Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government made history on Tuesday by passing a law on public health that is entirely written using feminine pronouns in Malayalam, marking the first instance of its kind in the country.
After gathering feedback from the public, health experts, and various organizations, the Public Health Law, 2023 was passed and enacted.
"This is the first Bill that has completely used feminine pronouns. All the laws in the country have always used male pronouns till now," Health Minister Veena George's office said in a release.
Instead of using 'udhyogasthan' (pronoun to describe male officer), the new Law contains '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 diseases.
The bill was prepared keeping in mind the elderly, differently abled, bedridden patients, women, children, guest workers and others who need special treatment, the release said.
(With PTI inputs.)
