Not “temptresses”: In India, judges were banned from using sexist language towards women
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India’s Supreme Court has issued a guide for judges against using archaic terms to refer to women. In particular, they were urged to avoid words such as “temptress”, “vamp”, “old maid” and “harlot”, according to The Guardian. Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeswant Chandrachud explained that harmful remarks and stereotypes about women can lead to “distortion of law”. In Indian courts, a wife is still often referred to as “virgin” or “feminine” and sexual harassment as “wooing”. The Supreme Judge says the “Gender Stereotyping Guide” aims to ensure that “legal judgments and texts are free from harmful ideas about women”. Read also: A girl who was banished to a “menstruation hut” died in Nepal Photo: gregory21/Depositphotos Discriminatory language in courts can lead to biased and biased application of the law, perpetuate discrimination and isolation, the manual says. The chief judge also mentioned a phenomenon that still occurs in courts – when an accused rapist is asked if he is ready to marry the victim, so that the marriage “reduces her shame” and “gives her respectability.” “Marriage is no protection against rape,” wrote Dhananjaya Chandrachud. The archaic notions the Chief Justice writes about are deeply rooted in Indian society. Recently, in 2020, a Karnataka High Court judge ruled that a woman “doesn’t deserve to fall asleep after being raped.” And in 2018, a Kerala Supreme Court judge called a 24-year-old woman who, against her parents, married a Muslim, “a weak and vulnerable person who can be exploited in various ways.” The judge ruled in favor of her parents, who wanted their daughter back under their custody and control. It will be recalled that earlier a resident of India, accused of harassment, was obliged to wash and iron clothes for all the women of his native village free of charge. Read also: Hit the jackpot: 11 women from India bought a lottery ticket and won $1.2 million
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