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GENDER EQUALITY AND GENDER
SENSITIVITY
Unit Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Gender: Meaning and Definition
1.3 Impact of Gender Inequality
1.4 Need of Gender Sensitivity
1.5 Promote gender awareness in parents and teachers
1.6 Developing sch ool curriculum for gender equality
1.7 Gender equality in textbooks
1.8 Gender roles and responsibilities assigned in schools and classrooms
1.9 Safety of girls and women
1.10 Successful Women in India
1.11 Conclusion
1.12 Unit End Exercise
1.13 Refer ence
1.0 OBJECTIVES To enable the students to understand the concept of „Gender equality ‟
and „Gender equity‟
To enable the students to understand the difference between „Gender
equality ‟ and „Gender equity‟
To enable the students to understand the con cept of Gender
Sensitivity
To analyze the reasons for gender inequalities
To enable the students to understand how gender stereotype are
formed
1.1 INTRODUCTION For many years, the dominant gender has been men while women were the
minority. It was mostly because men earned the money and women looked
after the house and children. Similarly, they didn‟t have any rights as well.
However, as time passed by, things started changing slowly. Nonetheless,
they are far from perfect. Gender inequality remains a seri ous issue in
today‟s time. munotes.in
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2 Education for Women
2 The way we view gender is related to time, culture and society and
changes according to prevailing power structures and trends. Our society
still has structures that maintain the idea that biological sex defines our
personality. Gender related expectations have an influence on our career
choices. Also media continuously produces new”correct” ways of being a
girl or boy, woman or man. Sometimes the media also questions those
expectations.
The basic concepts sex gender :
• Categor ized as male or female
• Biological
• Fixed at birth
• Does not change across time and space
• Equally valued
• Masculinity and Femininity
• Socially, culturally, and historically determined
• Learned through socialization
• Varies over tim e and space
• Unequally valued (masculinity as the norm)
1.2 GENDER: MEANING AND DEFINITION The concept of gender was first used by Iill Matthews in 1984 in her study
of the construction of femininity. According to Mathews, the concept of
gender gives recognition to the fact that every known society differentiates
between women and men. Gender is a socially constructed term which has
specified nature and meaning. It is manifestation towards the socio -
cultural framework of man and woman in society which assign those
duties, responsibilities and various social roles.
It is used as an equipment to analyze the situation, taboos, and realities of
social roles posed by various social institutions (i.e. family, marriage,
religion etc.). Gender identity has mov ed from dualism to multiplicity, it is
both fluid and embodied, not unified.
A working definition in use by the World Health Organization for its work
is that "Gender' refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours,
activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men
and women" and that "'masculine' and 'feminine' are gender categories
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating
between and from masculinity and femininity.
Depending on the cont ext, these characteristics may include biological sex
(i.e. the state of being male, female or intersex), sex -based social munotes.in
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3 Gender Equality and Gender Sensitivity structures (including gender roles and other social roles), or gender
identity. The gender and sex distinction is not universal. In o rdinary
speech, gender and sex are often used interchangeably. Some dictionaries
and academic disciplines give them different definitions while others do
not.
Check Your Progress :
Q.1 What is the meaning Gender?
Q.2 Give two definitions of Gender.
1.3 IM PACT OF GENDER INEQUALITY: The biggest problem we are facing is that a lot of people still see gender
inequality as a women‟s issue. However, by gender, we refer to all genders
including male, female, transgender and others.
When we empower all genders esp ecially the marginalized ones, they can
lead their lives freely. Moreover, gender inequality results in not letting
people speak their minds. Ultimately, it hampers their future and
compromises it.
History is proof that fighting gender inequality has resul ted in stable and safe
societies. Due to gender inequality, we have a gender pay gap. Similarly, it
also exposes certain genders to violence and discrimination.
In addition, they also get objectified and receive socioeconomic inequality.
All of this ultima tely results in severe anxiety, depression and even low self -
esteem. Therefore, we must all recognize that gender inequality harms
genders of all kinds. We must work collectively to stop these long -lasting
consequences.
Fight Gender Inequality :
Gender ineq uality is an old -age issue that won‟t resolve within a few days.
Similarly, achieving the goal of equality is also not going to be an easy one.
We must start by breaking it down and allow it time to go away.
Firstly, we must focus on eradicating this probl em through education. In
other words, we must teach our young ones to counter gender stereotypes
from their childhood.
Similarly, it is essential to ensure that they hold on to the very same beliefs
till they turn old. We must show them how sports are not gender -biased.
Further, we must promote equality in the fields of labor. For instance, some
people believe that women cannot do certain jobs like men. However, that is
not the case. We can also get celebrities on board to promote and implant the
idea of eq uality in people‟s brains. We need to get rid of the old -age
traditions and mentality. We must teach everyone, especially the boys all
about equality and respect. It requires quite a lot of work but it is possible.
We can work together and achieve equal re spect and opportunities for all
genders alike. munotes.in
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4 Education for Women
4 ‘Gender equality’ means equal outcomes for women, men and gender -
diverse people. „Gender equity‟ is the process to achieve gender equality.
Gender equity recognizes that women and gender -diverse people are not
in the same „starting position‟ as men. This is because of historical and
social disadvantages. Treating women, gender -diverse people and
men equally might not actually be fair.
In fact, it can create further disadvantage. Gender equity measures are
often needed to level the playing field.
Gender equity puts the focus on fairness and justice re -grading benefits
and needs for women and men, girls and boys. Equity is used for example
within the education, health and humanitarian sectors referring to the
equal distribution of resources based on the needs of different groups of
people.
Gender Sensitivity :
Gender‟ refers to the socially determined ideas and practices of what it is
to be female or male, how a person‟s biology is culturally valued and
interprete d into locally accepted ideas of what it is to be a woman or man,
whereas „Sex‟ refers to the biological characteristics that categorize
someone as having either a female or male body
Gender Was first use as phrase “the social relation of gender” The so cial
relations of gender seek to explain sharing, decision making, division of
labor and return to labor within the household and in society, among
others
It is generally assigned at birth by external genital appearance. Gender on
other hand is identified by one's own on identification as mail, female are
intersex.
Another definition would be the awareness and acceptance of the roles and
duties of each, as expected from them and from the people that they work
with. Acknowledges the different role and respo nsibilities of women and
men in the community and in the community and the relationship between
them.
Men and women are different; therefore their experiences, needs, issues
and priorities are different. Strategies are also different to achieve
equitable o utcomes for women and men.
Gender sensitivity refers to an attempt to encounter and accept people
without presumptions. Gender sensitive approach aims at opening,
reconstructing and broadening expectations and behavioural models
related to gender.
Means g ender awareness which is more analytical and critical since it
clarifies issues about gender disparities and gender issues. munotes.in
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5 Gender Equality and Gender Sensitivity It pertains to one‟s effort to show how gender shapes the role of women
and men in society including their role in development and how it affects
relations between them.
Check Your Progress
1. What is gender equality?
2. What is gender Sensitivity?
3. Why is gender equality important?
1.4 NEED OF GENDER SENSITIVITY Gender is one of the most central social institutions a person joins at an
early age. Expectations, models and structures related to gender have a
notable effect on growing up, developing and learning.
Society continuously constructs and reproduces models and norms of
a”correct” way of being a girl/boy, man /woman.
Gender sensitive work is a way of responding to the discussion. It is an
attempt to identify and question any gender norms that narrow an
individual‟s own way of expressing gender.
Some representations of gender related models include: - Girls‟ and boys‟
toys and colors Ge ndered division of labor according to imaginary ”female
attributes” and ”male attributes”.
Unequal division of responsibilities related to parenthood (such as
gendered parental leave, custody battles favoring mothers)
It is also important to notice the soc ietal counterarguments aiming at
broadening and questioning gendered models and structures (eg.
statements against gendered children‟s clothes and toys, feminist activism
etc.)
Check Your Progress :
1. Explain the need of gender sensitivity
2. How can we inculca te gender sensitivity in the society?
1.5 HOW TO PROMOTE GENDER AWARENESS IN PARENTS AND TEACHERS All text, reading materials and books is free of notion of gender inequality
as bias is embedded in textbooks, lessons and teachers, interaction with
student .
Curriculum/ text:
• Needs to be gender -sensitive and gender friendly for girls and boys
Educational system
• Needs for the development of criteria of meeting gender sensitive
guidelines Guide lines by Gender Experts Need to join hand to munotes.in
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6 minimize gend er discrimination and promoting gender equalities.
Role of Government and NGO‟s
• Promoting gender neutral language. Use of gender Sensitive
Vocabulary
• All policies, programs and interventions need to be gender sensitive.
Educational Policies
• Gend er sensitivity training should be mandatory Teacher Training
Programs
• Benefits must be offered in rural areas to promote girl education Extra
fringe benefits
• Needs to be strengthened to identify gender issues in homes School -
Parent Partnership
• Gender training must be provided for parents, teachers‟ staff,
administrators and local officials. Gender training /sensitization
sessions
• GS progress must be constantly reviewed by gender experts
monitoring
• GS counseling must be available for stud ents, staff, teachers and
parents Gender Sensitivity counseling
• Educational Authorities and school must be provided budget to
promote and sustain the gender sensitive agenda. Allocation of budget
• Gender fair practices are effective when top leadersh ip supports
gender equity and equality Commitment from senior leadership/
Government
• Organizational change needs to be institutionalized by promoting
gender balance. Ex. Equal valuing of men and women‟s working
style. Gender Sensitive Organizational Cu lture
• Gender audit of institutions should be carried out by gender experts to
review curriculum, policies, programs and interventions etc.
Gender Audit :
• Where the academic, social, and physical environment and its
surrounding community take into acc ount the specific needs of girls
and boys. Creation of a
Gender Responsive School :
• To promote gender friendly
a. Preparing and implementing Center of Excellence (COE) at
workplace, munotes.in
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7 Gender Equality and Gender Sensitivity b. Gender interest committee,
c. Anti-Sexual harassment commi ttee.,
d. Anti-Child Abuse committee.
What roles should teachers play to address gender sensitivity issues?
Teacher should Understand Gender roles and Expectations Attend Gender
Training Cooperate with Government and NGO‟s
Teacher should strive to work hand in hand with schools administrators
Promote gender responsive school Conduct researches
Teacher should find appropriate time to raise gender issues Initiate
information Dissemination campaign for gender -fair education Treat every
boy and girl equally.
