Less than one-third of judges in lower judiciary are women, says report

Fewer than one-third of judges in the lower judiciary — district courts and below — in 17 of 34 states and Union Territories are women, according to a February 2018 analysis by Vidhi Center For Legal Policy,  a New Delhi-based legal think tank.

Women comprise 48.5 per cent of the general population. The domination of men in the lower judiciary might reduce courts’ legitimacy as representative of the societies they serve.

The inclusion of women in the judiciary enables courts to understand the real-world implications of their rulings and reduces barriers to women’s access to justice, such as stigma associated