Overcoming all odds, woman lawyers make presence felt

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 16

High-profile female law practitioners in Jammu say since the profession was male-dominated earlier, the biggest challenge for them was to make forays into it.

Today, female lawyers boast of their presence in the field on a par with their male counterparts, with many of them even cracking tedious and complex cases.

Presently, there are nearly 500 female advocates working in Jammu courts and a majority of them are well-versed to handle cases, ranging from domestic violence to criminal matters etc.

“When I joined legal profession in 1987, it was more or less an exclusive male bastion, hardly any women were there in active legal practice. The biggest challenge was to make forays into it. I had to work hard to prove that women were no less than men, and could survive and excel in this field as well,” said Seema Shekhar, a senior lawyer.

Shekhar, who was also the chairperson of the Action Committee for Protection of Women’s Rights, which spearheaded the movement against the Permanent Residents (Disqualification) Bill in 2004, and succeeded said, “The legal fraternity, contrary to the common perception, is a great association where younger lawyers respect you, elders care for you and colleagues are your comrades. What you get from a profession also depends on what you give to it. I have always believed in the saying, “give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you”.

Among her important cases contested which have had a impact on society was a public interest petition filed by her for the implementation of the J&K Preconception/prenatal sex selection/determination (prohibition and regulation) Act which led to the framing of rules under the Act, paving the way for its implementation in addition to sensitive matters pertaining to preventive detention and number of service and constitutional matters.

Manpreet Reen, another practising lawyer for over 20 years, also endorsed Seema’s statement on the male dominance in the field affecting female practitioners.

She, however, said that such impediments did not hold her back as she rose to her position in the field through her “sincerity and dedication”.

“It is basically the prejudice in the mindset of people that they give work to males rather than females, presuming that the latter might not be able to deliver. I have faced that much only,” said Manpreet Reen.

She added that she got great cooperation from every quarter in judiciary which was very encouraging and helped her to promote herself in the field.

Regarding female lawyers’ contribution towards judiciary, she said, “We are in a profession where things that matter are dedication and loyalty to work. People come in misery and go satisfied,” she said, adding that a female lawyer could very well empathise with a female client which gives them satisfaction.