Source: Times of India

Why in News?

• The Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud released Handbook on combating gender stereotypes. In this handbook, the Supreme Court (SC) has identified a list of prejudicial terms that promote harmful gender stereotypes, particularly about women.

Background

• CJI revealed on the Women’s Day (8^th March) celebration earlier in 2023 that SC plans to release a legal glossary of inappropriate gendered terms used in legal discourse that has been in the works for several years (conceptualized during the COVID times).
• The Court advised against the use of stereotype terminology owing to the antiquated notions that they represent.
• The Court further suggested alternative words or phrases which may be used by Lawyers while drafting pleadings and by Judges and Judicial Officers.
• Words or phrases that the court has criticized are those imputations that reflect upon one or more aspects of the character of an individual.

Aim of the Handbook

• It identifies common stereotypes about women, many of which have been utilized by courts in the past.
• The Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes aims to assist Judges and the legal community in identifying, understanding and combating stereotypes about women.
• Stereotype language and its replacement:

Gender Equality and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• On 25 September 2015, the 193 countries of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• SDG 5 is concerned with the principle of Gender Equality.
  • SDGs or Global Goals are a collection of seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.
• Goal 5 aims at:
  • 5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
  • 5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  • 5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
  • 5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.
  • 5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
  • 5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programmed of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences.
  • 5.A Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.
  • 5.B Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.
  • 5.C Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.

Stereotypes and Reality

• A stereotype is defined as “a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong.”
• They are assumptions or beliefs that individuals belonging to specific social groups have certain characteristics or traits.
• The difference between them can be understood from the following pictographical representation.