How to adopt Gender Mainstreaming :
How to adopt GM Train teachers in gender equality Conduct gender
analysis Strengthened school parent partnership Train for gender
sensitivity Key officials should undergo GS trainings Develop set of
criteria to rid textb ooks of gender bias and sex stereotyping Review
policies for possible discriminatory clauses
Train teachers in Gender Equality :
This training raises the awareness of teachers and trains them to address
prevailing gender and social issues in academic setti ng and in the society
at large.
Conduct Gender Analysis :
Gender analysis should be conducted through the curriculum materials,
teaching and learning processes, school structures and culture.
Strengthened school parent partnership :
Parents, teachers, admin istrators and local officials should be aware of
their legal obligations and children‟s right.
Train for gender sensitivity
Needs to be mandatory.
All teachers should be gender sensitized and must be exposed to gender
sensitivity.
Develop set of criteri a to rid textbooks of gender bias and sex stereotyping
Authors, publisher, board of textbooks and other concerned agencies
stereotyping and continue to review existing textbooks and teacher
manuals in the elementary and secondary level for sex biases and
stereotyping. munotes.in
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8 Review policies for possible discriminatory clauses
Concerned school officials should review policies for possible
discriminatory promotions, access to training and scholarships and other
human resource development activities to ensure a gen der fair school
community.
Self Reflection:
Gender sensitive work approach requires being aware of one‟s own
thoughts, expectations and values related to gender. Professionals working
with gender sensitive approach should constantly critically re -evaluate
their own values and attitudes. Reflection has to do with both learning and
unlearning. Gender based expectations are connected with the era and
change together with changes in the society. Sometimes it is necessary to
let go of customary expectations and procedures.
Check Your Progress:
Q.1 Do I treat girls and boys differently in the same situation?
Q.2 Do I assume that girls and boys are automatically interested in certain
activities or hobbies?
Q.3 Do I assume that girls or boys are suitable for certa in jobs by nature?
Q.4 Am I ready to encounter a youngster who is not willing to define his /
her gender?
Q.5 Do I jokingly ask girls about their boyfriends and boys about their
girlfriends without knowing anything about their sexual identity?
1.6 DEVELOPI NG SCHOOL CURRICULUM FOR GENDER EQUALITY Development of the curriculum to address gender inequality cannot
happen in isolation from other aspects of schooling, particularly ways of
teaching, learning and interaction within the classroom. Whatever the
content of the curriculum, equity will not be achieved if girls are munotes.in
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9 Gender Equality and Gender Sensitivity discouraged from speaking, if boys absorb a disproportionate amount of
the teachers‟ energy, nor if the physical environment does not support
equal access to education for example, the provisi on of girls‟ toilets and
wheel chair access.
International researches suggests that boys have a disproportionate share
of contributions in whole class interaction due partly to their being
selected by the teacher more frequently than girls, but also to the ir ability
to create both positive and negative conditions which attract teachers‟
attention and facilitate their participation and dominant position in
classroom interaction. This dominant position of the boys provides them
with an important learning expe rience, i.e. the confidence of being listened
to and responded to within the public domain, thus stimulating them to
participate more. Girls may thereby be unintentionally pushed out of the
centre of the action, learning to expect a lower participation lev el than
boys.
There is substantial evidence internationally, that teachers -even those
well-disposed to the question of equal opportunities - interact
differentially with their boys and girls and that this may operate to the
disadvantage of girls. Observati ons in the classroom have shown that boys
both demand and get more teacher attention. A substantial amount of this
is in the form of disciplinary interventions. Boys of all ages also receive
more praise from both female and male teachers, even though teach ers are
adamant that they do not give more attention to boys than girls.
The power of self -concept is profound, as is the ability of adults to
influence the children around them. Families and teachers are encouraged
to conscientiously and actively create a positive learning environment for
young children —not just in promoting developmentally appropriate
practices to stimulate cognitive, social, emotional, and physical domains,
but also in creating a moral context for what they learn, as well as to help
shape a global, multicultural, anti -bias world view.
Young children create and internalize their own meanings of gender,
based on the social cues of the adults, environments, and media around
them. Adults in turn have a responsibility to ensure that those cues and
messages create a healthy understanding of what it means to be male and
female.
By equipping young children with positive messages of empowerment
regardless of gender, in addition to the critical thinking skills to identify
stereotypes, teachers and f amilies can impart in children self -concept
resiliency, even when faced with negative stereotypes.
Check Your Progress
Q.1 Which courses should be included in the school curriculum for
gender equality?
munotes.in
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10 Q.2 Explain how the school curriculum ca n contribute to gender equality
1.7 GENDER EQUALITY IN TEXTBOOKS Human being is a social animal. For living in society he has to be
socialized and many agents are involved in the socialization process which
transmits the traditional gender roles in children. The fore most agent is the
family and the schools play the second major role in socializing the
children. It is duty of the family and school to provide right kind of
education. In schools, the aim of education is not only to impart
knowledge to a group of students , but to illuminate the minds of diverse
group of students and helps them in their holistic development. To achieve
this goal, education should be given to each and every child irrespective of
caste, creed, race and gender. Right to education can be achiev ed if there
is gender equality. Gender equality is important component of quality
education.
Role of Teacher in bringing gender equality in textbooks :
A teacher plays a very important part in the early upbringing of the child
and their ideas and beliefs c an change the thought patterns of young
students. Every action, attitudes, behaviour, perspective, approach,
manner, outlook and mind set of a teacher will help to shape a child‟s
personality in terms of gender role. It is the teacher who create learning
environment by using multiple strategies and interventions to ensure
gender equality or boys overpower the girls. She should be serious about
the gender issue. So Pre -service training should prepare them for this issue
so that they can be identify and count er gender bias in the textbooks and
encourage their students to do the same.
Gender sensitive curricula and textbooks cannot do anything in the
classroom if there is no gender equality education. They should
themselves make the changes or create original g ender sensitive teaching
content. UNESCO has given the guidelines for the teachers that may help
the teachers in bringing the gender equality.
Make sure that males and females are shown equally in class
materials.
Make sure that the themes, subjects, and p ictures used in class
materials connect to the life experiences of both female and male
students.
Make sure that female and male students are not presented only in
stereotypical ways.
Make sure you use a balanced amount of materials written by male
and fem ale authors. munotes.in
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11 Gender Equality and Gender Sensitivity Include women and men as examples of experts or leaders :
Gender issues are prevailing in society in all areas of life including
education. It is in the form of curriculum, textbooks, methodology and
attitude of the teachers. To minimize these g ender issues, there is need to
change the mind sets of the young generation of society as well the
teachers. This can be done if the knowledge given to them is gender biased
free. Students prefer to study the textbooks. They have faith in textbooks.
But la ck of proper guidelines for curriculum and textbook development for
gender mainstreaming are the reason for existing gender stereotype in
these books. So the authors of the textbooks should be made aware of such
a sensitive issue.
Check Your Progress :
Q.1 What is the role of text book in gender equality?
Q.2 What is the ro le of Teacher in bringing gender equality while
teaching topics?
1.8 GENDER ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ASSIGNED IN SCHOOLS AND CLASSROOMS Global researches glaringly reveal prevalent ge nder discrimination in
educational settings. Girls in school perform more work inside the school
than a boy does. Research has shown that teachers treat boys differently
than girls; identifying them more readily and giving them more attention.
Because of t his, boys learned that they are valued and feel comfortable
taking risks while girls feel that not much is expected of them and are not
as confident in speaking out in the class.
Girls in school perform the work related to gardening, cleaning,
decorations, book keeping, accounting etc and boys will perform physical
work like shifting, painting, weight lifting, construction works, farming,
administration etc.
Development of the curriculum to address gender inequality cannot
happen in isolation from other asp ects of schooling, particularly ways of
teaching, learning and interaction within the classroom. Whatever the
content of the curriculum, equity will not be achieved if girls are
discouraged from speaking, if boys absorb a disproportionate amount of
the tea chers‟ energy, nor if the physical environment does not support
equal access to education. International researches suggests that boys have
a disproportionate share of contributions in whole class interaction due
partly to their being selected by the teach er more frequently than girls, but
also to their ability to create both positive and negative conditions which munotes.in
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12 attract teachers‟ attention and facilitate their participation and dominant
position in classroom interaction. This dominant position of the boys
provides them with an important learning experience, i.e. the confidence
of being listened to and responded to within the public domain, thus
stimulating them to participate more. Girls may thereby be
unintentionally pushed out of the centre of the action , learning to expect a
lower participation level than boys.
The differences in patterns of classroom interaction appear to be unrelated
to the level of experience of the teachers concerned. Studies have found no
difference in interaction patterns and the t eachers‟ years of teaching
experience. The gender of the teachers also appears not to exert any
difference on patterns of classroom interaction. Teachers of all levels of
experience tend to interact more with male students than with female
students. Howeve r, previous training in classroom interaction strategies
has been found to be significantly related to classroom behavior, with
trained teachers more consistently providing an equitable classroom
environment.
Some of the reasons why girls have learning pro blems include the low
expectations of teachers regarding their intellectual abilities, coupled with
a low level of feedback from teachers. In addition, some teachers say they
enjoy teaching boys more than girls especially if the girls are seen as
passive. Girls‟ low expectations of themselves contribute to the problem,
as does a lack of female teachers in high -status subjects such as
mathematics and science. Textbooks often reinforce the low expectations
of women and girls, as do curriculum and examination materials, while the
use of physical space in schools also marginalizes girls.
The curriculum is only as good as the teachers who deliver it. Despite
extensive gender inequalities outside school, teachers can make a
difference inside school. If teachers as sume that a girl can learn
mathematics, it will affect their approach to teaching girls and their
expectations of what girls can achieve in their subject. The teachers are
seen as facilitators of learning, rather than merely deliverers of knowledge,
then t hey are obliged to ensure that all children learn.
Schools are important contexts for the socialization of young children‟s
gender attitudes and behavior. Teachers and classmates shape children‟s
gender attitudes and, in turn, gender differences in cogniti on and behavior.
Unfortunately, teachers receive relatively little training in recognizing and
combating gender stereotypes and prejudices their own and others and, as
a consequence, teachers often model, expect, reinforce, and lay the
foundation for gende r differentiation among their pupils. Thus, most
schools create and maintain rather than counteract traditional gender
stereotypes, biases, and differences. However, educators who adopt a
commitment to gender egalitarianism and thus promote cross -gender
interaction, expose pupils to counter -stereotypic models, and discuss and
teach challenges to gender stereotyping and harassment optimize their
pupils‟ developmental outcomes. munotes.in
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13 Gender Equality and Gender Sensitivity Ten Ideas to promote gender equality in the classroom :
1. Ensure educational material s are free from gender stereotypes.
2. Challenge expectations of professions typically associated with a
particular gender, for example include a female construction worker
or soldier and a male secretary or nurse.
