International Women’s Day | Class chores to exam scores: Gender equity must begin at school

Gender equality — a term you would have conversations about now and then around you, especially in digital spaces nowadays. But are the conversations happening where the foundation of today’s youth gets laid? Are schools creating opportunities and an environment for such discussions to flourish? We talked to several experts, teachers and students to understand the scenario better…

I remember back in school when punishments were often to make girls sit with boys and boys sit with girls, the class even used to be filled with whispers and snickers when this happened — a subtle example of how deeply embedded gender differences are, even at such a young age. From asking boys to lift chairs to saying ‘be like the girls, so good they are’, gendered remarks still find space in school corridors.

Talks versus actions

While gender debates go viral over the internet, it is quite important to look at how the topic is being handled at the most basic level of the education system we have in the country — in our school classrooms.

Anamika Unnikrishnan, a class 10 student from Thrissur, talks about how boys are still seen as troublemakers while girls are seen as more responsible children within classrooms. “It’s small everyday actions which teachers, or anyone else for that matter, do not realise are unfair — such as cleaning duties, which are still often just given to girls, even though it is a collective duty of the class,” she added. Sudha Ramalingam, a Chennai-based lawyer who works on gender related cases, points out the need for properly trained counsellors in every school and to communicate the gender differences to students in a healthy fashion. “If it’s a co-education school, they start telling girls to wear longer dresses, not to wear sleeveless, don’t wear this, don’t do that. At least there can be uniform dresses for both genders rather than creating such differences from such a young age,” she added.

The new gender neutral uniform at Moyans school in Palakkad.
| Photo Credit:
Mustafah KK

Stepping back 10 years in time, I remember my school having separate seating arrangements, assembly lines and even a separate ‘sex ed class’ related to menstruation, which often left me feeling very different from my male classmates, often even expecting differentiated treatment for the better or worse. It’s much later, and through conversations with several of my classmates, that I realised how much such actions actually have an impact on students. While talking to students from schools around the country, I realised the system has not changed much. While there is some progress, stigma still haunts many conversations.

“There is a hesitation among girls as they grow older to participate more in events, especially sports, and there should be more programs which encourage them to be more active,” says Riya, a class 12 student from Bangalore. “In sports meets or even training sessions in school, boys are often given much more hype than girls. Our matches often get postponed to the end because “boys’ matches are longer and more hectic,” she added. Like how national and international sports events get more hype if it’s a men’s match than a women’s match, the societal stereotypes follow even school-level matches.

Slow changes

While students demand more, teachers assure us that change is happening, albeit slowly. Especially with the coming of social media, and young-age teachers joining the force, conversations around handling such issues “sensitively” have arisen in staffrooms.

“I remember a gender sensitivity workshop being conducted for teachers around 12-15 years back, which was quite a revelation to us. We had gender sensitivity classes for students, and it continued for just a couple of years, but then no one spoke about it afterwards,” says Usha Pisharody, a retired teacher from Kerala. CBSE had brought in a few training programs to ensure gender sensitivity among teachers and faculty quite a few years back in 2012, and it is believed to be continuing in several parts of the country. However, real change needs to be brought in at a much deeper level in the very approach of conversations between teachers and students.

Textbook featuring gender-neutral representation, where all family members (male and female) join in cooking and kitchen duties, at a school, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

Anvesha Gupta, a class 10 student from Kolkata, mentions how students today are more aware of their surroundings, and they do try to deal with it perfectly. “There have been moments where my classmates have spoken up against gender based jokes or stereotypes. Many students support one another and encourage equal participation, whether in sports, academics, or cultural events,” she added. While the general consensus among students points to a need for an internal change to sensitise the faculty to not accidentally give in to the stereotypes often pushed forward by society, there was also an opinion regarding the need for a systemic change.

“Things are all good on paper; unfortunately, it has not come into action,” added Usha Pisharody. There is a need for unlearning and learning for the generations before; while it is a long process, it is quite needed, especially within the teaching force, according to the teacher.

Looking into the future

The need to create awareness among faculty stood out as an important point throughout my research for this story. Often, unaware of the lasting impact even small sentences have on young minds remains an issue to work around through open conversations among students and teachers alike. Ensuring the stigma around such conversations disappear itself need to be tackled at a ground level.

““Without bringing it within the syllabus, teachers might not really talk about it when there are other subjects under the pressure of exams and marks.””Sudha RamalingamChennai based lawyer who works on gender related cases

“There is no direct gender discrimination as such is seen in the classrooms and the schools. However, it would be better that schools promote and facilitate “inclusive practices and culture”, say for example, schools could think of mixed sports events and games instead of gender exclusive, likewise mixed students in group items of cultural competitions,” says Krishnaprasad S, Principal of Sree Narayana Public School in Kerala.

Sukirtharani, a poet, social activist and teacher, talked about the importance of ensuring the need to make sure students understand the depth of conditioning involved in gender discrimination around them and how it is quite interrelated to multiple social factors like religion, caste, class and so on. “It starts from home itself, when girls are still asked to clean, cook and do home chores while some are still hesitant to ask boys to do the same,” she added.

Representative photo.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

“Parents must be sensitised on the relevance of ‘Gender equity’ to change their conventional mindset and outlook. No initiative in this regard will be fruitful unless the parents are on board with the school,” Krishna Prasad added while talking about the need to include a section on gender sensitivity in the social science curriculum, giving the minimum statistical updates to students.

And there is no right age to create such awareness, according to Sudha Ramalingam. “Children should constantly be given guidance regarding the same; some may mature faster than others, depending on their growing-up environment.”

While conversations, counsellors and syllabus remain a distant dream in the Indian education system for now, students are asking for smaller demands — don’t ask the boys to pick up the benches, aren’t everyone strong and capable?