Since time immemorial, the Indian society has operated under the unstated rules of gender inequality, fettering its women to the norms and practices of patriarchy for their lifetimes through socially approved institutions such as marriage and motherhood and of course the role of a homemaker. In spite of demonstrating equal amounts of aptitude, dexterity, and nerve like that of men to battle their way through any kind of adversity, women are still viewed and believed inadequate to hold an authoritative position in various professional sectors chiefly that of the legal industry. Women are viewed as inept, especially in court proceedings, in handling the worst of crimes, and in delivering justice. In fact, women are believed to be weak mentally in understanding the intricacies of the law. Some sections of the patriarchal society still condemn and play down the demand for equality for women as feminist rants and prefer to remain unwary of the seriousness of the situation.
One such industry in India where the role of women is still not endorsed from the viewpoint of equality is the legal industry of India. It is an irony that even though the country that symbolizes justice with the statue of a blindfolded lady holding a balance, has only a handful of women employed in this field. When the entire world is breaking free from the manacles of age-old standards of practices and moving towards a brighter future that has possibilities and opportunities for every individual notwithstanding their gender, the Indian legal industry still suffers from the underrepresentation of women.
Several reasons can be attributed to this situation in the Indian legal system. Firstly, it is presumed that there is a seeming possibility of partiality towards female clients if the lawyer handling the case is a woman, which might be a violation of the legal system in the first place. Secondly, the very thought of “the fair sex” standing in the same workplace and that too in a profession that is predominantly ruled by men, is still unpalatable for a particular section of society who still deem women incompetent for any field of work that requires boldness of personality and leadership skills.
However, to break away from these limitations, more women should take up the career of a lawyer, as the profession promises them the chance to demonstrate their inherent skills of logic, empathy, unbiased judgement, the composure of mind, and an eye for details. They should be allowed to work on challenging cases that would not only test their expertise and proficiency in law and seek legal guidance from them. The existing illogical suspicions regarding the capability of women of rendering sensible judgments exhibited via irrefutable arguments before the court will automatically start to wane.
Moreover, if Indian women choose law as a career, it will play a catalytic role to transform the legal industry in India as this development will surely usher in some fresh perspectives with respect to dealing with delicate cases that only top female lawyers in India can bring to the courtroom. For example, it has been observed in several cases that the police officer who is in charge of the investigation of women-centric crimes, fails to empathise with victims, pushing the latter into immeasurable distress, which directly affects their cases. In this scenario, if a top female lawyer in India rises to the occasion, it would help the victim to open up more which might bring illuminative turning points into the case. It is due to the fact that there are certain intricacies and complexities inherent in some of the cases involving women victims in India, which can be quite difficult and awkward to follow through for male lawyers. In this case, if a female lawyer takes up the charge, the entire circumstance can be viewed from a feminist perspective equally and the question of the rights of women can be far more easily argued in court.
Since this discussion tries to highlight the role of top female lawyers in India, in transforming the future of the Indian legal industry, here goes the mention of some of the top female lawyers in India who have successfully ignored all those voices who tried to convince them that the black cloak doesn’t suit them:
Cornelia Sorabji: Being the first top female lawyer in India was not an easy feat to achieve for this gutsy lady, especially when the menfolk were holding controlling positions in the courtroom. It was her tremendous zeal to breach the glass ceiling for the generation of women after her, that motivated her to work relentlessly to abolish social evils like child marriages and sati from Indian society.
Rebecca John: She started her career as a criminal lawyer in the 1990s when there weren’t many women around to select this challenging career. However, years down the line she became the first senior advocate in 2013, due to her rigorous practice in trial courts and apex courts in criminal cases.
Indira Jaising: The fame she received as a top female lawyer in India can be accredited to her numerous social works concerning human rights. Other than that, her legal career is enriched by the cases where she had fought for the rights of homeless people from Mumbai, environmental problems, and the extrajudicial killings in Manipur.
Meenakshi Arora: She is mainly known for her contribution as an important voice of authority in the Sexual Harassment of Women in Workplace Act 2013, which has mainly been designed to protect the rights of working women and deliver them justice in the event of any kind of unwanted sexual advance in their professional fields.
As is believed that in every profession, women have the ability to draw references from their personal experiences and emotions while dealing with a case, while at the same time maintaining professional aloofness owing to the requirement of the job. If the number of top female lawyers in India increases, it would help to channel these unrivalled feminine instincts and psychological resources in a more productive way that would definitely shape the future of the Indian legal industry and society at large.
