Supreme Court Releases Handbook to Combat Gender Stereotypes

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday introduced a handbook to discourage the use of gender-stereotypical terms by judges. The handbook, titled “Combating Gender Stereotypes,” offers alternatives to terms like “career woman,” “fallen woman,” “housewife,” and more. Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, released the handbook, aiming to help the legal community identify and eliminate gender biases in language.

 

The handbook includes a glossary of over 100 terms previously used in the Indian judiciary that perpetuated stereotypes. These terms have now been replaced with neutral alternatives. It also highlights Supreme Court rulings that have rejected such stereotypes. Chief Justice Chandrachud stressed that adopting new terminology will promote fair judgments without prejudice.

The handbook’s content is available on the Supreme Court’s website, accompanied by an e-filing tutorial. This initiative follows recent efforts by the Chief Justice to promote gender neutrality, such as introducing gender-neutral restrooms and online appearance slips at the Supreme Court. The plan involves constructing nine universal and gender-neutral restrooms across different locations within the court complex.