WHY THE SUPREME COURT HANDBOOK ON GENDER STEREOTYPES MATTERS

• The Chief Justice of India recently released a handbook aiming to address gender stereotypes in judicial discourse.
• The handbook, intended for judges and legal practitioners, highlights the significance of using gender-neutral and accurate language in legal proceedings.
• It emphasises that using outdated language and stereotypes hampers the progress of equality rights envisioned by India’s Constitution.

The Handbook

• The SC handbook is a 30-page booklet that aims to assist judges and the legal community in identifying, understanding and combating stereotypes about women.
• It identifies common stereotypical words and phrases used about women, many of them routinely found in judgements.
• For example, in the 2017 Supreme Court ruling awarding the death penalty for the convicts in the Delhi gang-rape case, the verdict repeatedly uses the word “ravished” to say raped.
• The handbook quotes other judgements where judges unwittingly use stereotypical characterisations of women.

Why is it important for judges to use the right words?

• The language a judge uses reflects not only their interpretation of the law, but their perception of society as well.
• The use of stereotypes does not alter the outcome of a case.
• However, stereotypical language may reinforce ideas contrary to our constitutional ethos.
• Words transmit the ultimate intention of the lawmaker or the judge to the nation.

Have there been similar efforts in other countries?

• There have been projects in other countries, pushed by both academia and practitioners, which hold up a mirror for the court’s practices.
• For example, the Women’s Court of Canada, a collective of female lawyers, academics and activists write “shadow judgements” on equality law.
• In India, the Indian Feminist Judgement Project also ‘rewrites’ judgements with a feminist critique.