Gender & Sexuality

In this calls piece, CLPR Executive Director Jayna Kothari the need for structural measures, including a formal quota and possible constitutional changes for systemic change that would lead to a more inclusive higher judiciary.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has prepared a draft General Recommendation No. 41 on Dismantling Gender Stereotypes and the Unequal Power Relations that Sustain them. CLPR has submitted its inputs on this draft, providing specific suggestions on identifying and tackling how stereotypes operate intersectionality on the basis of caste, gender identity and sexual orientation; legal tools to tackle stereotyping; the role of stereotypes among judicial systems and judging; and other key areas.

Why do women remain so underrepresented in India’s higher judiciary?

A new article published in the Socio-Legal Review (NLSIU) — “What Stories Do the Numbers Tell? A Data-Driven Narrative to Seek Women’s Equal Opportunity in the Higher Judiciary in India” — uses data to show how entry routes, later appointments, and systemic gatekeeping limit women’s path to leadership.

The presence of women judges on the Bench is vital to the Court. Women judges bring unique perspectives to the Court based on their personal and professional experiences with the law, which can have a significant impact on judicial outcomes. Bringing different perspectives and diverse forms of reasoning on the Bench creates greater public trust and confidence as it integrates varied social contexts and experiences that need to be valued. Most importantly, the presence of women judges of varying backgrounds in the Supreme Court will make it a truly representative court, for all citizens which it is intended to serve.

This book is part of our “Equality Now!” series of four resource books, one on each of CLPR’s key areas of rights-based work including disability rights, transgender persons’ rights, women’s rights and anti-caste discrimination.

CLPR Executive Director Jayna Kothari writes for the Indian Express on the recent Supreme Court judgement which expanded the abortion rights of women and persons who require safe medical termination of pregnancies. She argued that the judgement upheld the right of all women and girls to make reproductive choices for themselves, without undue interference from the state. She emphasised that any deprivation of reproductive healthcare services negatively affects the dignity of women.

Jayna Kothari has contributed a chapter titled “Is the Supreme Court cherry-picking its gender battles? ” in Tanja Herklotz and Siddharth Peter de Souza, ” Mutinies for Equality: Contemporary Developments in Law & Gender in India” published by Cambridge University Press.

In this article published by Deccan Herald, Jayna Kothari, Senior Advocate & Executive Director at Center for Law and Policy Research argued that proposed laws prohibiting the practice of ‘love jihad’ violate the constitutional guarantees of the right to life and liberty under the Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

In this article in The Hindu, Thulasi K. Raj argues that the right to sexual privacy is significant in the discussion on decriminalising adultery.

In this article in the Deccan Herald, Thulasi K. Raj explains the issues of gender justice and religious freedom revolving around the Sabarimala case.

Chaya’s six-year-old legal battle to search for her roots came to a fruitful end this week. The Karnataka High Court allowed her petition and directed the police to investigate the details of her biological mother and the conditions under which she was given up for adoption by the orphanage. This article examines this case in the light of a person’s right to know her biological or genetic origins.