Blame it on gender discrimination and other social or family reasons, for the second year in row, not a single women candidate was in the fray for elections to the post of office-bearers of the Gurgaon district Bar elections, held on Wednesday.
Although women form a major workforce in scores of MNCs and IT firms that dot the city, they are yet to make a mark in the Gurgaon district court.
Since 1974, when the first bar elections were held here, only one women lawyer has been the bar secretary, while three have won the post of vice president and one of joint secretary.
In Wednesday’s elections, women lawyers constituted merely 5-6% of the total votes cast. While 2,339 voters were listed, 1,983 lawyers, including nearly 100 women, turned up to cast their vote.
Krishna Shukla, the last women to have been an office bearer in the district bar - VP in 2008-09 - attributes such minimal representation of women to family obligations and the demeaning opinion their male counterparts have of them.
“Apart from taking care of household responsibilities, we have to cope with sentiments that we aren’t as good as our male counterparts,” said Shukla. Lawyers cite practical limitations for not opting to elect women for bar posts.
{{/usCountry}}“Apart from taking care of household responsibilities, we have to cope with sentiments that we aren’t as good as our male counterparts,” said Shukla. Lawyers cite practical limitations for not opting to elect women for bar posts.
{{/usCountry}}“If there is an emergency with a bar member at night, it could be difficult for the women bar president or secretary to help,” said a lawyer.