Indira Jaising Says Women Should Never Be Made To Choose Between Motherhood And Profession. We Agree With Her.
The world has us believe that certain things go hand in hand with each other—namely, men and privilege, women and hate crimes, society and stereotypes. However, one that apparently does not do so, or to put it better, is not allowed to go hand in hand, is motherhood and professionalism. Two roles of a woman that are deemed mutually exclusive (can’t coexist together), regardless of a woman’s caliber. According to our very orthodox and linear society, women can either only be good mothers or good professionals, but never both. A mindset that senior advocate Indira Jaising is standing against, and rightly so.
At a virtual seminar organised by Delhi High Court Women Lawyers Forum on the topic “Feminist Lawyering: From Invisible to Invincible”, senior advocate Indira Jaising found herself making a strong statement that needs to be heard by everyone in our midst. She claimed, “No women should be compelled to choose between motherhood and profession.” Something the society has been guilty of forcing women to do for a long time.
Talking about the representation of women in courts and moving on to discuss the hindrances that stood between gender justice, Jaising brought a number of issues to the table including lack of women-friendly infrastructure. Pointing out how apex courts lacked the provision of a creche, considering they never must have thought that the courthouses would be filled with women lawyers one day, Indira stated how women need to enabled to pursue both, motherhood and their professions.
"No Women Should Have To Choose Between Motherhood and Profession", Says Sr. Adv. Indira Jaising At Webinar On Feminist Lawyering https://t.co/daT3UTdzgA
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) November 8, 2020
Also Read : Indira Jaising Asks For Clemency For The 4 Convicted In Nirbhaya Case. I Disagree! I Want To See These Men Gone
Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan then went on to further Indira Jaising’s point as she stated that feminism meant the breaking of stereotypes. She observed that in matters of maintenance and right to property, a lot of progress was needed. And merely because a woman was at home, it did not translate into lesser entitlement. Or so one would hope.
Our society, since time immemorial, has been responsible for reducing women to just the role of a wife or mother, curbing them from actualising their full potential. And this century-long conditioning has now forced people to see women as no more than baby-making machines. A narrative that women of today are actively trying to reverse as they challenge men in their own fields, while also taking care of their house and family responsibilities.
In fact, studies have also shown that in a few cases, women are better at multi-tasking than men. Of course one reason for that is also because women have been expected to do more while men sit and laze around. But to claim that women can’t excel professionally and be great mothers is totally unsubstantiated. Especially now that we live in a world where women are running neck-to-neck with men, with their motherhood not being a burden, but their very strength.
