Ardh Narishwar form of Shiva is half-woman: Justice Bela Trivedi calls for greater representation of women in judiciary

While calling for higher representation of women in the judiciary, the Supreme Court's Justice Bela Trivedi on Thursday cited the example of a form of Lord Shiva..Addressing the question as to why equal representation of women in the judiciary was required, Justice Trivedi said,"It is only to balance the scales of justice. It is said that the whole world is nothing but the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, and one of the forms of Shiva is Ardh Narishwar, which is the lord who is half-woman.This form of Lord Shiva represents the wholeness and completeness of human existence. In my opinion, the wholeness and completeness of justice also demands equal representation of Shiva and Shakti, that is men and women judges on the bench.".The judge was speaking at an event to commemorate the first ever International Day of Women Judges, hosted by the Supreme Court under the initiative of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana..Justice Trivedi went on to discuss why gender equality was important to ensure gender justice. "Society is an important stakeholder of the justice delivery system. Society may think judiciary reeks of patriarchal attitudes and does not care about the most vulnerable sections of society. Every democratic society expects that there is equal representation of women in the judiciary. A miniscule representation of women in the judiciary will nurture a belief that women do not belong to leadership, though the symbol of justice is a lady," she said..While speaking of the bias that is inherent in all, including judges, she said,"While there is no simple solution to bias, increasing the diversity of judges would reduce the likelihood of bias which may occur due to lopsided representation of one gender.".Justice Trivedi concluded her address by paying tribute to women trailblazers in the legal field, including India's first woman judge, Justice Anna Chandy; the first woman Chief Justice of a High Court Justice Leila Seth and the first woman to be elevated to the Supreme Court, Justice Fathima Beevi..International Women's Day 2022: Eight Indian women who broke the legal profession's glass ceiling.[Read a live account of the event here]