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women empowerment

THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA NEEDS MORE WOMEN JUDGES

by Guest Author 08/12/2024

written by Guest Author

Lokendra Malik, Advocate, Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court of India has a sanctioned strength of 34 judges including the Chief Justice of India but currently, it has only one woman judge Justice Indira Banerjee. As of now, the Supreme Court has five vacancies of judges and a few more judges will be retired by the end of this year. Surprisingly, in seventy years of existence, only eight women judges have graced the bench of the Supreme Court of India. This is not good news from the gender justice point of view as half of our population is not getting reasonable representation in the apex judicial tribunal of the country. More women judges should be appointed at all levels in the judiciary. Justice Fathima Beevi was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India who was appointed in 1989. The second woman judge of the Supreme Court was Justice Sujata V. Manohar who was appointed in 1994. The third woman judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Ruma Pal came in the year 2000. After her retirement, it was Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra who came to the Supreme Court in 2010. In 2011, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai was appointed to the Supreme Court. Justice Bhanumathi was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2014. Justices Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee came to the Supreme Court in 2018. All these judges have made a wonderful contribution to the Indian judicial system by delivering hundreds of judgments.
Many legal scholars, lawyers, and sociologists have rightly expressed their concerns about the invisible representation of women in the higher judiciary particularly the Supreme Court of India. It is widely believed that India needs more women judges in the constitutional courts. But unfortunately, no effective steps seem to have been taken by the judge-makers to remove this gender gap until now. For this lapse, both the government and the judiciary are responsible. Both of them have failed to promote gender equality in the judiciary. Before 1993, it was the Union Executive that had a very powerful say in judicial appointments but it ignored the representation of women on the top bench. In the Supreme Court, the first woman judge was appointed in 1989. After 1993, the Supreme Court collegium is the actual judge-maker in the country. Sadly, even the Supreme Court collegium has also ignored the women in judicial appointments in the Supreme Court and High Courts. The collegium should not miss a great opportunity to bring more women judges in the constitutional courts that could provide them timely chances to lead the Supreme Court of India one day. The male-dominated Supreme Court collegium is expected to have a more liberal and generous approach in terms of making judicial appointments of women in the higher judiciary. Unfortunately, India could not have a woman Chief Justice even after seven decades of the Supreme Court’s establishment. The judge-makers should think about this issue seriously. It all depends on their willpower and commitment to the cause of women’s empowerment in the judicial branch that holds a very significant position in our constitutional scheme.

Some sitting judges of the Supreme Court have also raised their concerns about the inadequate representation of women in the Supreme Court on a few occasions. A few weeks ago, while speaking on the occasion of a farewell ceremony organized by the Supreme Court Young Lawyers Forum on March 13 to honour Justice Indu Malhotra, Supreme Court judge Dr. D. Y. Chandrachud said about this issue: “Justice Malhotra’s retirement means that the Supreme Court now has only one female judge on the bench. As an institution, I find that this is a deeply worrying fact and must promptly receive serious introspection”. Further he went on to say that “as an institution whose decision shape and impact lives of everyday Indian, we must do better. We must ensure the diversity of our country find reflection in making up of our court. Intrinsically having a more diverse judiciary is an end, a goal in itself and worth pursuing in its own sake. Instrumentally, having a more diverse judiciary, ensured diversity of perspectives is fairly considered, instils high degree of public confidence.” Justice Chandrachud’s remarks deserve serious consideration by judge-makers. The Supreme Court collegium should consider it from a larger perspective that could ensure a fair representation of women on the bench of the top court. It will be in the collective interests of the judiciary if the collegium takes care of diversity on the bench which is a must to ensure justice to the people.

