events: Passing of Justice Fathima Beevi, India’s first female Supreme Court judge.