Justice Nagarathna bats for gender equality in judiciary

Supreme Court judge Justice B V Nagarathna said on Saturday that gender equality should be maintained in the judiciary at the level of entry and later in terms of women's retention and advancement to senior positions.

The demographics of the higher and lower judiciary should be altered for this purpose, she said while speaking at the International Women's Day programme at Karnataka Judicial Academy on Saturday.

"Women enter the legal profession, but not many have upward mobility," she said, adding that not just women judges, but women lawyers also give fresh and unique perspectives. "Women are better equipped to find solutions through dialogue. They are also more sensitive to human rights issues and intergenerational perspectives."

Recounting personal experiences, former Karnataka High Court judge Manjula Chellur said that women judges are not accepted immediately and have to put in 10 times as much effort as men to prove that they are capable.