It's humanity, not mankind. It's Chairperson, not Chairman. It's police officer, not policeman and so on and so forth. The pursuit of according gender equality has also lately entailed correcting the language with built-in sexism. While language never held women back, but it has subconsciously shaped the societal mind-set.
The recent instance of gender bias in ordinarily accepted and widely used language crept up in Delhi High Court. An advocate kept addressing Justice Rekha Pali of Delhi HC as "Sir," till she drew his attention and said, "I am not Sir. I hope you can make that out."
In his justification the lawyer responded, "Sorry, it's because of the Chair you are sitting in." That certainly and for valid reasons did not go down well with the Justice Palli who remarked, "Then that's even worse, if after all this time you think that the Chair is for Sirs. If the younger members don't stop differentiating, then what hope do we have for the future?"
Social media applauds Justice Palli
Language truly is a mirror of our society and culture and it's never too late to start rectifying things or tying loose ends. "What's in a name?" spoke some of those who were okay with women being addressed as "Sir." But social media came forward with applauding Justice Palli on her stand and her reasoning.
"Most of us women, overlook such misogyny and deep embedded gender bias on language and words. It's time we stopped tolerating this collectively," opined a user. "Isn't Sir considered to be gender neutral," argued another user. "Considering, none of the female teachers or principals were addressed in schools as "Sir. No, it's not gender neutral." The interesting exchange of words between Justice Palli and the lawyer did gain some traction on social media and start a debate.