3. Avoid the term „guys,‟ which may make female students feel
excluded, use gender -neutral pronouns like „everyone.‟
4. Do not refer to stereotypical characteristics like „boys don‟t cry‟ or
„girls don‟t fight‟ which limits understanding of gender roles.
5. Address phrases like „you play like a girl‟ or „man up,‟ and point out
the gender implications of these statements and help find alternative
phrasing.
6. Avoid segregating boys and girls into separate lines, separate sports
activities and mix seating up in the classroom.
7. Ensure any educational materials used show genders in equal
measure.
8. Mix boys and girls to work on projects together.
9. Explore gender concepts and roles from different communities.
10. Help students identify instances of gender bias, through awareness
activities or historical events, laws and cultu ral changes.
Check Your Progress
Q.1 How classroom environment will affect on gender equality?
Q.2 What activities should be done in school for gender equality?
Q.3 What can be done to improve gender equality?
1.9 SAFETY OF GIRLS AND WOMEN Safety of wo men in India is a vast topic now -a-days. We cannot say that
women are safe in India by seeing the last few year crimes against women
especially in the national capital. Women generally feel frightened while
going alone outside to the home. It is a very sad reality of the country that
its women citizens are living with fear all time. Personal safety of women
has been the topic of importance for every Indian citizen. In order to munotes.in
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14 improve the condition regarding women safety in India, following are
some points as tips for women safety:
Some Tips Regarding Women Safety :
Self defense techniques are the first and foremost thing to which each
and every woman must be aware of and get proper self -defense
training for their safety. They must be aware of some effective
defence techniques such as kicks to groin, blocking punches, etc.
Generally most of the women are gifted with sixth sense which they
must use whenever they become in some problem. They should at
once avoid any situation which they feel bad for them.
Escape and run is also a good way to reduce some risks of women
whenever they become in problem. They should never go with any
unknown person alone at some unknown places.
Women must understand and feel their physical power and use
accordingly. They never feel t hemselves weak than men and take
some self defence training.
They should be careful while communicating with someone on
internet in the cyberspace.
Pepper spray can also be proved as a useful self -defence tool however
it has a drawback that some people can not be harmed through it even
after full -face spray. It may not stop the attacker so women should not
depend on it completely and use other techniques also.
They must have all the emergency numbers with them and whatsapp
also if possible so that they can i mmediately tell to their family
members and police.
Women should be very conscious while driving the car and going to
any trip. They must lock all the doors of car while travelling with own
or private car.
Women safety is a big social issue which needs to be solved urgently
by the effort of all. It is inhibiting the growth and development of the
country and most importantly hurting the half population of the
country in all aspects (physically, mentally, and socially).
Safety of girls and women at school, ho me and workplace :
The school -based approaches to violence prevention fall into three main
categories: control strategies, such as discipline policies and monitoring
equipment; programs that focus on altering the school environment (e.g.
smaller class sizes , family involvement, after -school programs); and
educational and instructional programs designed to produce changes in
individuals' attitudes, knowledge, or skills. The latter strategies, which munotes.in
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15 Gender Equality and Gender Sensitivity concentrate on primary prevention, have been touted as both m ore cost -
efficient and successful than those designed to punish and legislate
behavior.
Thus, it is not surprising that schools often utilize these type of education
programs in an attempt to prevent one of the most pervasive forms of
violence facing their students: sexual abuse1. Yet while many local
education agencies have taken action to prevent sexual abuse by educating
their high school students, little is known about the effectiveness about
these programs, particularly about their impact on students i n urban
districts.
Check Your Progress
Q.1 What safety measures should be taken in school for gender equality?
Q.2 Design some innovative activities for women safety in the school
1.10 SUCCESSFUL WOMEN IN INDIA Indian women have always been a symbol of beauty, strength, and
intelli gence. Today the success of Indian women in various walks of life
has proved that they have earned this reputation very well. If you look
deeply, you will realize that some of the major contributors to Indian
society have been the active participation of v ery focused and dedicated
women. Women activists have been instrumental in changing many social
evils and have been a shining ray of hope.
Medha Patkar :
Medha Patkar is a prominent social activist of our country who works on a
variety of major political a nd economic issues that affect tribals, Dalits,
farmers, labourers, and women in India who are victims of injustice. She
is a founding member of the well -known Narmada Bachao
Andolan(NBA), a movement to safeguard Gujarat‟s rivers and people. She
as a human rights activist based her efforts on two fundamental tenets of
the Indian constitution: the right to life and the right to livelihood.
Kiran Bedi:
Born in Punjab‟s holy city of Amritsar, Kiran Bedi is a social activist and
the country‟s first female IPS officer. She has not only given her all to her
department, but she has also given her all to a variety of social concerns.
Kiran was the first Indian woman to be appointed as a Policy Advisor to
the United Nations Secretary -General in the Department of Pe acekeeping
Operations. munotes.in
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16 Laxmi Agarwal :
Lakshmi Agarwal is an acid attack survivor as well as a fighter for acid
attack victims‟ rights and a television host. She is an inspiration for all the
Acid attack survivors to live their life with self -confidence an d dreams.
She is the director of the Chhanv Foundation, an NGO committed to
assisting acid attack survivors in India. US First Lady Michelle Obama
presented Laxmi with the International Women of Courage Award in
2014. She‟s also the face of Viva and Diva, a campaign encouraging all
girls to focus on their inner beauty rather than their outward appearance.
Aruna Roy:
Aruna Roy is most recognised for her anti -corruption and government
transparency activities. Aruna Roy has been at the forefront of several
movements for poor and marginalised people‟s rights. The Right to
Information, the Right to Work (the NREGA), and the Right to Food are
among the most well -known of these.
Sunitha Krishnan:
Sunitha Krishnan is another well -known Indian social activist who h as
fought human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Krishnan is
the chief functionary and co -founder of Prajwala, an NGO that works to
rescue, rehabilitate, and reintegrate sex -trafficked victims into society. She
is a survivor of sexual violen ce.
Arundhati Roy:
Arundhati Roy is best known for her award -winning novel ” The God of
Small Things “(1997) and her activism in the environmental and human
rights movements. She has fought against the Narmada dam project with
activist Medha Patkar, claim ing that the dam will evict half a million
people with little or no compensation and will not offer the anticipated
irrigation, drinking water, and other benefits. She is also a political activist
involved in human rights and environmental causes.
Kriti Bh arti:
Kriti Bharti is a social activist who advocates for the abolition of child
marriage in India as well as women‟s social justice. She is the creator of
the Saarthi Trust, an organisation dedicated to annulling child marriages,
offering counselling to children and their families, and rehabilitating child
marriage victims. She founded Saarthi Trust in 2011 as a result of her
work with children in NGOs.
Vandana Shiva:
Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food
sovereignty advocate, e cofeminist, and anti -globalization author. Shiva is
a Delhi -based author who has published over 20 books. Her activism in
the anti -GMO campaign has earned her the moniker “Gandhi of grain.” munotes.in
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17 Gender Equality and Gender Sensitivity She has spoken out for women‟s rights, environmental issues, and a
variety of other social issues.
Manasi Pradhan:
Manasi Pradhan is an author and activist for women‟s rights in India. She
is the originator of the Honour for Women National Campaign, a state -
wide campaign in India dedicated to ending violence against wom en.
Saraswathi Gora:
Saraswathi Gora was an Indian social activist who campaigned against
untouchability and the caste system for many years as the leader of the
Atheist Centre. Saraswathi started pushing for devadasis marriages and the
remarriage of wido wed ladies in the year 1930.
1.11 CONCLUSION The path to full gender equality in India is difficult but not impossible. We
should be honest in our efforts and work on changing the social attitude
towards women. For full gender equality in India, both men and women
must work together and bring positive changes in society. Gender equality
is a fundamental right which contributes to a healthy society filled with
respectful relationships between one another.
Achieving gender equality in education means that boys and girls will
have equal opportunities to realize their full human rights and contribute
to and benefit from economic, social, cultural, and political development.
Gender equality should be given more priority in the school curriculum
and various acti vities should be included in the curriculum accordingly. If
students are given proper education from childhood, the problem of
inequality will never arise in future.
1.12 UNIT END EXERCISE Questions for Discussion and Reflection :
1. Explain Gender Identity an d socialization process.
2. Discuss the role of family, school, and organization in Gender
identity.
3. Identify the discrimination of gender in classrooms and school and
explain.
4. Discuss the role of curriculum and textbooks in challenging gender
inequalities.
5. How do teachers contribute to gender differences?
6. How is gender related to culture?
7. How does gender inequality affect Education?
8. Role of teachers and parents to combat gender bias? munotes.in
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18 Education for Women
18 1.13 REFERENCES Kate Rousmaniere, Kari Dehli, Ning De Coninck Smith. (2013).
Discipline, Moral Regulation, and Schooling: A Social History,
Routledge.
Maxine Baca Zinn; Pierrette Hondagneu -Sotelo; Michael A. Messner,
(2005). Gender through the Prism of Difference. Oxford University
Press, (3rd edition)
Michael S. Kimmel (2000). The Ge ndered Society. Oxford University
Press.
Sharma,K, K. &PunamMiglani, (2016). Gender School And Society,
Twentyfirs t century publications, Patiala
Punjab).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender https://en.wikipedia.org/
study.com/academy https://books.google. co.in/ www.academia.edu/
sk.sagepub.com/reference/gender
*****
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18 2
CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN GIRL’S
EDUCATION
Unit Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Need for equity in social context
2.3 Sociological Theories
2.4 Factors of social context (Family, Health, Caste, Class, Child
Marriage)
2.5 Gender inequality in s chooling
2.6 Co-Educational schools : Concept and Significance
2.7 Conclusion
2.8 Study questions
2.9 References
2.0 OBJECTIVES 1) To enable students to analyse the concept of gender from the
sociological perspective.
2) To understand the influence of so cial institutions (family, health,
caste, class, child marriage) on inclusive and gender identity.
3) To examine the role of schools, peers, teachers, curriculum etc. in
challenging inclusion and gender inequalities/reinforcing gender
parity.
4) To enabl e students to critically analyse the role of textbooks in
fostering gender equality.
