India uses ‘she’, and ‘her’ to refer to all genders for the first time ever

The feminine pronouns were used in the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022. The bill Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw introduces is to broadly recognise an individual’s right to protect personal data and also the need to process personal data for lawful purposes.

Hyderabad: If you have observed, most official documents are written using ‘he’, ‘him’, and ‘his’ pronouns. In a historic move, India has made use of ‘she’ and ‘her’ pronouns for the first time ever in the legislative history of the country.

The feminine pronouns were used in the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022. The bill Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw introduces is to broadly recognise an individual’s right to protect personal data and also the need to process personal data for lawful purposes.

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While a few western countries have shifted to gender-neutral pronouns in the past, in most colonised countries, masculine pronouns are still in use. The United Kingdom, for instance, shifted to gender-neutral pronouns in the year 2000.

The initiative is said to be in sync with the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign, which seeks to empower the girl child and encourage families to educate and raise them well.

The Bill in question is now open for public comments. The Personal Data Protection Bill was withdrawn in August after a Joint Parliamentary Committee suggested around 81 changes.