Pakistan SC Cites Supreme Court of India's Judgement On Avoiding 'Deeply Patriarchal Language and Outdated Stereotypes'

Islamabad: The Pakistan Supreme Court overturned a service tribunal judgement over gender bias and outdated stereotypes, and while doing so, the bench cited the Aparna Bhat v. State of Madhya Pradesh judgement by the Supreme Court of India.

Pakistan Supreme Court Overturns Service Tribunal's Judgement Over ‘Deeply Patriarchal’ Language

While hearing a judgement by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Service Tribunal in Peshawar, the Pakistan Supreme Court overturned it for the “deeply patriarchal” language used; it held that “a married daughter becomes a liability of her husband”. The decision by the Pakistan top court was a significant judgement for gender equality in the country; the executive clarification that excluded married daughters from compassionate appointments, has now been struck down.

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While overturning the service tribunal's judgement over the language used for “a married daughter” and her “becoming a liability of her husband”, the division bench of Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah observed in court, “Such language is not only factually and legally erroneous, but also deeply patriarchal, reinforcing outdated stereotypes that are fundamentally incompatible with constitutional values.”

‘Use of Gender-Biased Language Risks Encoding Bias into Law Itself’: Pakistan Supreme Court

The court observed, “It assumes that a woman's identity, legal capacity, personhood, and entitlement to support are subsumed into that of her husband upon marriage, treating her as a dependent rather than an autonomous, rights-bearing individual. The use of gender biased language by judicial or administrative bodies does not merely reflect prevailing social prejudices, it perpetuates and legitimizes structural discrimination, and risks encoding bias into the law itself.”

“As constitutional subjects, women are entitled to equality not only in result but also in the form, tone, and respect with which the law addresses them… we deem it imperative to reaffirm that all judicial and administrative authorities bear a constitutional responsibility to adopt gender-sensitive and gender-neutral language”, the court further added.

Pakistan SC Cites THIS Judgement of Supreme Court of India

While overturning the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Service Tribunal's judgement, the Pakistan Supreme Court cited Supreme Court of India's Aparna Bhat v. State of Madhya Pradesh case of 2021. The bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and AM Khanwilkar, set aside Madhya Pradesh High Court's judgement, wherein the court had included ‘tying of rakhi’ as a condition for bail for the man accused of sexual assault - if the victim tied a rakhi on the wrist of the accused who promises to “guard her to the most effective of his ability for all times to come back”, he would be granted bail.

The top court held that usage of stereotypical language, reasoning and patriarchal terminology, that reduces the magnitude of sexual crimes or trivialises the victim, must be avoided at all costs. Observing so, the Madhya Pradesh High Court's judgement was set aside and clear directions were issued to all courts, to “refrain from imposing irrelevant, freaky or illegal bail conditions”.