5) To enable students to understand the importance of promoting gender
equality and gender equity.
2.1 INTRODUCTION Education is a product as well as a process. The aim of it is to develop
potency and wisdom in the life of people. Equal rights and opportunities,
financial decision making freedom and equal access of the resources for
everyone (male, female, transgender, etc.) helps in fulfillment of their
potential to the optimum level in a democratic ways. Gender inequality
creates impediment in human process hence, equity is a must for peaceful,
prosperous, harmonious and sustainable development of the nation.
Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same or munotes.in
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19 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education encroach space of each other but that both their responsibilities and
development will not depend on whether they are born male or female.
It is important to understand gender inequalities with respect to various
dimensions, these include, education, h ealth, employment or pay. Every
day, girl and third gender face several challenges in their life and reason
for this can be end number like poverty, cultural norms & practices, poor
infrastructure, violence and fragility. The term ‗Gender Equality‘ narrate s
the equal valuing of the different roles assumed by men and women. The
vision of equity with equality strives to overcome stereotype barriers and
prejudices so both men and women are capable of equally reaping benefits
and contributing towards social, po litical, cultural and economic
developments within society. When men and women enjoy equality, the
direct outcome is an instant and stable growth in economy. The educated
and healthy women in a society are more supportive and accommodating
towards their fa milies.
Gender Equality - An Established Human Right:
―Women constitute roughly half the human population but are relatively
marginalized compared with their male counterparts.
The gender equality has been accepted and acknowledged as human
rights‘ principl es since the adoption of charter of United Nations in 1945.
Most of the international agreements such as ‗The Millennium
Development Goals (2032)‘ and ‗The World Conference on Human
Rights (1993) have highlighted and stressed the grave need for nations to
take appropriate actions against such discriminatory practices.
About three decades ago, the adult male literacy rate in India was almost
twice that for adult females. While this gap has narrowed substantially
over the years, adult male literacy rate still surpasses the adult female
literacy rate by 17 percentage points.
As per the World Economic Forum‘s gender gap ranking, India stands at
rank 108 out of 149 countries. This rank is a major concern as it highlights
the immense gap in opportunities in women with comparison to men. In
Indian society from a long time back, the social structure has been such
that the women are neglected in many areas like education, health,
decision -making areas, financial independence, etc.
2.2 NEED FOR EQUITY IN SOCIAL CONTEXT To have a pluralistic and elagatrian society, where well -being for all is
being nurtured, both genders has been endowed with own unique
capabilities by nature. Gender equity is needed to empower the
marginalized to have a sound and healthy society. It wil l bring social
justice to all. It is a normative framework for educational reform to reduce
the dropouts rates. Vision is to have: munotes.in
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20 Education for Women
20
Social Context :
―Empowerment of women leads to development of a good family, good
society and, ultimately, a good nation. W hen the woman is happy, the
home is happy. When the home is happy, the society is happy and when
the society is happy the state is happy and when the state is happy there
will be peace in the country and it will develop at greater pace‖
Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kal am On The Issue Of Women Empowerment.
Social context refers to the specific setting in which cordial social
interaction takes place. It often includes unique meaning and
interpretations assigned by people within the given group. Ensuring that
all girls and young women receive a quality education is their human
right, a global development priority, and a strategic priority for the World
Bank.
Key Issues Affecting Girls and Women Around the World:
I. Access to Education
II. Pove rty
III. Sociocultural aspects
IV. Employment Opportunities
V. Reproductive Health & Rights
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21 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education VI. Maternal and mental Health
VII. Gender -based Violence
VIII. Child Marriage
IX. Female Genital Mutilation
X. Water & Sanitation
XI. Gender Equality
Poverty:
Poverty is one of the most important challenging factors for determining
whether a girl can access and complete her education. Studies consistently
reinforce that girls who face multiple disadvantages — such as low family
income, living in remote or undeser ved locations or who have a disability
or belong to a minority eth -no-linguistic group — are farthest behind in
terms of access to and completion of education. In large family, where
number of dependents are more usually compel child to earn which denies
to access the resources for better life due to financial issues in their later
life.
Violence:
Verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual harassment, discriminatory
treatment, rape, acid attacks, female foeticide and female infanticide, child
trafficking, domes tic violence and neglect. The experiencing of these acts
on the part of girls and women, have an adverse and long lasting effect
upon their physical as well as psycho -sociological health. Violence also
prevents girls from accessing and completing educatio n – often girls are
forced to walk long distances to school placing them at an increased risk
of violence and many experience violence while at school. Most recent munotes.in
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22 Education for Women
22 data estimates that approximately 60 million girls are sexually assaulted
on their way to or at school every year.
2.3 SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES I. Functionalist Perspective of Gender:
This theory propagated by Emile Durkheim, suggested that gender roles
maximize social efficiency and help society to remain stable. Society is a
complex interplay of persons and relationships so each individual is a
respected and responsible one.
II. Conflict Theory:
This theory originated from the work of Karl Marx capital theory.
According to him, ―To emancipation of women will only be possible when
women can tak e part in production on a large social scale, and domestic
work no longer claims but an insignificant amount of her time.‖
III. Symbolic Interaction Theory:
It states that, social interaction is dynamic in nature. The behaviour serves
to separate the both gender then the connect them at the level of power and
prestige. The most powerful gender became the dominant in the
interaction.
IV. Feminist Sociological Theory:
Promotes the voices of women at different front due to gender
oppressiveness present in th e society. Their own contribution to bring
change in the stature of the womanhood is main aim of discussion.
2.4. FACTORS OF SOCIAL CONTEXT (FAMILY, HEALTH, CASTE, CLASS, CHILD MARRIAGE) Girls and boys see gender inequality in their homes and communities
every day. It is the unfair treatment, either by conscious or unconscious
ways. It may be manifested in ways that are subtle or obvious. The
discriminatory treatment among girls is depicted in number of aspects.
These are, acquisition of education, attainme nt of employment
opportunities, empowerment opportunities, deprivation in right to munotes.in
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23 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education property, deprivation from having a say in the decision making matters,
deprivation from expressing their viewpoints and perspectives,
discouraged from participation in soci al, economic, cultural and political
activities.
2.4.1 Gender Issues In Homes:
Home is the basic unit of social structure. Family has a direct influence on
the child‘s gender identity as it is a very dominant agent in the life of a
child. Setting the norms , assignment of tasks, modelling of behaviour and
rewards vs punishments are the ways to reinforce the gender role by the
members of society. In a family, women are deprived of the decision -
making power, while the men are termed the head of the
family(patr iarchal in nature). A woman is restricted to being the caretaker
of the family with little or no rights whatsoever. Early marriages and
marriage of minor girls is common among many caste and culture in India.
Health of the women is also neglected often due to gender biasness they
suffer at home.
Parents may assume unequal responsibility for household work, with
mothers bearing the brunt of care giving and chores. The majority of low -
skilled and underpaid community health workers who attend to children
are also women, with limited opportunity for professional growth.
Gender awareness in parents can be developed by:
School -parent partnership needs to be strengthened to identify gender
issues in homes.
Promoting girl education in rural areas. NGOs awareness tr aining and
counseling. It is important that children should grow up seeing
women in their homes being respected by the men in the family.
Sensitive approach of a female towards the others are equally
important factor tp bring harmony in family, as it is p roved by
concrete data i.e. women are creating more distress for another
women then the men.
Orientation session for the parents through case studies, role play in
the rural areas can bring change.
Role of social media is immense, hence positive politeness based
social message should reach to remotest place.
Parents needs to be educated and sensitized.
2.4.2 Health:
The child sex ratio shows a negative trend and causes serious concern to
anthropologists, population scientists, policy makers and planners. Lo w
sex ratio trend in India is due to large scale practice of female foeticide
and female infanticide. munotes.in
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24 Education for Women
24 ―Health is wealth‖, a very famous proverb which is so appropriate for the
well being of a child. The health of women and girls is of particular
concern b ecause, in many societies, they are disadvantaged by
discrimination rooted in sociocultural factors. Multiple pregnancies for the
male child affects the health of women adversely but they are not have
right to take call about it. Abortion of female foetus not only deteriorate
the physical health but mental scar remains forever. Several study has
been conducted to prove the validity of the study about health and
nutrition play significant role in offspring health (underweight, pre -mature
babies) and quality of life. Educated women understand the importance of
health and hygiene and take better decision and care about self. They can
have autonomy to access the resources for better living. Malnutrition in
girls, leads future mother with poor health and children may be more
susceptible to infections and diseases. A physical weak student cannot
give its best which indicates a loss of human resource.
Impact of Diet:
Health and nutrition play an important role in the wellbeing of an
individual. Proper diet provides sufficient calories and micro -nutrients,
which is essential for physical, mental growth of the child and for
successful pregnancy. Infant mortality rate is an important index of the
level of socioeconomic development and quality of life. It is a sensitive
indicator of the availability, utilization and effectiveness of the healthcare
particularly perinatal care. Poor maternal health results in low birth weight
and premature babies.
Strategies to support :
Well formulated policies, strict laws with the invol vement of all
stakeholder to bridge the gap should be initiated to have better healthy
resources. Role of digital and social media is crucial to create awareness,
especially in rural areas. In the curriculum, emphasis on balanced diet,
exercises, mindful a ctivities, recreation should be given. The girls should
be given equal rights and opportunities regarding acquisition of education,
health care facilities, medical facilities, diet and nutrition
2.4.3 Caste :
Male in all community, usually having supersedin g status on their female
counter part .Cast is an important institution in Indian culture to maintain
the social order. It is deeply rooted in the Hinduism belief in karma and
reincarnation ,divides into four main categories – Brahmin s, Kshatriya s,
Vaishyas and the Shudras based on who they were in their past life and
what family heir line they come from .Historical perspective is important
to understand the relation of caste. To understand the impact of caste in
relation to gender, there is need to unde rstand the historical background of
it. The ‗Purushasukta hymns‘ of the tenth mandala in the Rig -Veda
exemplify patriarchy. The Niyoga practice permitted a man to marry his
brother‘s widow. The Manusmiriti codifies rules for men and women of
different varn as and is based on patriarchal values. Caste based disparity
includes any kind of verbal or physical force, coercion or life threatening munotes.in
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25 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education deprivation which may cause the physical or psychological harm,
humiliation or deprivation.
The chastity of women is st rongly related to caste status. Generally, the
higher ranking the caste, the more sexual control its women are expected
to exhibit. Women in upper caste societies live their lives largely within
the familial parameters. Women play the key role in maintaini ng the
sanctity and purity of the home. Women of upper caste, in relation to their
men occupy a lowly position.
