India News | It is Our Duty to Learn from Inspiring Lives of Pioneering Women in Law: SC Judge

New Delhi, Apr 8 (PTI) It is our duty to learn from the inspiring lives of several pioneering women in law, who overcame multiple barriers to gain our country's freedom and ensure a better, safer, and prosperous society, said Supreme Court Judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat.

Justice Bhat, while delivering the first Shyamala Pappu Memorial Lecture, recollected the contribution made by several such women and stated that working and building upon their ideas and living up to their goals would be the best tribute to them.

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The lecture, which was held on April 7, was on the topic 'Trailblazing Women in Law'.

In his address, Justice Bhat recounted the role played by the women members of the Constituent Assembly -- Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh, Dakshayani Velayudhan, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, and others and observed that their contributions made our nation a vibrant democracy, with equality and liberties for all.

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“The recollection of Indian legal history mirrors the male-dominated, colonially rooted, and strongly casteist backdrop of our legal system. While not a justification, it does explain why unquestionably remarkable trailblazing women have been forgotten or rendered invisible when chronicling legal history,” he said.

The Supreme Court judge said that the provisions in the Constitution on women and child promotion were meant to ensure women's empowerment and “these pioneering women had the foresight and vision to peer into the mists of the future”.

Their contribution has shaped our today which will open up to an even better tomorrow, he said.

Justice Bhat also dealt with the participation of women in the legal profession in his speech and spoke at length on the life of Justice Anna Chandy -- India's first female High Court judge.

“Each of them shared the vision of all other members of the constituent assembly that the constitution spoke for and was for the people, who were its ultimate guardians, that adult universal franchise - a long-cherished goal, had to be guaranteed, and that the nature of the state had to be to alleviate old repression and exploitation of large segments of the society,” he said.

All these women, Justice Bhat said, shared a “common vision” that “the goal of equality is crucial for the realization of our freedoms and there can be no true democracy without fullest participation by women”.

“It is our duty to go back and learn from the inspiring lives of these pioneering women, who gave up so much and overcame multiple barriers, to gain our country's freedom and to ensure future generations a better, safer, and prosperous society, with no expectations for themselves. To work and build upon their ideas and live up to their goals, would be the best tribute that we can strive to give them,” he concluded.

Dr. Shyamlha Pappu, a senior advocate, died in 2016 at the age of 82.

Pappu, who became a central government counsel in 1975, is credited with the drafting of the amendment of divorce by mutual consent when there is an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

She has argued in several important cases, including the Mandal Commission report on reservations for backward classes.

A champion for women's rights, Pappu was a part of several initiatives to get women their rights and was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2009 for her contributions to society.PTI ADS

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)