Notably, the Supreme Court collegium led by Chief Justice Bobde could not recommend even a single appointment to the Supreme Court due to the lack of consensus among the members of the collegium. The collegium led by him also faced some other issues like geographical and seniority considerations in choosing judges for the top court. This is not the first time that the Supreme Court collegium faced this kind of situation in selecting judges. Even in the past, the collegium has such challenges and made selections by relaxing the seniority norms. There are precedents where judges have been elevated to the top court by ignoring the seniority norms and High Court representations. The judgments of the Supreme Court particularly its 1999 ruling also allow the departure from seniority norms in judicial appointments. There is no hard and fast rule of seniority that prohibits the collegium from elevating junior judges to the Supreme Court. Some brilliant women judges of the High Courts may be considered for the Supreme Court judgeship by relaxing the seniority norms so that they could get an opportunity to lead the Supreme Court in the future. This can be an extraordinary relaxation to ensure gender balance on the bench of the top court. The sky will not fall if the collegium relaxes the seniority constraints to appoint brilliant women lawyers and judges to the top court. In addition to this, some brilliant women legal academics and lawyers may also be considered for the judgeship in the Supreme Court. A few lawyers were directly elevated to the Apex Court during the last few years. The Supreme Court has many brilliant lawyers who can be considered for the judgeship in the top court. A gender balance in the higher judiciary is the need of the hour. The collegium led by the new CJI Ramana may consider all these issues.

Unfortunately, no law professor has ever been appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court despite the availability of constitutional provisions to this effect under Article 124(3)(c) from the category of ‘distinguished jurist’. Has not the time come when the Supreme Court collegium should activate this dormant constitutional provision? India has many brilliant professors who have made a wonderful contribution to the legal system and they truly deserve this honour. A renowned legal academic can be appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court to include the legal academia in the judicial adjudication process? This was the dream of our great founding fathers who were inspired by some foreign jurisdictions that had appointed eminent law professors as judges in their top courts. Professor Felix Frankfurter of Harvard Law School was directly elevated to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court collegium has all opportunities to diversify the bench of the apex court to make the judiciary more inclusive. It should not delay this noble work more. Needless to say, the collegium is the real judge-maker in the current constitutional practice and the central government is bound to implement its recommendations. It has all powers to diversify the Indian judiciary. Now after the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of M/S P.L.R. Projects Ltd. v. Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., the Central Government cannot delay judicial appointments as the Court has rightly fixed a timeline for the government to clear appointment of judges within a prescribed time. The collegium may consider ensuring gender justice to the women in the country given the national commitment to the cause of women’s empowerment in the judiciary.

The Supreme Court decides many important issues relating to women which can be properly adjudicated only by the women judges. Not only this, but the presence of women judges in the Supreme Court also enhances the faith of the womanhood in the supreme judicial tribunal lays down the law of the land. The new Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana may convince his colleagues to give more representation to the women in the higher judiciary by adopting a more liberal approach. If possible, the new CJI may also include a woman judge in the decision-making process of the Supreme Court collegium. The Supreme Court of India has always stood for the cause of women’s empowerment. It should encourage the women lawyers and judges to come forward to join the apex court. The top court should have at least 5-6 women judges from different communities and parts of the country. Many brilliant women lawyers and judges are available in the Supreme Court and the High Courts who can make a great contribution if timely opportunities are given to them. Some of them may also become the Chief Justice of India one day. There is a severe shortage of women in the Supreme Court and High Courts also. This is the time when the Supreme Court collegium should give adequate representation to the women in the higher judiciary.

08/12/2024 0 comments 34 views

Passion Drives This Woman – Meet Auto Raji Akka

by Elsa Joel 08/12/2024

written by Elsa Joel

By Elsa Lycias Joel

Auto Raji akka as she is fondly addressed by Chennaites is a hero among women and school going kids for the trust and courage she had displayed for 21 years. Popular among school kids during school hours for the free rides she offers to them, they have begun to adore her for many more things. Kids going and coming back from tuitions in and around Perambur are always anticipating a free jolly ride in an auto that has biscuit packets and water bottles. Being a people’s person this auto woman is super comfortable with anybody on board. During long rides, she gets to know the commuter fairly well and goes to the extent of offering many kinds of help if need be. For example, she has gone the extra mile to empower women by teaching them to drive an auto without charging them for the energy, time or fuel. Over the years, Raji akka has developed a flair, to deal with different people and difficult situations. She has in fact revamped the whole idea of customer service. Her vehicle has first aid boxes, medicines, sanitary napkins, few newspapers and magazines too.

