Dr. Charu WaliKhanna, Member, NCW, attended National Consultation on ‘Women and the Judicial System’. The programme was organized by High Level Committee on Status of Women (HLCSW) on 15 December 2013 at Hotel Taj Mahal, New Delhi.

There were 6 technical sessions in the two-day consultation which covered the issues such as representation of women in the judiciary, issues of concern and challenges of women in the judiciary (appointment, promotion, condition of service etc), judicial approach to women’s rights (focus on family law), judicial approach to women’s rights (focus on laws relating to crime against women), access to justice (focus on poor and marginalized women), and judiciary and gender training programmes.

Judges from various High Courts and academicians from across the country deliberated on the above issues.

Hon’ble Justice Ms. Gyan Sudha Misra, Supreme Court of India delivered valedictory address and Prof. Pam Rajput, Chairperson, HLCSW, presented summation of the conference.

Dr. Charu WaliKhanna, Member, put forth her valuable suggestions on the need to sensitize judiciary on gender issues so that gender oriented criminal jurisprudence is developed in India. She further spoke about her observation that most crimes committed by women are economic or in response to violence against them. When the abuse and violence becomes intolerable something “snaps” within them as a result of which to escape the violence they end up committing crime by eliminating (murder) the source of abuse.

The Member said that it is important to understand and address the problems that women from vulnerable sections of society face in systems that do not recognize and accommodate their special needs i.e. women at the bottom of the pyramid- SC/ST women. If Indian society is to be based on equality of gender, then we must ensure that a woman does NOT SUFFER on account of gender but also NOT SUFFER on account of caste. Therefore, it is important to sensitize the judiciary and develop gender oriented criminal jurisprudence so that Gender-responsive sentencing reforms are put in place and the judiciary is sensitized to the fact that incarcerating women does not solve the problems that underlie their involvement in the criminal justice system; on the contrary their imprisonment creates enormous turmoil and suffering for children/family.