Anahida Bhardwaj
ABSTRACT
India is blessed as also plagued with multiple facets which form the identity of a person. On paper, the foundation stone of some core tenets of our Constitution is intersectionality. It, therefore, is unfortunate that there is no fructification of ideologies attempted to be established by the founding fathers of the largest democracy in the world.
Social scientists have concluded by way of thorough research that women of colour and their lived experiences are often a result of intersecting patters of sexism as also racism. The marginalisation experienced by women of colour cannot be studied in isolation and must be read with crucial factors including but not limited to the fundamental rights of caste, religion, sex and sexual orientation. Given the fact that our Courts of law are ideally ought to be just and neutral in the dispensation of justice, it is important that these intersecting grounds also be considered when considering matters wherein the core tenets of feminism are challenged.
Through the means of this paper, we will firstly look at the meaning of intersectionality as also its implications in the Indian context; then landmark judgments delivered by the Supreme Court of India and its standing vis-à- vis intersectionality and finally conclude with some recommendations as to how can we form a comprehensive judicial mindset at the time of considering and passing future judgments.
Keywords: Intersectionality, Supreme Court, Feminism, Jurisprudence, Indian judgments