Her journey from the granary of Kerala to the city of dreams is what she calls destiny. Born and brought up in Palakkad, she married Ashok, an auto driver while she was still a student and they moved to Coimbatore, where Raji worked as an accountant in a travel agency. Soon after the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blast that took nearly 60 lives, Ashok and Raji moved to Chennai. Constantly encouraged by her husband and a handful of friends, Raji decided to take up auto driving. Everyday was a mix of hard work and celebration. Becoming known in her vicinity needed no extra effort because Raji never turned down anyone who sought help. 30 trips per day earns her 30,000 to 40,000 per month. Chennai women vouch for Raji’s 24*7 availability. A tiring 8-9 hour shift doesn’t deter this superwoman from answering a call at 12 midnight or drive to somebody in need, be it young kids, senior citizens, pregnant women, women who may not have the cab fare to pay, women reluctant to take a cab after a night shift so on and so forth. That one commuter Raji couldn’t take off her mind is a woman cemetery worker who called her during the wee hours of the night for a pick up. Given her grit, Raji drove to the pick-up destination all alone and she never had to regret following her intuition that night because a chat with that woman gave Raji that extra ounce of impetus to reach where she is today.

In 2019, Raji started a WhatsApp group ‘Enayum Kaikal’ managed by six admins to bring together 240 women auto rickshaw drivers of Chennai. The larger objective of Enayum Kaikal is to lend a helping hand during a crisis and raise one another up. If at all an auto breaks down, the nearest available friend rushes to help, when a member is in dire need of financial assistance the rest of them pool resources to lend money and encourage someone who doesn’t drive regularly due to familial constraints. The Whatsapp group bloomed into a trust that supports 7 underprivileged children, a couple of who are physically challenged too.

Motivational talks in over 13 colleges in Chennai has made Raji a role model among teens who break societal norms to venture into male-dominated arenas. Testimonies of young girls help Raji rediscover her true compassionate self. Like every other working day of her’s, Raji continued being the good samaritan to informal workers and destitute people soon after the government ordered the lockdown without a thought of those who would have no work if they stayed home and through her trust Raji managed to mobilize funds and resources to supply groceries to families in need. Good times or trying times, this woman is relied upon by many for what she has made of her over the years. Clad in heavy-duty khaki shirts, with well-oiled tight plaits, a smile and kind words on her lips and the highest rating, Raji is all set to urge more women, young or old to take up driving as a profession.

08/12/2024 0 comments 32 views

Bharat Mata – Is This Appellation Justified?

by Guest Author 08/12/2024

written by Guest Author

By DR. Elsa Lycias Joel

A hypocritical outcry of deteriorating traditional values is often heard when a woman walks out of her marriage whereas the larger number of financially dependent women struggling in bad marriages without rushing to get divorced are ignored. Divorce isn’t the flavour of any season. It happens not because women are uncultured, characterless or non-religious but because they are educated, aware and have a strong sense of self-esteem. Institution of marriage will always be respected but minus prejudice and intolerance. Societal and familial pressure or trepidation of being frowned upon cannot force a man and a woman to live together. Agreed, many divorces are filled with bitterness, hostility and rancour because it is assumed mud fighting and slander can hurt only women.

When women encounter problems in our society, tackling them calls for not loud voices, processions or placards but an objective analysis of reasons which underlie them. Not by law makers and enforcers alone but by every other woman and citizen. We have been seeing and hearing expressions like ‘women reservation bill’, ‘Nirbhaya fund’, ‘special woman safety programme’ and so on being bandied about as part of political debates and talk shows. Politicians, as we all have seen, heard and known, are supposedly well- trained suitably qualified people who position themselves right at the centre of action with the explicit purpose of not putting anything into action and get away with anything in politics.

