<p>Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the former United States Supreme Court Judge, was once asked, “When will there be enough women on the Supreme Court?” and she replied, “When there are nine!”(The US Supreme Court has a total of nine seats.) The comment reflects both sarcasm and hope. Let’s look closer home. India has never had a woman Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. At present, there are only three woman judges out of the 34 judges in the Supreme Court of India. But a more positive trend is setting in the lower judiciary with women constituting 37% of the judges in subordinate judiciary in 2024; this is up from 27% in 2018. I’m a woman Judicial Officer from the Rajasthan Judicial Services’ 2023 batch and I’m happy to report that out of the 120 officers in my batch, 70 are women. Here’s why this representation matters in the courtroom.</p>.<p>Gender representation matters a lot, especially so in settings like the courtroom which is known to be a male-dominated space. I have a court staff of eight who are all men. The majority of the lawyers, police officers and even the parties who appear before me are male. Having a woman at the helm of affairs restores the skewed gender figure in the court. More importantly, woman pleaders or victims feel more at ease at the sight of a woman on the Bench. Victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence are more likely to open up and speak freely in the presence of someone who is from their gender. Our experiences shape us into the persons we become. Growing up as a woman in a patriarchal society equips women with a unique skill set. And so it is not a mere stereotype, but a scientific fact that women tend to bring more compassion and empathy in their approach. Such solicitude certainly makes the justice-delivery process better and more humane.</p>.Retired judges for backlog relief.<p><strong>Experiences count</strong></p>.<p>Seeing more women in positions of power inspires young girls to dream bigger and focus more on their education. As B R Ambedkar said, education is the right weapon to cut through social slavery. Education is a great equaliser. I was personally inspired by the legendary Leila Seth who was the first woman in the country to become the Chief Justice of a High Court. In her autobiography titled On Balance, she mentions that women’s participation in numbers on the bench adds immense value to our judicial system. Women contribute a distinctive medley of views that are influenced by differences in biology, cultural impact, and life experience. This, in turn, ensures a more wholesome form of inclusivity in the judgements these women pass.</p>.<p>That being said, merely ensuring that more women are on the bench does not translate to more accessible justice. Justice delivery is a wheel and it has multiple spokes. The police force, the lawyers, the lawmakers and the judiciary – all are equally crucial for the system. Many women are hesitant to register FIRs, either out of a fear of social ostracisation, due to the instinctive fear of the police or due to the apathy shown by the police. Besides, it is agonising for victims of sexual abuse to recount their trauma before male officers and investigators. More women in the police force, and a more compassionate approach of the police towards the complainants is the need of the hour.</p>.<p>More female lawyers will also significantly improve the scenario. However, all of this would be rendered ineffective if those who make laws for women are not women, or people with sensitivity towards women’s issues and their psyche. In their present form, our Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies have been found wanting in this regard. Once there is adequate representation in all of these fields, the cogs of the judicial wheel will run smoothly and ensure a more just society.</p>.<p>Representation of women (and other gender minorities) in the public sphere does not merely ensure a symbolic token-presence but actually, inherently makes the system more inclusive. I can say from my first-hand experience that our judicial system is surely richer due to the diversity of the backgrounds of its judges. It was poorer when nearly all of its participants were in the same mould.</p>.<p><em>(The writer is a judge based in Rajasthan)</em></p><p><em>Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.</em></p>
<p>Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the former United States Supreme Court Judge, was once asked, “When will there be enough women on the Supreme Court?” and she replied, “When there are nine!”(The US Supreme Court has a total of nine seats.) The comment reflects both sarcasm and hope. Let’s look closer home. India has never had a woman Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. At present, there are only three woman judges out of the 34 judges in the Supreme Court of India. But a more positive trend is setting in the lower judiciary with women constituting 37% of the judges in subordinate judiciary in 2024; this is up from 27% in 2018. I’m a woman Judicial Officer from the Rajasthan Judicial Services’ 2023 batch and I’m happy to report that out of the 120 officers in my batch, 70 are women. Here’s why this representation matters in the courtroom.</p>.<p>Gender representation matters a lot, especially so in settings like the courtroom which is known to be a male-dominated space. I have a court staff of eight who are all men. The majority of the lawyers, police officers and even the parties who appear before me are male. Having a woman at the helm of affairs restores the skewed gender figure in the court. More importantly, woman pleaders or victims feel more at ease at the sight of a woman on the Bench. Victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence are more likely to open up and speak freely in the presence of someone who is from their gender. Our experiences shape us into the persons we become. Growing up as a woman in a patriarchal society equips women with a unique skill set. And so it is not a mere stereotype, but a scientific fact that women tend to bring more compassion and empathy in their approach. Such solicitude certainly makes the justice-delivery process better and more humane.</p>.Retired judges for backlog relief.<p><strong>Experiences count</strong></p>.<p>Seeing more women in positions of power inspires young girls to dream bigger and focus more on their education. As B R Ambedkar said, education is the right weapon to cut through social slavery. Education is a great equaliser. I was personally inspired by the legendary Leila Seth who was the first woman in the country to become the Chief Justice of a High Court. In her autobiography titled On Balance, she mentions that women’s participation in numbers on the bench adds immense value to our judicial system. Women contribute a distinctive medley of views that are influenced by differences in biology, cultural impact, and life experience. This, in turn, ensures a more wholesome form of inclusivity in the judgements these women pass.</p>.<p>That being said, merely ensuring that more women are on the bench does not translate to more accessible justice. Justice delivery is a wheel and it has multiple spokes. The police force, the lawyers, the lawmakers and the judiciary – all are equally crucial for the system. Many women are hesitant to register FIRs, either out of a fear of social ostracisation, due to the instinctive fear of the police or due to the apathy shown by the police. Besides, it is agonising for victims of sexual abuse to recount their trauma before male officers and investigators. More women in the police force, and a more compassionate approach of the police towards the complainants is the need of the hour.</p>.<p>More female lawyers will also significantly improve the scenario. However, all of this would be rendered ineffective if those who make laws for women are not women, or people with sensitivity towards women’s issues and their psyche. In their present form, our Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies have been found wanting in this regard. Once there is adequate representation in all of these fields, the cogs of the judicial wheel will run smoothly and ensure a more just society.</p>.<p>Representation of women (and other gender minorities) in the public sphere does not merely ensure a symbolic token-presence but actually, inherently makes the system more inclusive. I can say from my first-hand experience that our judicial system is surely richer due to the diversity of the backgrounds of its judges. It was poorer when nearly all of its participants were in the same mould.</p>.<p><em>(The writer is a judge based in Rajasthan)</em></p><p><em>Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.</em></p>
