President Murmu Raises Alarm Over Gender Imbalance in Governance
President Droupadi Murmu delivered a powerful address on Wednesday, highlighting the persistent underrepresentation of women across India's key governance institutions despite landmark legislative reforms. Speaking at the Constitution Day celebrations organized by the Supreme Court, the President expressed deep concern that women continue to face significant barriers in achieving proportional representation.
The President specifically pointed out that the historic Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which reserves one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, represents a crucial step toward gender equality. However, she emphasized that this constitutional amendment alone hasn't translated into adequate representation across all branches of governance.
Concerning Statistics in Judicial Representation
The event revealed startling statistics about gender disparity in the judicial system. Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh shared data showing only 13% women representation in High Courts and 35% in trial courts. The Supreme Court itself currently has just one woman judge among its 33 members, underscoring the severity of the imbalance.
President Murmu addressed these concerns in the presence of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, stating that achieving gender parity requires more than legislative changes. "Taking steps to give adequate representation to women in all three wings of governance will require a change of mindset," she asserted during her speech.
Constitutional Vision and 75-Year Assessment
The President posed a fundamental question about India's progress toward constitutional ideals during her address. "Have we ever looked back and assessed in the last 75 years how much we have progressed in achieving the constitutional goals of justice, equality, liberty and fraternity for every citizen?" she questioned.
Murmu challenged the nation to conduct this assessment before celebrating the Constitution's centenary in 24 years, emphasizing that this responsibility extends beyond government institutions to every citizen. She described the Constitution as the foundation of "our national pride and national identity" and urged moving forward with a nationalist mindset while abandoning colonial thinking.
At a separate Constitution Day event in the Central Hall of the old Parliament building, now called Samvidhan Sadan, the President cited several government initiatives as examples of shedding colonial legacy. She mentioned the implementation of new criminal justice system legislation and the repeal of Article 370 as significant steps toward inclusive political integration.
Judicial Reforms and Access to Justice
During the Supreme Court event, President Murmu praised Chief Justice Kant's renewed focus on mediation, calling it a significant step toward reducing litigation burden. The CJI acknowledged existing challenges in the justice delivery system, particularly for marginalized communities.
Chief Justice Kant highlighted several barriers preventing equal access to justice, including exorbitant litigation costs, complex court language, geographical distance, and procedural delays. He committed to improving the justice delivery system on all fronts and emphasized the need for greater predictability in judicial approaches.
The event gathered prominent figures from across the political spectrum, including Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and opposition leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, demonstrating bipartisan recognition of these critical constitutional issues.