Countries that make real, visible progress in women safety and empowerment are those whose leaders and citizens have been able to confront the problems head on to find solutions. The government of Iceland has been funding UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) for the past three years to promote gender equality and Iceland stands number one on the list of safest countries for women. By almost every metric compared to the rest of the world, Denmark is very safe and it comes second. Denmark also has a history of finishing as the #1 happiest nation in the world according to statistics. Gender equality is important to the Nordic countries: Political parties in Sweden, Norway and Iceland all have gender quotas, which promote female candidates for top roles. As such, every country has their own ideals of equality between men and women. One can’t call it equality until there is a gender pay gap or glass ceiling.

Men and women are different – biologically and psychologically. Women play certain roles better than men and vice versa to complement one another, be it home or work place. Different does not mean unequal and no one gender needs to act dominant.

In India, the governments that came and went made much hullabaloo about women’s reservation, without being able to achieve anything practical in this direction.

Rape storms batter our country, followed by the blow-by-blow breaking of news by the media. Guilt or innocence is presumed. Worse still, rapists continue raping, unmindful of reprisals which they know how to handle and sometimes adorn seats in legislative assemblies and Parliament too. Seems like it’s not just ‘United we loot’ but ‘United we molest and rape’.

Girl children are warned differently such as, “control your anger, you are a girl”. Such social conditioning of girls in our society never needed any extra effort because religion is an important part of our country’s culture. And all religions profess and practice male dominance directly or indirectly. All over our spiritual India, fasting is mostly meant only for women. We also know what widowhood means in a country like ours, don’t we? For aeons religious traditions have subjugated women.

Sexism is intrinsic to Hinduism and Buddhism. The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have been worse. Manusmriti is way too primitive. The Bible’s decree of male supremacy is known to the world. Most blessed mothers in The Bible are recorded to have given birth to sons only. The story of the adulteress who Jesus forgave and saved from being stoned is an example of how a combination of sex, a woman, public disgrace and double standard worked since biblical times. There was no mention of the man involved in the act. Without any mentioning the uphill battle remains steep for Muslim women. It is indisputable that women are excluded from Judaism’s most hallowed rituals and practices. Sabarimala saga is a case in point. If discrimination to enter a temple is based on sexual orientation and caste, constitutional Articles related to freedom of religion and essential religious practices must be understood better to signal a new era of transformative constitutionalism. Freedom, rights and values embodied in our constitution should not be let to freeze in time, lest we see no possibility of positive change and progress as per changing societal needs. Places of male gods cite menstruation as the main reason for denying women their religious freedom. How come the normative descriptive imagery and pronouns for god are male, enabling people to sculpt them that way!

I also ponder over ‘kallanalum kanavan pullanalum purushan’ which means even if the man is as insensitive as a stone or as useless as a blade of grass he is still ‘THE HUSBAND’, a visible god to the wife. Who else but a male chauvinist must have uttered this proverb! Tamil literature has enough stories praising devout wives. Nothing wrong about it. But sometimes imaginations soar so high making stories sound ridiculous. One example is Vasuki Ammaiyar, a “Pathiviradhai” cooking delicious meal out a bag of sand given to her by Thiruvalluvar. Making such a story on a man of great intellect isn’t justifiable. And the pail that hung in mid air as this “Pathiviradhai” rushed to address her husband’s call half way through drawing water from a well is another story to motivate devotion in women. Unless mythologies are retold and understood in the right spirit, if not rewritten, these will be used to normalize or rationalize different forms of oppression or abuse, ofcourse by the wrong people.

