Our Constitution Treats Conventional & Unconventional Choices Alike: CJI DY Chandrachud On Women Empowerment

“The foremost inquiry a just institution should make is this - are our systems and structures conducive to inclusivity and are women supported in making unconventional choices that may not be socially sanctioned? The Constitution guarantees the choice to opt for the conventional and the unconventional alike. Before we regard any choice as unconventional, wait for the moment to pass. Tomorrow a new future unfolds in re-imagining what it is to be a woman,” said Chief Justice of India Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud at an event today.CJI gave a keynote address on 'Equality, Justice, Empowerment' in an event 'She Shakti' organised by News18. Before beginning his address on the subject, he acknowledged the irony of being a male keynote speaker at an event focused on women-related issues. He said: “The irony of having a man as a keynote speaker for an event focussing on issues facing the women of the country is hardly lost upon anyone; least of all to me. However, issues that concern women today are broader issues facing our society. They will determine the kind of society we envision for the future. Issues of safety, equality of opportunity, dignity and empowerment are not subsets that ought to be discussed in silos. Every one of us in the country has to be a part of this conversation.”Issuing concerning women are broader issues facing our societyCJI told the audience that conversations such as these are not only about women but about the ability of our systems and social structures to design a more equal and humane society. He said: “Equal participation of women in governance, policy and leadership roles is positively linked to better development outcomes. When we either create or fail to address barriers in the path of women, we are jeopardizing our quest for a better society. Indifference is no longer an option.”Sharing his personal experiences, CJI stated that the perspective that women bring to the table is 'irreplaceable'. “No amount of learned wisdom about the world can replace the insights of women who have shattered many a glass ceiling. Some of life's most valuable lessons that I have absorbed have been from women colleagues and co-workers. I do not attempt to fill those shoes,” CJI added.Prominent women and their prominent roles in developing our society Referring to the drafter of the Indian Women's Charter of Rights (All India's Women's Conference, 1946), Hansa Mehta, CJI said: “She was an activist, diplomat and a member of the Constituent Assembly - the body tasked with framing the Constitution. Hansa Mehta was a feminist, who famously argued that references to 'men' could not be used as a synonym for humanity.”Notably, Mehta was a part of the committee that drafted the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She famously suggested that the 'men' referred to in Article 1 of the UDHR should be replaced with 'human beings'.All thanks to Mehta Article 1 of the UDHR now reads: “All human beings are born free and equal.”Earlier this year, on the International Day for Women in Diplomacy, UNGA President, Dennis Francis wondered whether the UDHR would be truly universal but for Mehta's insistence on this replacement.Accolading Mehta's contribution, CJI pointed out: “Mehta's 1946 Charter was a prescient document. It envisaged women's rights to limit the size of the family, recognition of women's work as homemakers, and demands for creches for working women. Several decades ago my mother took me to a Marathi Stage performance titled – “Aaee Retire hote”.”He added: “Hansa Mehta's Charter influenced the contents of our fundamental rights and directive principles of state policy. Some of its articles were truly ahead of their time and would become a part of the women's movement worldwide, much after Mehta articulated them. More importantly, the Charter imagined Indian women not as recipients of welfare and assistance but as contributors to the reconstruction of the country.”Women who imagined public life for Indian women away from the traditional position “The not-so-quiet sub-text of Mehta's vision was a reimagined public life for Indian women, away from the traditional position in the public-private space divide, a break from the 'male default',” CJI averred.He stated that even before the Women's Charter, a National Planning Committee chaired by Laxmibai Rajwade and Mridula Sarabhai submitted a report espousing independent economic participation of women.CJI said: “The Committee recommended women's control over earnings, treatment of women as independent economic units, separate from the family and consideration of domestic work as economically valuable.” He pointed out that one Kapila Khandwalla, a member of the Committee, dissented from its findings because she believed that they were inadequate. Explaining Khandwalla's position, CJI said: “She hoped that “in the future planned society, what would count and count alone will be the individual personality of each woman”. What that means is simply this : accept every ...

Our Constitution Treats Conventional & Unconventional Choices Alike: CJI DY Chandrachud On Women Empowerment

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

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