The week in gender

Addressing an all-women audience at a student outreach in Pune, the Congress leader called out the double standards of prime minister Narendra Modi who expressed “cultural shock” over the abusive language used by women at the recent Jantar Mantar student protest. What about the men who used abusive language, Gandhi wanted to know. Such a reaction reflected a patriarchal mindset that continues to control women in Indian society, he added.

At the same meeting, Gandhi criticised RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his earlier remarks suggesting rape happens only in India, not Bharat. He also emphatically rejected the Manusmriti, describing it as a text that restricts women’s freedom and autonomy.

“I believe 70 crore women are more important than 70 crore men, because women by nature are more sensitive, more gentle, more compassionate, [and more] forward looking than men,” he said. “Women are India’s biggest asset.”

Gandhi’s turn to feminism is welcome. But beyond the rousing words, will it translate to more women Congress candidates in upcoming state elections or more women in leadership positions within the party organisation? As they say, the proof of the pudding is…

Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging is arguably the most anticipated autobiography in recent times. To start with no one saw it coming, not a peep anywhere, when publisher Alfred A Knopf announced on Tuesday that Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love will be published on November 10.

How much will it reveal of the famously reticent Gandhi’s motivations and impulses? It’s hard to say. The cover itself is telling—a face half in shadow and hard to read. No information even about the photographer.

“Writing about my life did not come easily to me. It meant opening myself up, sharing moments and experiences I had always held deep inside,” Gandhi said in the release issued by Knopf.

Stereotypes and personal bias are often hidden in plain sight in the language courts use.

In March 2025, while hearing a rape case in which a 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by two adult men who had (1) grabbed her breasts, (2) pulled down her pyjamas and (3) dragged her underneath a culvert, the Allahabad high court noted that these actions amounted only to ‘preparation’ not an actual attempt to commit an offence. That distinction led to reduced charges against the two men.

In the outrage that followed, the Supreme Court not only set aside the order but also directed the National Judicial Academy to constitute a committee headed by justice Aniruddha Bose, former Supreme Court judge who now heads the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal to develop “guidelines to inculcate sensitivity and compassion into judges and judicial processes.”

The report is ready and has been approved by a verbal order. It seeks to provide a template on avoiding gendered expressions, adopting survivor-centric terminology and promoting trauma-informed adjudication. Terms such as “helpless female”, “lost her chastity” and “outraging modesty” are rooted in patriarchal concepts that can accentuate trauma and must be avoided.

But, write Ashish Bharadwaj and Insiyah Vahanvaty in an opinion piece for Hindustan Times, the deeper shift “must be in how the law understands sexual violence”, moving away from treating it as an injury to chastity or honour and “recognise it as a violation of her bodily autonomy.” More here.

The court has a record 19 women among its 64 sitting judges—the most ever in its 100-year history. On Friday, nine additional judges were sworn in, including three women: Monica Chhiber Sharma, Puja Chopra and Divya Sharma.

And the good news…

Tamil Nadu has extended paid maternity leave for state government employees to 365 days even for a third child. Women employees already receive a year’s leave for their first two children; the new policy extends the same benefit to the third.

That’s it for now. I welcome feedback at namita.bhandare@gmail.com. See you again next week. Produced by Shad Hasnain.