Bharat Mata i.e. India is a country where women are worshipped yet abused. It’s a national shame that despite more and more laws and funds, governments of secular, democratic and pluralistic India find it difficult to ensure that all sections of citizens feel equal, protected and secure. Kathua, Hathras, Unnao and many more can’t be forgotten, forgiven. Meanwhile, Rajvir Singh Pahalwan and Surendra Nath Singh ought to be educated on what amounts to rape. How does Surendra Nath Singh know that sanskar hasn’t been instilled in victims? The Hathras district court was forced to stop the trial proceedings after Hari Sharma and his son Tarun Hari Sharma, one of the advocates of the accused, created a hullabaloo and issued threats. But how was the father- son duo handled after their misbehavior is yet to be known. Being blessed with common sense, I guess, interrupting court proceedings by words and deeds should be considered as gross criminal contempt of Court.

As far as the sensational Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case is concerned there has been very little progress and Pollachi Jayaraman resigning from his 50 years of political career solely rests on the criminal justice system. The motive behind revealing the name of the victim by the then Coimbatore district Superintendent of Police (SP) R. Pandiarajan is not established until date. Whether the SP was pressing for a transfer shouldn’t be anybody’s wild guess!

Musings enough, while Bharat Mata continues to sob? Now, will we do something about this – women, what say?

Interesting fact though – did you know that it was Bangla Mata, not Bharat Mata in Bankim Chandra’s original, as revealed by Netaji’s grand nephew. Here : https://sabrangindia.in/article/it-was-bangla-mata-not-bharat-mata-bankim-chandras-original-netaji-grand-nephew.

What’s in the name – nothing much, really. So keep calling India – bharat mata, and do nothing about women’s actual state in India. Unless, we really do decide enough is enough.

08/12/2024 0 comments 22 views

Meet Anannya Parekh : A Woman On The Mission Of Making Women Financially Independent

by Pragya Jain 08/12/2024

written by Pragya Jain

By Pragya Jain

Women Empowerment is an umbrella term which has been colloquially used to refer to a class of affirmative actions that can bridge the gap which has festered as a result of the historical misgiving that persons who identify as ‘female’ have been at the receiving end of.

The key idea is to “start young”, claims Ms. Anannya Parekh, the social entrepreneur who has taken the city of Chennai by a storm by furthering the cause of Women Empowerment through institutionalising financial literacy in women of all ages. Through her organisation, ‘Inner Goddess’, with her team, she organises workshops, training, advocacy projects and campaigns for women to teach complicated financial principles that apply in everyday life. Anannya’s ‘Big Sister Programme’, runs on a model akin to a mentorship programme for underprivileged girls. The system connects them to professionals working in a vast spectrum of industries who offer them guidance and hence increase their access to opportunities.

The Womb team had a lively discussion with Anannya to find out more about her work and influences in life.

Anannya started ‘Inner Goddess’ at the age of 20 when she was studying Aerospace Engineering at the SRM University of Chennai. Anannya says that the idea of starting an initiative like ‘Inner Goddess’ came to her mind while pursuing her education, when she read the book “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg. She recalls, “It was 2 in the night when I finished reading the book and found myself frustrated and angry”. The book had her contemplate the situation of women around her and realize that gender discrimination exists at all levels. We often remain ignorant of it because we don’t see it as a problem having internalized it and often resign to the thought that this is ‘how the world works’. Lean In, she says, opened her eyes to the world of inequality and strengthened her determination to take a step in changing the status quo.

Anannya recounts that she turned to her parents for help on realizing that her privilege of being an educated woman with business acumen can be put to good use. Assembling a team of like-minded friends and acquaintances, she commenced organising workshops for women. This exercise helped her conclude that one of the key causes for women’s situation around the country is financial illiteracy. While financial illiteracy affects us everyone irrespective of gender, it especially affects women, as their lack of financial know-how makes them completely dependent on their spouse or family for money. This takes away the agency of women, who cannot digress from the opinions of their family members or spouse on every aspect concerning their freedom.

But financial literacy does not just mean putting money in the hands of the women, Anannya says. It requires that women should have the requisite information and knowledge to deal with it. Financial Literacy also encompasses the knowledge of managing the resources in hand and attuning them to the needs.

