Kerala government passed a law on public health that has been fully written using feminine gender pronouns

In a first in the country, the Kerala government on Tuesday passed a law on public health that has been fully written using feminine gender pronouns in Malayalam

The law titled, Public Health Law 2023 was enacted after collecting the opinions of the public as well as people’s representatives, health experts and organisations.

“This is the first billthat has completely used feminine pronouns All the laws in the counry have always used male pronouns till now.” Health Minister Veena George’s office said in a release.

Instead of using ‘udhygasthan’ (pronoun to describe male officer), the new Law cotains ‘udhyogastha’ (the feminine gender for officer in Malayalam).

The bill was introduced and passed by the legislature in view of the need to combat new viruses, pathogens, infectious diseases and epidemics emerging as part of climate change and human-animal interactions, as well as to prevent lifestyle disesases.

The bill was prepared keeping in mind the elderly, differently abled, bedridden patients, woen, children, guest workers and others who need special treatment, the release said.