India's supreme court issues handbook against use of archaic terms for women

Source: The Guardian

India’s supreme court issues handbook against use of archaic terms for women

Harmful language and stereotypes about women can lead to distortion of law, says chief justice of India

Amrit Dhillon in Delhi
Fri 18 Aug 2023 03.00 BST

India’s supreme court has issued a handbook for judges urging them to shun words like seductress, vamp, spinster and harlot when talking about women.

Archaic terms that disparage women and perpetuate gender stereotypes can still be routinely heard in Indian courts long after falling into disuse in other countries. It is not unusual for a wife to be described as chaste or ladylike, and sexual harassment is routinely trivialised as “Eve-teasing”.

The supreme court said its Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes was aimed at ensuring that “legal reasoning and writing is free of harmful notions about women”.

“If harmful stereotypes are relied on by judges, it can lead to a distortion of the objective and impartial application of the law. This will perpetuate discrimination and exclusion,” the chief justice of India, Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, wrote in the handbook.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/18/indias-supreme-court-issues-handbook-against-use-of-archaic-terms-for-women

Non-walled link: https://archive.li/NfHj1