Thus, financial literacy becomes a necessity in this age. As a result, ‘Inner Goddess’ took the route of imparting education to women pertaining to finance.

Astonished at how young Anannya was when she started ‘Inner Goddess’, the Womb members asked about the hardships she faced when she began her journey at the age of 20.

Anannya answers with a chuckle, “Hardships are still there, their quality has advanced.”

Anannya further explained the sheer importance of financial literacy in a woman’s life, especially the ones hailing from an under-privileged background. “Financial literacy is a concept that is relevant to each one of us. I too had limited knowledge about managing my finances. It was when I started working on it, I realized that it is a core problem for whoever identifies as a woman or anyone from a marginalised group. Having the knowledge of money gives you the power of liberation and being self-reliant and thus diminishing dependency.” She continues, “It is important for women, especially, because the defined gender roles that persist in our society, women are often limited to household work and the head male member of the family manages all the financial resources, thus leaving women dependent on men.”

Acknowledging the role of class disparity, she says, “The problem is even more grave for women who come from low income groups because their devastation is worsened by poverty. Financial literacy is important for me but it is more important for them. It is the key to their liberation from the vicious cycle of poverty.” Anannya beautifully reiterates that this liberation will result in the amplification of their voices and struggles. The key aim of ‘Inner Goddess’ is to aid women in securing their true representation in the world.

Anannya says that inculcating financial literacy in girls at a younger age will go a long way in helping them make informed choices.

She explains that the business model of ‘Inner Goddess’, formerly known as ‘The Inner Goddess Academy’ is very fluid, and that they focus on “need-based education”. They aim at influencing policy decisions in order to bring about changing the status quo where the importance of financial literacy is gravely understated.

Anannya recounts a truly heart-warming incident when asked about the impact of her work. “We conduct a lot of workshops for which we require volunteers and a lot of school students also participate. This one time a teen volunteer girl shared her story with us. She told us how she is helping her 80-year-old grandmother invest in mutual funds. It was humbling to know that our initiative had an impact on the young girl and her grandmother’s life.”

Anannya is also a founder of another beautiful non-profit mentorship initiative called ‘The Big Sister Programme’. On being asked about how the programme came to fruition, she recounts, “Two years into running Inner Goddess, I wanted to have some grass-root level experience so I started volunteering at an orphanage in Chennai where I would spend time with young girls. I realized that the girls were so attentive and curious about my education and the opportunities I have had in life. They were curious to understand how they could set and realise their own goals and plan their careers. Growing up and through my journey of Inner Goddess also, I have been mentored by great people and more importantly I have had the privilege to have access to these mentors which these young girls haven’t. So, I would advise them and mentor them just like an older sister would. These interactions gave me the idea to start this program.” The Big Sister Programme thus became a platform where these girls could access mentors who can help them in building their lives. “So I contacted a bunch of my friends and asked them if they can take out some time over the weekends to help these girls out and they agreed. These people come from different fields of work. They are lawyers, doctors, architects, activists, artists who are well educated and excelling in their fields. Every 3 hours on weekends they hangout with these girls and answer their questions mentoring them like their big sisters.”

Anannya also has a fellowship at change.org called “women change makers” and she aims at institutionalising financial literacy. “Financial literacy is not streamlined into our education system. Other than a 2010-2013 NSE Financial Literacy Program and some mention in a few state governments’ syllabi, finance education is not a part of our school curriculum. We grow up learning various subjects that can help us build a career but we are not taught about how to manage our personal finances which is an equally important part of our lives.” With her fellowship program, she is working on a petition to make an appeal to the government for financial education to become a systematic procedure.

Lastly, members of The Womb inspired by her voracious reading, a habit she claims to have shaped her life, requested her to recommend some must-reads for everyone who is dedicated to the cause of feminism. Her first recommendation is a book by the critically acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “Dear Ijeawele or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions”. “We Should All Be Feminists” is another must-read from the same author. Her other recommendations include “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf, “Bossypants” by Tina Fey, “A Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, “Men Explain Things To Me” by Rebecca Solnit and “Everyday Sexism” by Laura Bates. She also recommends essays by Gloria Steinem and Audre Lorde. Her next read is this book by Bell Hooks “Feminism Is For Everybody”.

