Supreme Court and Judicial Patriarchy

Why in news?

Recently Supreme Court issued a set of guidelines to be followed by the judiciary while dealing with sexual crimes against women.

Why the guidelines was issued now?

• Earlier in a virtual hearing of a case, CJI asked the alleged rapist’s lawyer to find out whether his client would marry the victim.
• Later he mentioned that the statement was misquoted.
• Aftermath this incident, the apex court bench now asked all courts to refrain from imposing marriage or mandating any compromise between a sex offender and his victim.
• It also issued guidelines to be followed by the courts in dealing with sexual crimes against women in the verdict.

What was mentioned in the verdict?

• The Court leaned on the “Bangkok General Guidance for Judges on Applying a Gender Perspective in Southeast Asia”.
• It listed a host of stereotypes to be avoided in the verdict:
  • Women are physically weak;
  • Men are the head of the household;
  • Men must make all the decisions related to family;
  • Women should be submissive and obedient.

• It also mentioned a playwright of Henrik Ibsen which is known for courageous women characters who break the traditions of familial confines and notions of social propriety.

• It also used a quote from Ibsen that “woman cannot be herself in an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men”.
• The verdict acknowledges the bitter reality of women who are battling society’s ingrained prejudices and said gender violence is mostly covered in a culture of silence.
• There is an entrenched unequal power equation between men and women in cultural and social norms, financial dependence, and poverty.
• This verdict will act as a guiding force for all future judicial proclamations.

What can we infer from this?

• It is not the first time the Supreme Court is clamping down against gender stereotyping.
• In Ministry of Defence vs. Babita Puniya case, the court argued against treating women in the Army any differently from their men counterparts for they worked as equal citizens.
• The Court had called out the notion of romantic paternalism as an attempt to put women in a cage.
• Individuals, institutions and those in important positions must take responsibility to break the silence on bias against women.
• The Court’s verdict is a move in the right direction in fighting against gender inequality.

Source: The Hindu