Gender discrimination in legal fraternity of India – the ‘LawSikho’ incident

Gender discrimination in legal fraternity of India – the ‘LawSikho’ incident

• A legal education organization by the name of LawSikho conducted a webinar titled, "How can busy professionals have a dating life". The flyer for the webinar carried a "for men only" condition. CEO of the organization, Ramanuj Mukherjee, stated that a "for women only" webinar was also in the offing.

• When the initial questions were raised about a legal website conducting such a webinar, the CEO of the organization justified the same by referring to the deplorable Bois Locker Room episode and stating that such incidents could be avoided if men were taught the "art of seduction".

• The entire fiasco went downhill from this point onward. During the course of the webinar, certain degrading statements were uttered by Sehrawat, with little to no intervention from Mukherjee, who moderated the event. Sehrawat encouraged the participants to "close the deal" with a woman within 4 days, otherwise the "bread" would turn stale and it would be a lost opportunity. 

• On being asked a question about what one should do if they are academically challenged, Sehrawat dismissed the insecurities of the law student and stated that women are attracted to sportspersons ("jocks") who always score on the lower side of the scale. At this point, a young law student by the name of Avanti objected to the content of the webinar as it was based on appalling and sexist stereotypes being taught to vulnerable young men. It is here where matters took a turn for the worse. 

• This exchange between the law student and the event moderator was soon shared on Twitter and elicited an explosive response from persons of all genders.
• The LawSikho incident is a microcosm of the internalized misogyny and sexism which is prevalent in the legal fraternity. It is a truth universally acknowledged, but seldom conveyed, that a woman faces abject discrimination in every space that she enters, be it personal or professional.

• With the slow evolution of gender justice and its penetration into workplaces, there have been some positive changes, though few and far between, in the law governing discrimination against women; for instance, we now have The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH). 

• There also exists the ironical issue of lack of adherence of POSH policies across law chambers. 
• POSH Act, 2013 was promulgated as a result of the case of Vishaka & Ors. V. State of Rajasthan & Ors (1997).

• The statement of object and reasons conveys that the Act is an attempt to protect the "fundamental rights of a woman to equality under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India and her right to life and to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution and right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade, or business which includes a right to a safe environment free from sexual harassment".