Team Womb commends Anannya for her initiatives in being an ally and aiding the amplification of the voices of women. Anannya serves as the true example of the importance of innovation, one that is not bereft of social truths and realities. The mere acknowledgement towards the fact that one has privilege while others don’t is quite simply the beginning of a very important conversation. What is more important is the act of using that privilege to give the under-privileged a leg up. That’s where the education and the opportunities one has been exposed to begin to assume meaning.

08/12/2024 0 comments 32 views

RUTH BADER GINSBURG – THANK YOU

by Guest Author 08/12/2024

written by Guest Author

By Kanishta Naithani

‘As long as I can do the job full steam, I will be here.’

When we talk about women and their careers, there is this glass ceiling that most people like to mention. They say it is difficult for women to break the glass ceiling. Justice RBG has proved that nothing, absolutely nothing can hold women back.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a judge in the Supreme Court of the United States. She is 87 years old and refuses to retire. On 10th August 2020, she’ll complete 27 years of service. Throughout her career, she has been a voice against gender-based discrimination.

She has shattered the glass ceiling and with it the stereotype that women aren’t meant to work. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has now become not only a legal luminary but a pop culture icon. In pop culture, she is referred to as RBG. Her fan base keeps widening – she has penned seven books, she is the inspiration for five books, a Hollywood movie and a Netflix documentary is also based on her.

She has swayed the hearts of millions by her wit, charm and undying spirit.

Education

Justice RBG graduated top of her class at Cornell University in 1954. During her time at Cornell she met Martin D. Ginsburg, they cultivated a connection so substantial that in they got married the same year she graduated. After her graduation, she had to put her education and career on hold to start a family when her daughter Jane C. Ginsburg was born in 1955. She re-joined law school after two years when Martin D. Ginsburg returned from his military service. This time both Martin D. Ginsburg and her enrolled at Harvard Law. At Harvard, Justice RBG was the first women to serve on the editorial staff of Harvard Law Review. She was also one of only eight women in a class of five hundred.

It so happened that Martin D. Ginsburg was diagnosed with testicular cancer. So, for that period she had to not only care for her infant daughter but for her ailing husband too. Once her husband recovered, he accepted a job with a law firm in New York City. Consequently, she transferred to Columbia law school, to complete her education, she served on the law review even in Columbia. She graduated in 1959 tying for first place.

Thriving In The Face Of Adversity

For anyone with such remarkable credentials, it would be easy to get hired for their dream job, yet Justice RBG had to face immense backlash when it came to putting her legal education to good use. This was primarily due to the gender stereotype that has held women back for centuries. She was unable to find a job for herself until a professor stepped up for her and refused to recommend any other graduates. Consequently, she was hired by U.S. District Judge Edmund L. Palmieri as a clerk. She clerked there for two years. Then she received job offers from a few law firms, but all of the offers were for a lower salary than that of her male peers. This led her to refuse all the offers. Instead, she chose to live abroad to work on a research project for a book on the Swedish Civil Procedure Practices by the Columbia Project on International Civil Procedure.

After returning to the United States Justice RBG in 1963 accepted a position as professor Rutgers University Law School, then in 1972, she left that post to join Columbia where she became the first female professor at Columbia to earn tenure.

Her Crusade For Equality

In her time as a lawyer Justice RBG has extensively argued against gender-based discrimination. She is and has been not only a leading voice for justice for women but also for justice for men who were discriminated against based on gender. She faced gender-based discrimination from the very beginning of her career, she understood that the conversation regarding gender-based discrimination is not limited to women. Women aren’t the only victims of gender-based discrimination. Men also suffer from gender-based discrimination.

