Amend Advocates Act, 1961 to allow reservation for women advocates in Bar Councils: Women lawyers write to Union Law Minister, Kiren Rijiju

The Interactive Session of Women Advocates comprising of women lawyers practising in the Bombay High Court has written to the Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju seeking reservation of seats for woman advocates in the Bar Council of India and the State Bar Councils..They have sought for an amendment in the Advocates Act, 1961 so that such reservation can be made to increase the representation of woman advocates as members of Bar Councils..The reservation could be based on the number of advocates enrolled in each State Bar Council for the State Bar Councils, the representation suggested..As for the Bar Council of India, it is further suggested that "atleast three members of the Bar Council of India shall be women, to be elected by the State Bar Councils on a rotational basis". .The representation made to the Law Minister also highlighted statistics showcasing the poor representation of women in the various Bar Councils of the country..The lawyers submitted that to safeguard the rights, privileges and interest of the advocates, "it was necessary to have an in-depth understanding of the issues faced by all advocates including women advocates who face issues distinct from male colleagues".."In the absence of any woman representation in the Bar Council of India and a State Bar Council, there is a severe impediment in addressing concerns pertaining to women advocates; thereby there being no avenue for woman advocates to raise issues with regard to their welfare" the representation stated..It was further point out that despite unequivocal equal rights granted to both men and women under the Constitution, "the legal profession continues to be male dominated and issues relating to women advocates are seldom considered"..The group raised a grievance although there are events conducted by Bar Councils to support law reforms and discussions on legal topics by eminent personalities, women advocates continue to be deprived of opportunities to contribute to the legal profession in a meaningful way..Referring to gender inequalities in the legal profession, the group stated that "women advocates were being consistently denied a place in the decision making high table"..The representation underscored that:Out of the 416 senior advocates designated by the Supreme Court as on October 2019, only 8 are women, andOut of the 185 senior designates in Bombay High Court, only 6 have been women..It was further submitted that women's participation int he professions is critical to make available different perspectives for the development of law and to ensure fairness in the legal system for all participants..Emphasis has also been placed on the existing provisions in the Constitution (providing one-third representation to women in Panchayati Raj institutions) and in several statutes (including the Companies Act which mandated at least one woman director) when it comes to representation of women. .Senior Advocate Rajani Iyer, Advocates Anita Shekhar-Castellino, Sharmila Deshmukh and Sonal have signed the representation on behalf of the group..[Read representation]