Women of low caste constitute the most vulnerable section of Indian
society. Lower caste women too have codes to uphold. Their marriages are
too negotiated by their male kinsmen. Women in low caste society
generally go out to work and contribute to family income. Lower caste
women are victims of both caste discrimination and gender discrimination.
Lower caste women are sexually exploited by power ful upper caste men
owning land. It is difficult for low caste men to protect their women
against the lust and desire of their upper caste master.
2.4.4 Class :
Class and gender give rise to significant differences in objective and
subjective job quality. Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in
which men and women are not treated equally. The treatment may arise
from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms
prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empirically
ground ed, while others appear to be social constructs. Social inequality
results from a society organized by hierarchies of class, race, and gender
that unequally distributes access to resources and rights.
In modern Western societies, inequalities are often bro adly classified into
three major divisions of social class: upper class, middle class, and lower
class. Each of these classes can be further subdivided into smaller classes
(e.g. "upper middle").Members of different classes have varied access to
financial resources, which affects their placement in the social
stratification system.
Class based families include the lower class who are the poor in the
society. They have limited opportunities. Working class are those people
in blue -collar jobs and usually, a ffects the economic level of a nation. The
Middle classes are those who rely mostly on employment . The upper munotes.in
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26 Education for Women
26 middle class are professionals who are strong because of economic
resources and supportive institutions. Additionally, the upper class usually
are the wealthy families who have economic power due to accumulative
wealth from families.
Women's participation in work has been increasing globally, but women
are still faced with wage discrepancies and differences compared to what
men earn. This is true glo bally even in the agricultural and rural sector in
developed as well as developing countries.
2.4.5 Child Marriage :
Child Marriage is also a critical challenge. Girls who marry young are
much more likely to drop out of school, complete fewer years of educ ation
than their peers who marry later. They are also more likely to have
children at a young age and are exposed to higher levels of violence
perpetrated by their partner. Marriage before the age of 21 is a
fundamental violation of human rights. Poverty, caste , customs (for e.g.,
celebration of Manjal Neerattu Vizha is a turmeric bathing ceremony
celebrated by women for nine days. It acknowledges a girl's coming -of-
age when she gets her first period.) and illiteracy are the major factors
behind putting ch ild at risk of early marriage. Many families perform early
marriage of their child as responsibility to complete this as a task so that
social stigma of late marriage can be averted or child will be protected by
kidnapping, trafficking. It often bring in a dverse consequences like
anemia, reproductive tract infections, uterine prolepses and urinary
incontinence. Family honor, social traditions or religious laws that
condone this practice due to lack in an inadequate legislative framework
and the state of a c ountry‘s civil registration system. In turn, this affects
the education and health of their children, as well as their ability to earn a
living. Indeed, girls with secondary schooling are up to six times more
likely to marry as those children with little o r no education. According to a
recent report, more than 41,000 girls under the age of 18 marry every day.
Marry young = stay poor = low life span = exploitation = uneducated =
dependent
An estimated140 million girls has become chi ld brides between 2011 and
2020 . To stop this practice many state like Har yana has started the
program ― Apni Beti Apna Dhan (ABAD). Bihar and Jharkhand have the
Mukhya Mantri Laxmi Ladli Yojana to empower the girl child.
Check your Progress :
1. Explain the concept of gender fro m the sociological point of view.
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27 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education 2. ‗The effects of gender bias are evident when one considers the health
and nutrition of women. Comment.
3. Elucidate the cause of child marriage. How can this social evil be
addresses?
4. How caste and class have a be aring on gender socialization?
2.5 GENDER INEQUALITY IN SCHOOLING In the past, individuals possessed this viewpoint that male members of the
family should be educated. When the males would acquire education, they
would render a significant contribution in promoting goodwill and well -
being of their families through attainment of employment opportunities.
But, in the present existence, in urban as well as in rural communities,
individuals and communities have brought about changes in their
viewpoints and pers pectives and are encouraging girls as well towards
acquisition of education.
Education can play a key role in challenging gender based violence and
transforming patriarchal societies into ones that value equality, inclusion
and justice. Gender bias within schools and classrooms may also reinforce
messages that affect girls‘ ambitions, their own perceptions of their roles
in society, and produce labor market engagement disparities and
occupational segregation. When gender stereotypes are communicated
through the design of school and classroom learning environments or
through the behavior of faculty, staff, and peers in a child‘s school, it goes
on to have sustained impact on academic performance and choice of field
of study.
Educational setup can bridge the g ap of disparity through detailing of
these three components:
Rights to education: helps in understanding the ratio of admitted
learners, dropouts ad quality.
Rights within education: gives the information about discriminating
factors.
Rights through educat ion: Educational institutions approach
towards curbing the stereotype about gender disparity and promotion
to remove the barriers for quality with equality for better outcome. munotes.in
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28 Education for Women
28
School Infrastructure:
The school infrastructure is regarded as significant in the formation of
suitable and amiable learning environment and in the pursuance of
academic goals. With the availability of adequate infrastructural facilities,
the members of the educational institutions are able to carry out their job
duties in a well -organized manner. Furthermore, the students are also able
to feel pleasurable within the school environment and get motivated
towards their studies .Due to lack of appropriate infrastructural facilities,
the students usually drop out, before their education al skills are honed.
This applies particularly to the girls. The important infrastructural
facilities in schools that are essential to enhance the system of education
are, furniture, equipment, materials, technologies, restrooms, civic
amenities, transport ation facilities, playgrounds, classrooms, library
facilities, laboratories and overall school environmental conditions.
Organization:
In educational institutions, gender inequality has been experienced. Many
girl student receive less support than boys to pursue the studies they
choose. This happens for a variety of reasons: The safety, hygiene and
sanitation needs of girls may be neglected, barring them from regularly
attending class. Discriminatory teaching practices and education materials
also produce g ender gaps in learning and skills development. As a result,
nearly 1 in 4 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are neither employed nor
in education or training - compared to 1 in 10 boys.
In rural communities, this problem has been more severe as compared to
urban communities.
The main problems facing their education are:
1. Development of immorality;
2. Suitable Curriculum need for the education of girls;
3. Lack of social consciousness among women;
4. Scarcity of lady teachers; munotes.in
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29 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education 5. Lack of proper physical facilities;
6. Unwillingness of lady teachers to serve in rural areas;
7. Financial difficulties;
8. Problem of transport;
9. Problem of wastage and stagnation;
10. Problem of co -education;
11. Lack of enthusiasm and interest of the officials in charge of education
Boys are girls are disciplined differently in schools. Corporal punishment
are reserved for boys. Calling by the sir name to the boys and girls by their
first name is very obvious. Same sex staff are for discipline and
counselling. Sexual harass ment are generally ignored.
Staffing:
Primary teachers are mostly female,preferences for male headmaster in
high schools are very common, women teachers are considered not fit for
controlling boys or managerial tasks.
The problem of women‘s education in I ndia is one which attracts our
attention immediately. In our country, due to conservative traditionalism,
women‘s status has, through ages, been considered to be lower than that of
men.
Gender Sensitivity among Teachers :
Teachers play a very crucial role in the nurturing of a child. Their idea and
beliefs can change the thought processes of young children. Children in
the formative years easily nurture values and virtues taught to them.
Gender sensitivity training should be mandatory for teachers. The trai ning
will enable them to disseminate the desirable attitude based on mutual
respect and trust between girls and boys.
They take responsibility for improving their practice.
They see setbacks and feedback as an opportunity to learn and grow
their skills.
They actively seek learning opportunities and new challenges.
They have positive and high expectations of their students.
We all know that the teachers sometimes ―inadvertently‖ make
disparaging remarks about capabilities or characteristics of either gender ,
so we need to cope with knowledge, attitude, skills and methodologies that
promote gender equality. munotes.in
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30 Education for Women
30 Gender -equitable education systems can contribute to reductions in
school -related gender -based violence and harmful practices, including
child marriage an d female genital mutilation. Gender -equitable education
systems help keep both girls and boys in school, building prosperity for
entire country
Gender Sensitive Classrooms :
Classrooms need to be gender sensitive. The imbalance in attention
accorded to girl s and boys in the classroom, coupled with the quality and
quantity of interaction, resulting the lowering the self esteem and levels of
achievement. We have to take care of few do‘s and don't for making
classroom interaction gender sensitive.
Encourage bot h males and females to be class leaders (perhaps one of
each sex). Appoint two monitors in each classroom, a boy and a girl
Address and call on girls and boys equally. Do not segregate boys and
girls in the classroom in primary classes
Make mixes groups fo r group activities and games
Try to ‗switch role‘ for breaking down gender barriers and
stereotyping of gender roles
Make both boys and girls share activities like cleaning, moving
furniture, to the chalkboard during a lesson.
Plan and conduct activities t hat give opportunity to all children
accepting one another as equals.
Gender Sensitivity in Curriculum a nd Text :
Academic contents with lessons on gender sensitivity and moral traditions
will unconsciously mould the character of the tender mind. It is time to
transform all text reading materials and books which should be free of
notion of gender equality as bias is embedded in textbooks. In this
connection, our government has started taking initiatives regarding gender
concerns have been included in the cur riculum and in the textbooks drawn
up by the National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT). Textbooks contain instances of gender bias. Bailey (1992)
found that textbooks portray fewer women than men as developers of
history or initiators o f events.
Strategies:
Change in curriculum/hidden curriculum is must to provide equal
platform for all genders in an inclusive setup.Technology and
economics can be compulsory, physical education and sex education
to be taught in mixed groups.Science and technology should be
feminist in nature.
Educational material should be non -biased. Govt. Should take
initiatives towards no tolerance towards gender biasness in munotes.in
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31 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education curriculum, educational material,textbooks and day -to-day school
practices through equality in school programmes.
Author and content developers should be gender sensitive and do
social justice to all.They should create awareness by using different
examples to explain its importance.
The curriculum must cut gender barriers.
The curriculum must fost er gender empowerment.
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32 Education for Women
32
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33 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education
School life is indeed the most beautiful and memorable part of our lives.
It‘s the school that helps an individual in making an impact in life, which
is not just related to academics but also the environment which helps i n
behavioral and mental development. As such, studying in a single -gender
school or a co -ed school has a massive impact on our lives and the kind of
people we grow up to be.
School hierarchy should be divided more equally between men and
women. Seating arr angement can be mixed. Learning , games can be in
mixed team.