Justice RBG in the landmark case of Moritz v. Commissioner (469 F.2d 466 (1972)) represented Charles Moritz. Moritz claimed a tax deduction for the salary of a caregiver he had hired to care for his mother. His claim was rejected by the IRS because he had never married and was not a woman, this made him ineligible for the caregiver deduction. Justice RBG, along with her husband argued that Moritz would have been permitted the deduction if he was female and that there was no judicious reason for the distinction in treatment among people in this case. They contended, the refusal of the deduction by establishing gender-based discrimination and unlawful dismissal of equivalent protection in case of infringement of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In the famous case of Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, 420 U.S. 636 (1975) Stephen Wiesenfeld was a widower his wife was the primary bread-winner of the family. Social security contributions were normally deducted from her pay. In 1972, she kicked the bucket during childbirth, which left him with the fathering of their infant child. He applied for social security assistance for himself and his child and was informed that his child could get them but that he was ineligible for the same. The Social Security Act gave benefits dependent on the profit of an expired spouse and father that are accessible to both the children and the widow. The advantages of an expired spouse and mother, be that as it may, are just accessible to the children. Justice RBG made the contention that the Social Security Act differentiated against Wiesenfeld by not furnishing him with alike survivors’ advantages as it would to a widow. Further, she contended that Wiesenfeld’s wife’s contributions to Social Security were not regarded on an equivalent premise to salaried men, so Wiesenfeld’s wife was additionally being discriminated.

In both of the cases, she emerged victorious and changed the course of history.

Becoming Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

In 1980 she was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by Jimmy Carter the 39th President of the United States. It was in 1993 that Bill Clinton the 42nd President of the United States appointed her to the Supreme Court. On August 10, 1993, she became the second woman and the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme court.

I Dissent

Justice RBG is infamous for her liberal dissents. Unlike most United States Supreme Court Justices Justice RBG prefers reading her dissents from the bench this happens when the court is announcing its decision. In a discussion at the Aspen Institute, she states that “I want to announce a dissent from the bench if I think the court not only got it wrong but egregiously wrong and sometimes those DISSENTS are addressed to congress…….if the court is interpreting a statute…….then congress can fix it, but if the court is making a ruling on a constitutional matter congress can’t fix it, only an amendment to the constitution and we have a constitution powerfully hard to amend or the court has to change its mind but there has been a tradition in the United States of DISSENTS becoming the law of the land that we can go back….you are writing for a future age (dissents) and you hope that with time the court will see it the way you do.”

Inspiring, Igniting, Inspiriting And Influencing

The world that we live in today has changed so much in terms of technology, governments, climate and globalization. Yet, one thing remains the same the struggle of women to make it on their own. Women have to try their damnedest to find their place in the world, to make their voice heard. For years women have starved for female role models. Justice RBG is the very embodiment of what women can achieve given.

The most spectacular aspect of her life is her undying spirit. In all the adversities she has faced Justice RBG has not given up once not ever, and today – She is a pop culture icon. She is a feminist icon. She is an inspiration to girls everywhere. Most people would be hesitant to admit that women face more adversities in the workplace as compared to men. Justice RBG proves that no matter how many adversities you face you make the best of it and you thrive. Or simply put when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. A lot of women and young girls give up on their dreams because of such adversities. Ladies, if Justice RBG can you can.

Justice RBG with her dissents inspires not only women and young girls out everyone out there to speak up, even if the majority is against you. Her dissents teach us that the power of voicing our opinions and thoughts. The fear of the majority should not and cannot stop you from voicing your opinion. So, the next time you witness injustice, stand up and say I dissent! Because Justice RBG would want you to.

Many feminist movements have inspired women to go out and get whatever they want. Justice RBG has proved it. She managed to have a family, care for her husband, change the course of history, and become the most celebrated Supreme Court Justice of the United States. She did it all in a day’s work with the utmost grace.

They say women can’t have it all? Well, looks like they can.

08/12/2024 0 comments 26 views

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