“Once you liberate women from the network of patriarchal social attitudes and provide to them a level playing field on the basis of equality of opportunity, they not only compete shoulder to shoulder with other segments of society but are far ahead of the curve,” said Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Monday in a keynote address at CNN News18 SheShakti 2024.
The CJI also said that talking about women’s rights is “not a woman’s thing, but it’s about all of us to engage in serious conversation.”
“Issues that concern the 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 are to be discussed in silos. Everyone of us in the country has to be a part of this conversation,” the CJI said.
‘Perspective women bring is indeed irreplaceable’
The CJI further said that the “perspective that women bring to this table is indeed irreplaceable.”
“No amount of learned wisdom about the world can replace the insights of women who have shuttered many a glass ceiling,” he said.
‘Equal participation of women linked to better development outcomes’
CJI Chandrachud further opined that “equal participation of women in governance, policy and leadership rules is positively linked to better development outcomes.”
“When we either create or fail to create barriers in the path of women, we are jeopardising our quest for the better society. Indifference is no longer an option,” he said.
‘Women are doubly burdened’
Explaining why India has not met pre-Independence hopes about women’s economic participation, the CJI said, “The labour force participation of women is 37 per cent. The contribution of women to the GDP is 18 per cent. We have not exactly met the pre-Independence hopes about women’s economic participation. A part of the reason is a continued gender allocation of domestic labour. Even as women are entering the work force, they are never divorce from the domestic realm. “
“They must simultaneously juggle domestic and care giving chores. They are doubly burdened almost as a penalty for transgressing the domestic threshold. Besides domestic work being uncounted for in economic terms, it obstructs women’s ability to hold on to paid work, or to take on greater professional responsibility,” the CJI said.
He went on to say, “Reports now indicate that gender disparity in employment is on the decline and women salary employment is said to increase. We hope that this would reach the gender gap in earnings significantly. If not eliminated entirely.”
‘Need to change our mindset’
“We need to change our mindsets. Law can carry the journey towards women equality, to a certain extent but not beyond. The mindsets must move from making concessions for women to recognising their entitlement to lead lives based on freedom and equality,” the CJI said.
“As women have been clamouring in the recent past: ‘We do not want to concession in terms of our security at our work place. We just want equality of opportunity which recognises like every other element to the work force we are entitled to safe and secure conditions of work. We must zealously guard against apparently protective laws infringing women’s liberties and choices’,” he added.
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