In an attempt towards curbing gender disparity, St.Stephen’s Student Union passed a unanimous decision for changing the pronoun from ‘he’ to ‘the president’ in their constitution. Stephen’s Student Union constitution came into being in 1951, when Stephens was an all-boys college. Therefore, the pronoun ‘he’ was added in reference to the President.
Despite the college turning co-ed in 1975, this practice was adhered to for 68 years. According to a report by The Indian Express, Ramon Mohora, the Students’ Union Society (SUS) President said that this move was taken “to make future unions more accessible and non-discriminatory.”
This decision, however small, was taken “to celebrate and recognize gender diversity among people, and to also move in the direction of reform and equality in college life for people belonging to different genders”, said Mohora.
With the Union’s record of having only two female presidents till date, Mohora said that the constitution amendment was a “conscious decision” keeping in mind the lack of female representation in the council.
