From Empowerment to Protectionism

Positioning Judiciary in the Intersections of Gender and Religion

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6451786
AutoresShinde Sheetal N (O. P. Jindal Global University, autor de correspondencia), Shinde Sheetal N Shinde Sheetal N (Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat, Haryana, India)
Año2025
Volumen55
Número3
Páginas473-487
Fecha de publicación2025-08-25
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Change (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0049-0857 • E-ISSN: 0976-3538
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00490857251355034
OpenAlexW4413537998
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas24

The gender justice jurisprudence in India is posited at two extremities—protectionism and empowerment. The Supreme Court (SC) has delivered many landmark decisions celebrating the empowerment perspective. But when the issue lies at the intersection of gender and religion, the tone of the SC becomes protectionist in nature. The protectionist approach works at three levels. First, the court treats all women equally, whitewashing their inherent non-homogeneity and imposing equality in deeply unequal circumstances. Second, the degree of protectionism differs based on which religion is under scrutiny. Third, women’s rights are seen as against male privilege, excluding the possibility that women may not want to be equal to men. ‘Being equal to man’ recognises that ‘being man’ is the highest achievable status. The perspective piece argues that there is no need to create an all-men world by making women equal to men. Rather, the self-worth of a woman needs to be recognised free of a ‘male yardstick’, which might usher in true empowerment

Business · Empowerment · International trade · Political science · Protectionism · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law · Religious Freedom and Discrimination