'Women Lawyers Face Sexist Behaviour From Male Colleagues' : Indira Jaising Requests CJI To Frame Guidelines

Senior Advocate Indira Jaising, in a letter to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, has flagged sexist behaviour that lawyers who are women routinely face at the Bar and in law offices, calling for a handbook on gender stereotyping specifically addressing the manner in which male colleagues must interact with their female counterparts. Jaising has begun her letter by commending the publication of the ‘Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes’ by the E-Committee of the Supreme Court of India, which was released earlier this month to an overwhelmingly positive response. This handbook, prepared by a committee headed by Calcutta High Court judge Moushumi Bhattacharya, not only contains a glossary of inappropriate gendered terms used in legal discourse with a list of alternative words or phrases that should be used, but also flags common but incorrect reasoning patterns based on gender stereotypes, particularly those about women; and highlights binding decisions of the Supreme Court that has rejected these stereotypes. She has written – “This was a long-awaited move. Coming as it does, from the Supreme Court of India, and made available to the world at large it will go a long way in sensitising not only judges and judicial officers but hopefully also members of the Bar.” Despite welcoming the move, the senior counsel has emphasised that gender stereotyping, a longstanding concern, persists in both legal proceedings and interactions. Even a veteran lawyer like herself is not immune to such gender stereotyping and micro-aggressions from her male colleagues, she has revealed in her letter. To illustrate, she has cited instances of subtle gender biases in courtroom interactions with her male counterparts – from patronising remarks to being referred to informally. “I have often found myself at the receiving end of gender serotyping from my male colleagues. Snide remarks like ‘You are an empowered woman, who can put you down’ are in fact, a disguised form of gender stereotyping. While in my younger years at the Bar, I faced no such stereotyping, the older I got and the more experienced, the gender stereotyping began. It seems almost as if male colleagues are unable to deal with an ‘empowered woman’. At other times I have been referred to by my male colleagues as ‘delightful’ during court hearings, something which I promptly objected to and which is recorded in a judgment of the court as a form of harassment in court.” Jaising has revealed that not only has she been asked to not raise her voice in court, but her male colleagues would often refer to her as ‘she’ instead of ‘my learned friend’, as is the convention – “Significantly, at the other end of the spectrum, I get told by my male colleagues ‘Don't raise your voice in court’. I have, on a previous occasion, indicated that pejorative expressions such as ‘she is aggressive’ are used in relation to women and never in relation to men. When it comes to ‘aggression’, I could provide you with several examples of male lawyers who are loud and aggressive in court, but they are considered India’s top lawyers. What could be a better example of gender stereotyping? What is worse, is that some senior male lawyers who often are my opponents refer to me as ‘she’, and never as ‘my learned friend’ as is the tradition at the Bar. Ironically, this is the fashion in which they themselves expect to be addressed I inevitably address them as such, or if necessary by their second name.” In this context, Jaising has urged the Supreme Court to develop a handbook specifically addressing gender stereotyping – often subtle in nature – targetting lawyers who are women. This handbook would, among other things, offer guidelines for male colleagues to treat women fairly in court and law offices – “I write to you with the request that the court issues a handbook on gender stereotyping of lawyers who are women, which will provide guidelines to our male colleagues on how to deal with women at the Bar and in the law offices. While this court provided guidelines on the ‘entrenched paternalistic and misogynistic attitudes’ these are often played out at the Bar in day to day work in court.” Apart from this, the senior counsel has also raised concerns about the issue of sexual harassment faced by lawyers who are women in courtrooms and law offices. She points out that, despite a Supreme Court directive, institutions including the Bar Council of India have yet to declare sexual harassment by lawyers as professional misconduct. Jaising suggests practical measures to combat gender stereotyping Jaising has suggested practical measures to combat the issue of gender stereotyping, including the creation of a list of proscribed words not be used in advocacy, pleadings, and judgments, akin to the list published by the Indian Parliament containing unparliamentary expressions. This list would include pejorative terms...

'Women Lawyers Face Sexist Behaviour From Male Colleagues' : Indira Jaising Requests CJI To Frame Guidelines

Awstika Das

Jaising reveals that she has not only faced micro-aggressions, but has on occasion also been asked by male colleagues to not raise her voice in court, despite aggression being a cherished trait in top male lawyers of the country.

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