The word gender generally describes the state of being male, female, or sometimes neuter.
In all Central Acts and Regulations, unless there is anything repugnant to the subject or context –(1) words importing the masculine gender shall be taken to include females. ….. [Section 13 of the General Clauses Act, 1897]
The pronoun ‘he’ and its derivatives are used of any person, whether male or female. ….. [Section 8 of the Penal Code]
‘He’ may mean a female. The pronoun ‘he’ used in the expression “that he will thereby outrage her modesty” in section 345, Penal Code must be taken under section 8 as importing a male or a female. ….. [AIR 1953 Madh B 147]