Care should be taken to include gender -neutral language.
Language textbooks must be compiled mindfully so that both male
and feamle authors are sufficiently represented.
Textbook should avoid ste reotypes in depict the career.
Textbook should have equal participatory approach.
Gender Equity movement in school (GEMS) should be encouraged.
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34 Education for Women
34 Check your Progress :
1. How can the curriculum promote gender equality and gender equity?
2. ‗Textbooks plays a significant role in promoting gender equality and
gender equity‘. Illustrate with examples.
3. Elucidate the role played by educational institutions in ensuring
gender equity.
4. Elaborate the role of teachers in promoting gender equality and
gender equity.
5. What guidelines need to be borne in mind to ensure that textbooks
help in gender empowerment?
2.6 CO-EDUCATIONAL SCHOOLS : CONCEPT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Importance of Co -education:
Co-education refers to providing education to both girls and boys together,
without any discrimination (specifically gender discrimination). The
education system plays a very important role in making the world a better
place to live in the most civilized way. In this education system, Co -
education system also know as ―mi xed sex education‖ has its own
advantages and disadvantages. munotes.in
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35 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education Gender sensitization promotes equality for men and women by allowing
men and women to view what is stereotypical of and reasonable for their
gender. The concept of gender sensitivity is a way to reduce the barriers
caused due to discrimination and gender bias. Creating the right kind of
gender -sensitive environment leads to mutual respect regardless of their
gender. Common set of rules for both stops bullying and labelling. Advantages of Co -Education System Disadvantages of Co -Education System Develops mutual respect Chances of distractions could be more Helps to overcome the fear of opposite gender Unethical activities Healthy competition More involvement in personal feelings Develops self-esteem among the genders Unwanted arguments and issues can
create an unhealthy environment Encourages the survival in future Reduces the options for schools or
colleges for the genders Character enhancement Governance is harder No space for discrimination Resource handling Promotes a controlled environment More effective in recruiting of teachers Social skills can be enhanced. Eliminates curiosity towards the other gender
Significant:
Co-education provides a more realistic way of training you ng people to
take their places naturally in the wider community of men and women. It
helps to break down gender misconceptions and provides an excellent
foundation for the development of realistic, meaningful and lasting
relationships in later life.
Implic ations of co -education system:
There are both advantages as well as disadvantages for any kind of
education system including the co -education system. Good social
environment will nurture the positives of society and help in dealing with
the negatives in a dignified manner.
Mindset of teachers :
Mindset changes are all about emotions and feelings. When feelings are
channelized in the right direction, a certain amount of mindset change can munotes.in
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36 Education for Women
36 really occur and this will obviously trigger positive changes in the entire
ecosystem. One is obviously in it for the long haul.In India also if we give
more importance to teachers of primary classes and appoint well -qualified
people there will be a very good development. To change the mindset of a
teacher we have to infuse confidence in them.
According to CEDAW, the elimination of prejudices and customary and
all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the
superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and
women constitutes the main challenge to identify new education policies.
The Global Campaign for Education works for the full integration of
gender equality in its policy frameworks, planning processes and political
engagement.
2.7 CONCLUSION Girls‘ education is the way to ach ieve real development in the developing
world as is proven by the developed world. It refers to the provision of the
girl child in society to access education and the educational facilities she
requires without any discrimination against them.
Female ill iteracy in India is a crucial problem in in today's world. In order
to fully understand this problem, it is important to see what is causing the
illiteracy, the effects of it and what has been happening to solve this
problem. The culture and economic cause s of this problem, like gender
biases and inadequate money lead to drastic effects such as female
infanticide and a sex ratio.
Governments and societies around the world strive to improve their
education systems and ensure that all children and youths have the munotes.in
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37 Contemporary Issues in Girl‘s Education opportunity to go to school and acquire the knowledge and skills they need
to lead healthy and productive lives .
Key inputs to the education system, such as curricula, teachers, and
education infrastructure, help to improve the quality of education.Th e
Sustainable Development Goals , which are defined by the United Nations
and scope the development agenda for all countries in the world, require
countries to ―build and upgrade education facilities that are child,
disability and gender sensitive, and prov ide safe, non -violent, inclusive,
and effective learning environments for all.
There have been formulation of programs and schemes, which have the
major objective of generating awareness among the individuals, belonging
to all categories, backgrounds and communities to treat girls and women
with respect and make provision of equal rights and opportunities to them.
When the individuals and communities will provide equal rights and
opportunities to the girls, then it would not only promote their effective
growth and development, but also well -being of the communities and the
entire nation. The factors that influence the attainment of education are,
socioeconomic factors, accessibility to learning materials and resources,
time devoted towards formal learning a ctivities and cultural viewpoints
regarding the education of girls.
Furthermore, there have been initiation of programs and schemes that
promote education among women. These are, The Right of Children to
Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, Sarva Shik sha Abhiyan
(SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Kasturba
Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV). When the girls are encouraged for
getting enrolled in schools and acquisition of education, it is vital for them
to receive support and encouragement from their family members. In other
words, it is necessary for them to be efficiently prepared for pursuing their
academic goals. Apart from support and encouragement, it is vital for the
parents to ensure that they provide their children with educational
resources and take care of their well -being to enable them achieve
academic goals. Furthermore, in schools there should be formation of a
suitable learning environment, with infrastructure, resources and facilities,
which would encourage the enrolment and retention of students.
Awareness to educators:
Department of education should provide mandatory gender -equity
resource modules to in -service teachers, and gender bias needs to be
addressed with al pre -service teachers.
Educators need to be made aware of t he bias they are reinforcing in their
students through socialization messages, inequitable division of special
educations services, gender biased texts.Gender responsive pedagogy
helps in creating a conducive environment.
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38 Education for Women
38 2.8 STUDY QUESTIONS 1. Discuss the relation between caste and gender.
2. Critically examine the role of women in caste based society.
3. Discuss the association between the chastity of women and caste
status.
4. ‗CO-Education is an important agent of gender socialization.
Comment.
2.9 REF ERENCES Chakravati, Uma. 2003. Gendering Caste: Through a Feminist Lens.
Stree. Calcutta.
Dube, Leela. 1978. ‗Caste and Women‘ in M. N. Srinivas, The
Changing Position of Indian Women. Bombay: Oxford University
Press.
Nakkerran, N. 2003. ‗Women‘s Work, St atus and Fertility. Land,
Caste and Gender in a South India Village‘ Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol 38 (7). Pp.3931 - 3939
Srinivas, M. N. 1978.Caste in Modern India and Other Essays.
Bombay: Oxford University Press.
The Report of University Education Commission (1949)
Law against Domestic Violence and Abuse, Manushi. 2003.
WEBLINKS :
https://www.unicef.org/child -rights -convention/unicef -role
https://www.unicef.org/child -rights -convention/convention -text
https://www.unicef.org/media/58081/file/UNICEF -WHO -UNESCO
handbook -school -based -violence.pdf
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx
https://onlineschoolsindia.in/school -guide/main -features -of-poa-1992 -
programme -of-action/amp/
https://advocatetanmoy.com/2019/03/10/the -national -policy -on-
education -of-1986/amp/
https://www.diffen.com/difference/Gender_vs_Sex
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01463370902889455?j
ournalCode=rcqu20
***** munotes.in
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39 3
STRATEGIES AND PROGRAMMES ON
GIRL’S EDUCATION
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Mahila Samakshya, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya
3.3 Girl’s Education in SSA, DPEP
3.4 Role of NGO’s and Community for gender equality in education
3.5 Conclusion
3.6 Study Questions
3.7 References
3.0 OBJECTIVES 1. To enable the students to understand the importance of education for
women.
2. To help the students to understand the strategies and programmes on
girl’s education.
3. To enable students to understand the importance of Mahila
Samakshya and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya.
4. To enable students to analyse the objectives of girl’s education in
SSA, DPEP.
5. To enable students to understands the importance of the role of
NGO’s and Community for gender equality in education.
3.1 INTRODUCTION “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the
world.” UNESCO slogan.
Gender equality and empowerment of women are human rights. The
Universal Declaration of Human rights emphasizes the equality of a ll
human beings without distinction of colour, sex, language, religion,
political, social and national origin. Women play pertinent role in the
progress of a man and family. Education plays a vital role in the
development of every nation, therefore, the re is a premium on both
quantity and quality of education. India is the second largest education
system in the world.
When a girl is educated and stands on her feet, then definitely she is
independent to take her own decisions and fight against the injus tice. In munotes.in
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40 Education for Women
40 this chapter, we have discussed the different strategies and programmes on
girl’s education.
Swami Vivekanand has rightly said that the country and the nation
which does not respect women will never become great now and nor will
ever in future and in pursuit of making India a great nation, let us work
towards giving women their much deserved status.
3.2 MAHILA SAMAKSHYA The Mahila Samakshya programme was implemented in 1989 in the
guidance and motivation of the New Education Policy (1986). Th e
programme was totally based on the education and empowerment of
women in rural areas, particularly for women who belongs to socially and
economically marginalized groups. The National Education Policy in
1986, acknowledged that the empowerment of women c ould be possible
by the participation of girls and women in the education process. The main
aim was to achieve the goals of the New Education Policy and the
programme of action.
The Mahila Samakshya programme was an initiative taken by the
Department of Ed ucation of Central government means Government of
India, with the aim to improve the status of the women in the village/rural
areas particularly belonging to marginalized groups.
This programme was initially implemented in nine states namely Andhra
Pradesh , Assam, Bihar, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh,
Jharkhand and Karnataka. This Mahila Samakshya is a registered society
which is controlled and funded by the MHRD and work in close
association with the state government. It is an autonomous body and each
state has set different goals for the empowerment of women depending on
the needs of the state. Here, the main aim of the programme is to develop
a bridge between NGO and the Government.
Objectives of the Programme :
1. To enhance self -esteem and sel f-confidence of women.
2. To develop ability to think critically
3. To build a positive image of women by identifying their contribution
to the society, economy and policy of our country.
4. Fostering decision making and action through collective processes.
5. To enab le women to make informed choices in areas like education,
health, employment.
6. To provide them information, knowledge and skill for economic
development.
7. To ensure them for equal participation in developmental process. munotes.in
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41 Strategies and Programmes on Girl’s Education 8. To enhancing them the access to legal literacy, information relating to
their rights in society with a view to enhance their participation
equally in all areas.
