Chief Justice of India Calls for Stronger Laws to Protect Girls, Condemns FGM as Grave Human Rights Violation

Human Rights Research Center
6 minutes ago
2 min read

October 17, 2025

HRRC commends Chief Justice B. R. Gavai’s strong stance against female genital mutilation and his call for stronger protection of girls’ rights. His remarks reaffirm India’s commitment to upholding dignity, equality and justice for every girl child.

Protesters carrying posters on International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, February 2019. [Image credit: Outlook India]

Chief Justice of India (CJI) B. R. Gavai has urged for stronger legal frameworks and national action to protect girls from both traditional and emerging threats–ranging from female genital mutilation (FGM) to online harassment–describing their safety and dignity as a measure of India’s collective conscience.

Speaking at the National Stakeholders Consultation on “Safeguarding the Girl Child: Towards a Safer and Enabling Environment for Her in India,” CJI Gavai emphasized that safeguarding a girl child extends beyond physical protection; it is about liberating her spirit and ensuring equal opportunities through education and dignity. He called for specialized laws and training for law enforcers to tackle digital crimes like cyberbullying, deepfake imagery and digital stalking, which increasingly target young girls in the digital era.

This highlights that many girls in India still face grave violations of their fundamental rights despite constitutional guarantees. CJI Gavai pointed to practices such as FGM, child marriage, malnutrition and sex-selective abortions as persistent barriers to gender equality. He said these harmful practices demand urgent social and legal redress, adding that technology should serve as a tool for liberation, not exploitation.

His remarks drew strong support from human rights organizations, which called the CJI’s comments a “turning point” in India’s fight against FGM. They reiterated that FGM is a serious human rights violation rooted in gender inequality, urging the Indian government to enact an explicit ban, collect national data and end the rising trend of its medicalization.

The CJI’s call reinforces India’s responsibility to protect its daughters from all forms of discrimination and abuse, both traditional and digital and to uphold their right to safety, dignity and equality.

Glossary

Abuse – To treat someone badly or hurt them.
Commends – Praises or says good things about someone.
Constitutional guarantees – Rights or freedoms promised by the country’s constitution.
Cyberbullying – Bullying or insulting someone online.
Deepfake imagery – Fake pictures or videos made using computer technology or AI, which look real, are usually done to harm someone.
Digital stalking – Following or watching someone’s activities online in a harmful way.
Discrimination – Unfair treatment of someone because of who they are.
Enact – To make something, like a law, official.
Exploitation – Using someone unfairly for your own benefit.
Explicit – Very clear and direct.
Female Genital Mutation – Comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
Liberating – To set free from something.
Legal redress – Getting help or justice through the law.
Malnutrition – Bad health caused by not eating enough or not eating the right food.
Medicalization – Treating something as a medical problem when it may not need to be.
Persistent – Continuing for a long time without stopping.
Reiterated – To say or do something again, or many times
Sex-selective abortions – Ending a pregnancy because the baby is a boy or a girl.

Sources

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Chief Justice of India Calls for Stronger Laws to Protect Girls, Condemns FGM as Grave Human Rights Violation

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