NEW DELHI: Feminist approach should be imbibed while dealing with the law, Supreme Court Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said at the convocation of the National Law University, Delhi, on October 15. He advised the young lawyers to think beyond the postulates of law that exist in pre-existing societal and gender codes.
“Law operates in pre-existing societal and gender codes, often contributing to the construction of gendered identities and as legal professionals, you should use deconstructive techniques to critique the existing legal philosophies and expose the ideological thinking that forms the sub-stratum of law… I would particularly advise you to incorporate feminist thinking in the way you deal with the law,” said Justice Chandrachud, who is set to take over as the 50th Chief Justice of India on November 9. Lauding the number of female students who had bagged gold medals, the SC judge said that this is just an indicator of the times we live in and the times that are going to come.
Justice Chandrachud attributed the success of the female students to the challenges faced by them in the Indian society and said that it is time for introspection and reflection as to how the potential of women in our society could be channelised into remarkable transformation. “I think the aspiration for mobility to combat the challenges that women face in our society is reflected in very large measure of the tremendous success which young women are achieving. It is time for us to introspect and reflect on how we create conditions where this potential which they express in terms of the medals that they get, translates into real time changes in our society. I think that this is going to be a great challenge of our time of converting this potential into a transformation in Indian society,” justice Chandrachud said during his address.
