There is a need for women-centric perspectives which would pave the way for greater participation of women in the judiciary.

Introduction

The absence of women in the judicial system, which is glaring and widely discussed, almost always revolves around entry-level measures that are aimed at ensuring that more women enter the profession as lawyers/ judges. While such entry-level measures are necessary, it is crucial to recognise that this is insufficient to ensure the continued support and encouragement and retention of women in the judiciary.

What is the state of women in the judiciary?

Representation in District Judiciary: The Supreme Court of India’s “State of the Judiciary” report (2023) showed 36.3% of women in the district judiciary, which is heartening.
- In 14 States, more than 50% of candidates successfully recruited into the civil judge (junior) division were women.
Representation at higher levels: However, at the higher levels, the representation of women in the judiciary falls short.
- As of January 2024, only 13.4% of judges in the High Court and 9.3% judges in the Supreme Court are women.
- Further, the representation of women is uneven across High Courts, with States which include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Tripura and Uttarakhand having either no women judges or just one woman judge.

What is the situation in the Bar?

Overall Representation: Data published by the Department of Legal Affairs in 2022 show that approximately 15.31% of all enrolled advocates are women.
Under-representation in senior positions: Although comprehensive data in this regard has not been made public by all State Bar Councils, women are drastically under-represented as senior advocates, advocates-on-record, and Bar Council representatives.
- This results in a funnel effect, creating a smaller pool of candidates who may be able to establish themselves in the system and be considered for elevation.

Policy gaps

Entry and Retention challenges: The under-representation of women in the judiciary is part of a vicious cycle.
- Women are excluded while even those women who have been included are unable to rise to positions of power to address these concerns.
- Access for women in the judiciary, therefore, is hindered at two levels: entry and retention.
Barriers to entry: While several States have taken commendable steps in ensuring that women enter the lower levels of the judiciary, direct recruitment continues to be a challenge for female aspirants.
- The Judicial Service Rules of many States stipulate that advocates must have a minimum period of ‘continuous’ practice for elevation to the Bench.
- For women advocates who are required to juggle family responsibilities in the absence of maternity benefits and minimum stipends, meeting this threshold is difficult.
Unsupportive environment: However, even when women have managed to enter the system, continued career growth becomes difficult in the face of a discouraging and unsupportive environment which fails to take into account their specific needs.
- There is a continuously diminishing pool of women judges eligible for elevation to the High Court, and eventually the Supreme Court.
Reverse funnel effect: This reverse funnel effect is caused by transfer policies which are often harsh and demanding, leaving little room for negotiation or sensitivity towards women’s continued responsibilities as primary caretakers in the household.

Daily interactions and Infrastructure issues

Basic Infrastructural Requirements: Every day interactions within courts also cause difficulties for women lawyers, judges and staff working in the judiciary, due to the absence of basic infrastructural requirements.
- A survey in 2019, by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy highlighted that nearly 100 district courts have no dedicated washrooms for women. Multiple courts, including prominent High Courts, lack adequate washrooms even for women judges, let alone for female staff, lawyers, or litigants.
- There are only limited sanitary facilities and hygienic waste disposal systems.
Need for family-friendly amenities: The burden of familial responsibilities continues to be the social reality of women in India.
- With women expected to be primary caretakers, courts must provide family-friendly amenities including feeding rooms and crèches.
- However, although some courts have taken steps in this regard, the limited availability of resources results in restrictions which render them ineffective.
- For example, the Delhi High Court’s crèche only caters to children younger than six years.

Need for course correction

Twin threshold of entry and retention: It is quite intuitive from the issues above that the twin threshold of entry and retention of women in judiciary as equal stakeholders to access is important, but the solutions have been instituted in silos.
Consequences of silos: The main consequence is that the problem persists as there are fewer women represented in the higher echelons of the judiciary, and far fewer amenities that enable their access to court complexes for their continued retention in the justice delivery system.
Public-Private Divide: This is a classic problem of the ever-widening public-private divide espoused by Carole Pateman in her theory wherein she points out that as women increasingly entered the public sphere traditionally occupied by men, there was a lag in the laws as well.
- She further elaborates that this public-private divide is the main reason why the public sphere does not cater to the specific needs of women upon their transition from the private sphere to the public.
- This theory can be extended to the design and regulation of the public sphere as well, which is usually not a conducive environment for women to thrive and feel safe.
Need for inclusive policies: Similarly, it is important to acknowledge that as more women enter courts which have been male-dominant institutions for a long time now, it is all the more necessary to employ a female gaze to implement inclusive policies to enable their entry and retention.
Definition of Female Gaze: the female gaze in implementation means the employment of a feminist lens to recognise the differential needs of women and course-correct to diminish the unintended impacts of neutral-yet indirectly discriminatory policies and infrastructural mandates.
Breaking the Male standard view: The employment of a female gaze breaks the male standard view employed by an all-male administrative committee of judges or all-male Bar Councils, particularly in cases where there is no women representation.
- This helps further in an inclusive visualisation of how ‘public spaces’ — in this case, courts and their access — are constructed, aiding in the construction of a lens through which gendered impact of policies and mandates can be filtered to enable the entry and retention of women in courts.

