Supreme Court's New Handbook To Fight Gender Stereotypes In Court Orders

At the launch of 'Handbook On Combating Gender Stereotypes', Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud cited offensive words used for women in past judgments

In a big move towards gender sensitisation in legal proceedings, the Supreme Court today launched a handbook that lists words and phrases loaded with gender stereotypes and cautions judges against using them in court orders.

At the launch of the 'Handbook On Combating Gender Stereotypes', Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud cited several offensive words that have been used for women in past court judgments. "These words are improper and have been used for women in court judgments. This handbook's objective is not to criticise those judgments or doubt them. This is just to underline how gender stereotypes are perpetuated inadvertently," he said.

The handbook's goal is to define these stereotypes and spread awareness among them, he said. "This will help judges identify words that are stereotypical towards women," the Chief Justice said, adding that the handbook will be uploaded on the Supreme Court's website.