Areas on which Mahila Samakshya works :
Basically the Mahilla Samakshya programme launched for the
development of women aimed to work on the following areas:
1. Creating gender awareness
2. Economic development
3. Health action
4. Developing organizational capacities within sanghas and federations
5. Networking with government and other agencies for economic
empowerment
6. Women’s issues that include leg al awareness and violence against
women.
7. Education which stresses the education of adolescents and is the main
strength of the programme.
8. Political participation and so on.
The Mahila Samakshya programme has adopted the best thing from
Government and Non -Government area which has given rise to a flexible
and vibrant structure. The programme is continuing to evolve more
innovative based on experience and understanding. The strategies of the
programme are continuously reviewed and developed so Mahila
Samakshy a Sanghas become independent. Therefore it is kept in mind that
the procedure, plans and budgets for the programme are always be simple.
Universally, the Mahila Samakshya Programme has proved to be very
beneficial in improving women and more than two lakhs women and
organizations are being benefited from the programme launched by the
government. The involvement of people other than the government had
made this programme successful.
Mahila Samakshya is a women’s movement which has transformed the
lives of wo men in 1400 villages in 60 districts of nine states of India. It
was started as an awareness programme by the Ministry of HRD in
pursuance of the National Policy on Education 1986 as it was updated in
1992. Today it has entered in the area of education hea lth, human rights
and governance with the objective of creating a gender just society. The
Mahila Sangha which are giving main importance to progress, run scholls,
banks, markets, dispensaries and participate in Panchayat Raj institutions.
The “Nari Adalat s” first started by Gujarat have been adopted by all
Mahila Samakshya (MS) states and are emerging as credible alternative
easily accessible not only to sangha women but to the community at large. munotes.in
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42 Education for Women
42 The Mahila Samakshya strategy has been adopted by other sta te also such
as Haryana where women agitated successfully against alcoholism, in
Himachal Pradesh where they demonstrated against polygamy and in
Tamil Nadu where they protested against the Devadasis. They have also
taken up issues such as dowry, violence against women, infanticide, foetus
deaths, child labour, ‘Didi -banks’, ‘Kishori Sanghas’, ‘Jago Behna’, etc
programme of the Mahila Samakshay.
The programme has helped in generating a demand for literacy, increased
women recognition in the family, society and the community, given
women the strength and determination to demand accountability and
transparency from the government. Here, education is playing an
instrumental agent for the basic change in the status of women. Definitely,
the National system will play a positive interventionist role in the
empowerment of women. It will develop new values through re -designed
curricula, text -books, training and orientation of teachers, decision makers
and administrators, the active involvement of educational institut ions.
KASTURBA GANDHI BALIKA VIDYALAYA :
The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) Scheme was launched by
the Government of India in August 2004. It is a residential girl’s
secondary school run by government of India for the weaker sections in
India. The plan was integrated with Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan programme
to provide educational facilities for girl’s belonging to scheduled castes,
scheduled tribes, other backward classes, minority communities and
families below the poverty line in educationally backw ard blocks.
The scheme has been implemented in 28 states and Union Territories.
Total 2578 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya was sanctioned by the
government of India. Out of these, 427 KGBV’s have been sanctioned in
Muslim related blocks, whereas 612 in ST blocks, 668 in SC blocks and
750 residential schools have been opened in educational backward blocks.
Gender disparities still persist in rural areas and among disadvantaged
communities. Looking at enrolment trends, still remain significant gaps in
the en rolment of girls at the elementary level as compared to boys,
especially at the upper primary levels.
The objective of KGBV is to ensure that quality education is feasible and
accessible to the girls of disadvantaged groups of society by setting up
residen tial schools with boarding facilities at elementary level.
The scheme is implemented by State Governments through the Mahila
Samakshya (MS) society in MS states and through the Sarva Shikshan
Abhiyan society in case of other states. In this scheme funds ar e released
as per SSA pattern to the State SSA societies. It is also stated that the
monitoring and evaluation at the State and district level is undertaken by
the MS State Resource Centres and in Non -MS States through the
committee created for the Nationa l programme for Education of Girls at
the Elementary level in the SSA society. For Kasturba Gandhi Balika
Vidyalaya residential school training for teachers and staff is coordinated munotes.in
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43 Strategies and Programmes on Girl’s Education by the District Institutes of educational Training Block Resource Centres
and Mahila Samakshya Resource Groups.
Financial Norms under KGBV :
1. It is explained that pattern of the Central Government and State
Government/UT’s (Union Territory) for the KGBV Scheme will be
the same as per the Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan as it is a component of
SSA with effect from 1st April 2007.
2. The SSA Society shall ensure convergence of KGBV with National
Programme for Education of Girl’s at Elementary Level (NPEGEL)
and Mahila Samakshay Programme. It ensures that funds allocated are
used properly.
3. The go vernment of India would directly release funds to the SSA
State Implementation Society. Then funds will be released to the MS
Society wherever applicable.
4. The State society should open a separate saving bank account for
operating the funds of KGBV.
From th e preceding section, it is obvious that major progress had been
taken by the government in ensuring higher enrolment in schools and
bridging the gender gap in education through targeted policy programme.
Institutional Arrangement :
There are 3451 Educationa lly backward Blocks in the country and 3609
KGBV’s have been sanctioned. Initially KGBV’s were opened in rented
or available government buildings. Later on suitable building can be
constructed to accommodate KGBV. Three models are prescribed for such
resid ential schools
A. Model I: Schools with hostel for 100 girls
B. Model II: Schools with hostel for 50 girls
C. Model III: Hostels in existing schools for 50 girls
By June 2014, there were 2260 Model I KGBV’s, 194 Model II KGBV’s
and 1155 Model III KGBV’s. Education department/SSA authority at the
State level is working as the nodal agency in all the selected states for
managing KGBV. Either the Secretary/Commissioner of the Education
Department or the State Project Director (SPD), SSA are designated as the
nodal offi cer. Same way, at the district level the District Education
office/District project office of SSA is the nodal agency and the concerned
District Education Officer/District Programme Manager (SSA) have been
designated as district level nodal officer for the implementation of KGBV.
In some states some NGOs have been involved for implementation of the
schemes. Such as,
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44 Education for Women
44 1. Arunachal Pradesh:
(i) R.K Mossang Memorial
(ii) Oju Welfare Association.
2. Odisha:
(i) CARE (Co -operative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere)
(ii) UNFPA (The United Nations Population Fund)
3. Jharkhand:
(i) CEDPA India (Centre for Development and Population
Activities)
4. Rajasthan:
(i) UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency
Fund)
(ii) SANDHAN (All Gujarat Integrated Classroom)
(iii) FEGG (Federation of Educating Girls Globally)
(iv) BODH (Bodh Shiksha Samiti)
5. Save the child
6. Plan India
7. RKCL (Rajasthan Knowledge Corporation Limited)
Targets and Achievements :
The responses of State level officials on the state wise targets and
achievements on various KGBV ar e as follows :
Open new KGBV, upgrading the existing schools to KGBV’s,
appointment of male and female teachers’, construction of school
buildings and additional classroom. Almost targets at state wise level,
more or less achieved except appointment of fema le teachers and
construction of school buildings.
Role of teacher :
Role of teacher in KGBV is important because they have to teach in
KGBV. But teachers are mostly appointed on temporary/contractual basis.
Even retired teachers are appointed as principal if the posts are not filled
by regular teachers. In Madhya Pradesh, the post of Superintendent is
permanent. About 77 of teachers are not satisfied with the amount of
salary they are receiving. However, 337 male teacher and 21% female
teachers are satisfie d with their salary. This feeling of inadequacy is more
among the temporary than permanent teachers. Beside this, the authorities munotes.in
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45 Strategies and Programmes on Girl’s Education at different levels were asked to enumerate the innovative activities taken
for meeting the objective of KGBV.S
3.3 GIRL’S EDU CATION SSA, DPEP Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan (S SA):
Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan means “Education for All Movement”. This
programme was initiated and implemented by Government of India in
2002. However, its root goes back to 1993 -1994 when the District
primary Educa tion programme (DPEP) was launched with the aim of
achieving the objective of Universal primary education. This programme
aimed at the “Universalization of Elementary education in a time bound
manner”. The 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India states that to
give free and compulsory education to children between the ages of 6 to 14
year which was estimated to be 206 million children in 2001. It is a
fundamental right given in Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. The
former Prime Minister of India h as educated all children between the ages
of 6 to 14 by 2010 but the time limit has been pushed forward indefinitely.
The SSA programme is implemented in partnership with the State
government to cover the entire country and the requirements of children.
The Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha
Abhiyan were subsumed and merged to form the Samagra Shiksha
Abhiyan Scheme.
Features of the Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan :
1. It was the programme with a clear time frame for universal
elementary educati on.
2. A partnership between the central, state, the local government.
3. A response to the demand for the quality basic education all on the
need of the country.
4. An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education
to children.
5. An expression of political will for universal elementary education
across the country.
6. An opportunity for states to develop their own vision for elementary
education.
7. An effort of effective involving the Panchayati raj institutional school
management committee, village and urban both level education
committee, parents teachers association, mother teacher associations,
tribal autonomous councils and other grass roots level structure in the
management of elementary school.
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46 Education for Women
46 Objectives of the Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan :
The Sarv a Shikshan Abhiyan programme seeks to positively impact
curriculum, educational planning, teacher education and management. The
objectives of the SSA programme are as follows -
1. To provide useful, quality, elementary education and life skills for all
the chi ldren at the age group of 6 to 14.
2. To promote equal education opportunity to children of households
belonging to SC/ST, landless agricultural labourers, the muslim
community, etc.
3. To promote the education of children with special needs or differently
abled children.
4. To promote girl’s education for belonging a change in the status of
women.
5. To provide and increase the strength of teachers by appointing
additional teachers in the schools where they have a shortage of
teachers.
6. To provide uniforms and free te xtbooks to the school children.
7. To manage maintenance, grants and school improvement grants.
8. To strengthen the existing school infrastructure by providing drinking
water facilities, toilets and additional classroom.
9. To establish new schools in such place w here they do not have any
schooling facilities.
10. To bridge social, regional and gender gaps with the participation of
community in the management of schools.
11. To realize the importance of ‘Early Childhood Care Education’ and
looking at the age of 0 to 14 as a continuum.
12. To inculcate value based learning. This allows children for the
opportunity to work for each other’s well -being rather than to permit
more selfish pursuits.
13. To allow children to learn about and master their knowledge about
environment in order to develop the potential about spirituality and
materiality.