Prioritising women’s needs

Importance of Women-Centric perspectives: Greater participation of women in the judiciary must be driven by women-centric perspectives, which identify specific issues hindering future career growth and progress.
Unconscious gender bias: Former judge, Justice Hima Kohli, one of the few women judges in the Supreme Court recently noted the unconscious gender bias in courts which results in women judges being sidelined in administrative duties.
Lack of representation in High Court committees: This is highlighted by the fact that according to information published on High Court websites, none of the High Court Building Committees aside from Delhi, Allahabad and Himachal Pradesh currently has even a single woman judge as a member
Insufficient Infrastructure decisions: Infrastructure needs for women are often de-prioritised as a result, with ad hoc decisions such as the construction of a single toilet block or a temporary waste disposal bin being insufficient to address women’s needs.
Need for adequate representation: in the absence of adequate representation in High Court Registries and judicial academies, women’s perspectives and experiences for policy-making, addressing bias through gender-sensitisation training are not fully taken into account.

Conclusion

A female-centric gaze would recognise and prioritise the needs of women and allow for greater support within the judiciary. Taking the lived experiences and realities of women into account would ensure that women’s needs are no longer invisibilised during policy-making. Infrastructural amenities, gender-sensitive recruitment and transfer policies, and adequate training and support are crucial to ensure that the judiciary lives up to its promise of empowering women. Empowering women in judiciary ensures equality and enhances justice delivery.

Editorial 2: Tackling learning disabilities head-on

Context

With understanding, empathy, and evidence-based interventions, we can create an education system that truly leaves no child behind

Introduction

Picture a classroom where a student, eager to learn, raises their hand. As they begin to speak, their words come out haltingly, thoughts struggling to take shape. The teacher, pressed for time, gently moves on to another student. In that moment, more than just words are lost. Half-formed ideas retreat, clarity slips away, and with it, a crucial opportunity for learning is lost.

A deeper truth

The nature of the struggle: This struggle is not just about communication; it is about the very process of forming and articulating ideas.
- Each interruption of an attempt doesn’t just silence a voice; it stunts the growth of thoughts.
Impact on learning: In the rapid flow of classroom discourse, these students fall behind in speaking, in thinking, in understanding, in learning itself.
- In classrooms across India, this scene highlights a deeper truth: learning disabilities are far more complex than we often recognise.
- They don’t just involve reading or writing, but affect how students think, process, and engage with the world.
Prevalence of Learning Disabilities: Recent data suggest that 8-15% of schoolgoing children in India (50 million children) have been reported to have some form of learning disability.
- The challenges they face are often misunderstood.
- The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 officially recognises ‘specific learning disabilities’ among 21 categories, but most schools aren’t equipped to handle them.
Case Study: Dyslexia: It is not just about mixing up letters.
It is about a brain that processes language differently, affecting not just reading but also comprehension, memory, and even social interactions.

Case Study: ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), often dismissed as restlessness, is a complex disorder impacting attention and impulse control.
- Our education system, built for neurotypical students, often fails to meet diverse needs.
Teacher preparedness: Studies show most teachers lack the training or experience to teach in an inclusive manner, especially in rural India.
- The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the situation, as many teachers were unprepared to support students with learning disabilities online.
Exceptional cases: The recent story of Radhika, a student with multiple learning disabilities who scored 97% in her CBSE exams, is exceptional.
- Yet, for every Radhika, countless students remain unsupported — not because they cannot learn, but because we haven’t adapted how we teach to meet the needs of such students.
Internalised failure: Students with unaddressed learning disabilities often internalise a sense of failure.
- They are not “lazy” or “stupid’; their brains simply work differently.
- Without proper support, they may never uncover their true potential.
Mental health omplications: A study published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry found that children with specific learning disabilities experience significantly higher rates of anxiety and depression compared to their peers.
- They battle mental health issues in silence, unable to express what they can’t fully understand.
Positive steps forward: The government’s announcement of a diagnostic test for adult learning disabilities is a positive step.
Recommendations for teacher training: However, real change will happen only when we train our teachers.
- B.Ed programmes must focus on neurodiversity and adaptive teaching methods.
- While the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, has set standards, the challenge is to turn them into practical classroom strategies.

The way forward

Tackling Learning Disabilities in India

Comprehensive programmes for early identification: emphasise early identification and intervention, using screening tools and evidence-based methods tailored to India’s needs.
- Countries such as Finland excel in identifying and supporting students from a young age, but India faces unique hurdles due to its size.
Promising initiatives: Promising steps have indeed been taken, such as the 22 Cross-Disability Early Intervention Centres (CDEIC).
- Kerala’s early intervention initiatives, though focused on hearing impairments, show the potential for broader support systems.
Role of Technology: Tools like text-to-speech software and AI-powered learning aids can level the playing field.
- Initiatives such as PM e-Vidya, DIKSHA, and e-Pathshala under the Digital India framework, supported by NEP 2020, aim to unify digital education.
- But the real challenge is ensuring that these tools reach every student, especially those with learning differences.
Need for a cultural shift: Learning disabilities are not a source of shame, but different ways of processing information.
- Public awareness campaigns and films such as Taare Zameen Par can play a crucial role in changing perceptions, but awareness must start at home
Role of Parents: Parents play a critical role in recognising early signs and advocating for the support their children’s needs.
- Educating them about available resources and how to navigate the system is important.
Need for teachers motivation: Incentivising specialised training in neurodiversity — through financial rewards, career advancement, or recognition — will encourage more educators to embrace adaptive methods.
Collaborative functioning: Government bodies, NGOs, and private institutions must work together to innovate and ensure that these policies become actionable solutions.

Conclusion

The reality of learning disabilities is complex, but our response doesn’t have to be. With understanding, empathy, and evidence-based interventions, we can create an education system that truly leaves no child behind. This is not just about fairness; it is about unlocking the potential of millions of young minds who think differently. As we stand at the cusp of becoming a global superpower, the time to act is now. Our children are counting on us.

PM IAS OCT 29 EDITORIAL ANALYSIS