KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday observed that the state government has to consider women’s issues as problems affecting a majority of the state’s literate populace. The Special Bench considering matters connected to the Justice Hema Committee report also expressed surprise at the state government’s inaction in the issue.
“In a state where the population of females has always exceeded that of males, and the birth-population ratio of females has always been higher than the national average, the interests of women cannot be treated as a minority interest, or their rights equated to minority rights,” the court said.
Citing a state government study of 2013, the Special Bench pointed out that the literacy rate among females in Kerala has always been very high, at above 91%, only marginally below the male literacy rate of around 96%.
“The life expectancy for women in our state is in the region of 76.30 as against 71.40 for men. Therefore, the state has necessarily to see the problems faced by women as problems affecting a majority of the literate people in the state,” the court said.
The court further questioned, “When the report revealed such a malady in the system, what is the bare minimum that the state government should have done? We are taken aback by the lack of action by the state government. What are you doing to address the problems faced by women in society, not just the film industry? The situation is bad, especially in a state like ours, which has a higher population of women.”
Considering the public money spent for the effective functioning of the committee, and the high-profile nature of the committee, the Special Bench said the bare minimum expected of the government was to decide promptly on whether or not it agreed with the findings of the committee. “This was not done,” the court noted.
The court said the state government must take immediate steps to address the various issues faced by women.