14. To bridge the digital device by giving computer education to children.
15. To develop the capacity and skills of the existing school teachers
through training, providing aids for developing material s of teachers
learning and academic support structure at a block, cluster and district
level.
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47 Strategies and Programmes on Girl’s Education Initiative taken by Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan :
The SSA programme initiated ‘Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat’ programme in
2014. This programme helps to improve the readin g and writing skills of
class I and II children and their mathematics skills also. It helps the
children to understand the joys of reading and writing from a real life
perspective. It emphasizes the importance of children’s literature in
helping them to be come best writers and readers. Padhe Bharat Badhe
Bharat programme ensures that the schools should become better at
providing quality education.
Regarding funds, its initial outlay was 7000 crore rupees and in 2011 -12
the Government of India allocated rupe es 21000 crore for this project.
Many persons and trusts have also contributed in funds and as the
programme became more popular than its funds also grew. Now, CCEA
(Council for the Curriculum, Examination and Assessment) has approved
Samagra Shiksha on 5th April 2018. Samagra Shiksha subsumes the three
schemes of sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha
Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). The Union Budget 2018 -
19 has proposed to treat school education holistically without dividing
from pre nursery to class 12. It is an important programme for the school
education sector extending from pre -school to class 12th has been therefore
prepared with the broader goal of improving school opportunities for
schooling and equitable learning outcom es.
After the initiative taken by SSA, Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat government
has launched a dedicated web portal ShaGun in January 2017 for
monitoring the progress of Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan (SSA). The portal was
developed by World Bank in collaboration with Union Ministry of Human
Resource Development. ShaGun name has been derived from the words
Shala (means schools) and Gun (means Gunvatta as quality). It will collect
and report data to enable the government and administrators to track the
efficiency of SSA and its funds are being utilized as well as the results are
been given.
District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) :
District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched in 1994
keeping as major initiative to reenergize the primary education system an d
to achieve the objective of universalization of primary education. It was
centrally sponsored scheme of DPEP.
District Primary Education Programme has accepted an integrative
approach to universalize access, retention and improve learning
achievement and to reduce disparities among social groups. It seek to
strengthen the capacity of national, state and district institutions for
planning, management and professional support in the field of primary
education. DPEP is based on the principle of ‘additionally ’ and is
structured to fill in the existing gaps by providing inputs over and above
the provisions made under central and state sector schemes for primary
education. In DPEP, the state governments are required to maintain munotes.in
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48 Education for Women
48 expenditure in real terms at base year level. The DPEP programme
consists of a scheme spread over seven years to achieve the following.
1. It focuses on enhancing capacities of teachers by providing
workshops for teachers and development of new teaching learning
materials to improve student’s achievement of learning.
2. To provide specific strategies to increase enrolment and retention of
girl student’s, SC and ST students.
3. To promote decentralized and participatory planning and
administration at the district level, involving village leadership,
NGOs, schools, district and block staff/employees.
4. To help in the administrative capacity building at the block and
district levels.
5. To help in the collection of data and setting up an Education
management and Information System (EMIS)
The bulk of the fund s for DPEP came from international bodies such as
the UNICEF, ODA (UK), SIDA (Sweden), Netherlands etc. The first
phase programme was launched in 42 districts in the states of Assam,
Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Madhya
Pradesh. A fter this the programme was launched in 80 districts of Orissa,
Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, U.P, West Bengal and Gujarat. It is
stated that the impact studies of the first phase projects are very positive.
DPEP was funded by external assistance. Thou gh flow of money becomes
easier the conditionality attached to the aid can be dangerous. The World
Bank aided multi phased District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)
which was launched in 1997. It currently ensures primary education for
nearly 2.7 crore c hildren in the 6 to 11 age group in nearly 11000 primary
schools across the state. Of the total Rupees 904 crore released by the
World Bank and Rs 828 crore has been spent. The World Bank had
advised that initially the programme covers villages where the f emale
literacy rate was below the national average of 39.2% as computed in the
1991 census. At that time, the rural literacy rate in Uttar Pradesh was
19.02% this increased to 25.3% by 2001.
The Objectives of the programme are :
1. To provide access to all chi ldren to primary education through formal
primary schools or its equivalent through alternatives.
2. To reduce disparities of all types to less than 5%.
3. To increase achievement levels by 25% points over and above the
measured baseline levels.
4. To reduce overal l dropouts at the primary level less than 10%.
It is also stated that the focus of each plan may vary depending upon the
level of development of primary education in the selected district. Even munotes.in
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49 Strategies and Programmes on Girl’s Education the criteria to identify districts under the programme are (A ) Educationally
ward district with female literacy below the national average and (B)
districts where TLC’s (Total literacy Campaign) have been successful
leading to enhanced demand for primary education. The priorities and
planning concerns may be differe nt in these two categories of the districts.
DPEP generally include five programmes such as levels of management,
strategic planning, women entrepreneurship, ethics, centralization and
decentralization.
DPEP – Progress Towards Achieving Goals:
1. A new Depar tment of Elementary Education and literacy has come
into existence and for the first time in the coming year a separate
budget for the department has been presented before Parliament.
2. Moving towards the super goal of ensuring universal access to all
childr en, started more than 30000 alternatives schools in unserved
habitations national workshop for alternative schools discussed the
solution for different problems related to children.
3. Seen progress in universalizing physical access in tribal area and
enrolme nt rates of tribal children has increased significantly in most
districts.
4. School quality remains with the highest importance DPEP. Various
pedagogical renewal processes were started such as textbook
development, teacher training and development of TEM.
5. The Distance Education Programme has reached the stage of
producing print, audio and video materials for the use of teachers and
other primary education employees.
6. Community mobilization and participation has remained an integral
intervention in DPEP cutting across different functional areas.
7. DPEP has succeeded in establishing an Educational Management
Information System which is superior to any other educational
statistical system in the country.
8. Orissa and West Bengal have been ‘special watch’ states for so me
time.
9. The proposal of enhancement of the ceiling on civil works from the
current level of 24% to 33% has been approved by the expenditure
finance committee.
10. Expenditure trends under the programme have been varied.
Expenditure under DPEP II has been enco uraging.
11. Uttar Pradesh (UPBEP) and DPEP I state have undertaken
sustainability state/report. These states have identified activities and
processes of DPEP. munotes.in
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50 Education for Women
50 Though DPEP was initiated in 1994 as a unique and innovative effort
towards achieving the objectives of UPE in educationally backward
districts of India. Later the task of developing a school based statistical
system was initiated by NIEPA during 1995 with the financial assistance
from UNICEF. NIEPA designed a software for implementation at the
district level and provided the necessary technical and professional
support to DPEP district. So DISE (District information system for
education) was released. Thus, DPEP is leading toward success and due to
this children are growing progressively towards their fu ture.
Check Your Progress :
1. On which area the Mahila Samakshya works successfully?
2. Why the role of teacher is important in KGBV?
3. Briefly explain any one girl’s education programme (SSA/DPEP)?
3.4 ROLE OF NGO’S AND COMMUNITY F OR GENDER EQUALITY I N EDUCATION Non-Governmental Organization (NGO’s) :
NGOs perform worldwide and have a wide range of services aimed
towards human well -being and social welfare. These organizations
continuously work towards development and bringing positive change in
the soc iety. NGOs may have different structures, activities and policies but
all NGOs are committed towards their cause and perform their functions
to achieve their respective goals. Basically, they will be funded by various
means and run primarily by volunteers. Level of NGO depends upon the
scale at which it works like local, district, national and international.
NGOs can play the important role in assisting the government strategies. It
can help to improve the educational quality and distribute more funds in
education to implement the educational fees exemption programme. The
roles may be conducted by embarking on campaign for education. It may
lead to increasing number of educational enrolment and enlarging the
opportunity for children and women to attain suf ficient education.
NGOs gave women an opportunity to participate in social and political
field which were not easily given by the for profit and public sectors.
NGOs play an important role in enforcing rights provided by legislation in
India. It plays a si gnificant role towards promoting self -employment of
women by the following ways:
1. By providing training and skill development.
2. By making them aware of legal and property rights.
3. By helping those to cut down on middlemen and ensure producers get
a fair price for their work. munotes.in
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51 Strategies and Programmes on Girl’s Education 4. NGOs target and help women by providing credits as they have a
history of being better re -payers of loan.
5. By capacity building as equipping self -employment women with
information, knowledge, technology, training and managerial
techniques.
Women self -help groups (SHGs) have been recognized as an effective
strategy for the empowerment of women in rural and urban areas. This
groups works and fight on various issues such as agriculture, nutrition,
health, forestry, income generation activities and so on.
NGOs are involved in the following activities to empower women :
1. It helps in representing the problem faced by rural women to the
concerned authorities and also carries out the effect assessment of the
policy decisions affecting women.
2. It helps in educating and creating awareness among women especially
the rural women.
3. It helps in promoting the use of information and communication
technology (ICT) for empowering women.
4. It helps in providing maximum resources, plans and implements the
projects so that help in bearing upon women empowerment.
5. It helps in supplementing efforts of government in women
empowerment.
6. It helps in developing leadership quality among women and make
sure their participation in their empowerment.
Every year 8th September is cel ebrated as International Literacy day by
UNESCO to remind the international community of the importance of
literacy to achieve equitable growth. NGOs that are working among
impoverished communities are encouraging education.
1. Community Action for Rural Deve lopment (CARD):
CARD works in the various district of Tamil Nadu and helped girls from
destitute background to go for secondary and higher secondary education
and achieve their goals in life. It also works in the areas as health,
livelihood of women, women development project and environment. It
focuses on enrolling more and more girls to the government run high
schools and sponsoring materials like school bag, notebooks, stationery
and toiletries required for one year.
2. Seva Mandir:
Seva Mandir NGOs works i n Rajasthan and focuses on ensuring education
for school dropouts mostly girls. It helps children to acquire basic Hindi,
Maths and English skills and motivate them to enroll in government
school. munotes.in
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52 Education for Women
52 3. Vidya and Child:
Vidya and child NGO began in 1998 with the single aim of making a
difference in the lives of under privileged children belonging to social
economically marginalized sections of society. It has helped over 1800
children across five locations in semi -rural and rural setting through its
school and af ter school support programmes.
4. Amar Seva Sangam:
This NGO runs a school for specially abled children called Sangamam
which provide free education in rural areas and help them to achieve their
potential. The Siva Saraswathi Vidyalaya (SSV) is a model school that
brings together differently abled students and regular students in the same
classroom to provide them with integrated education.
5. Vatsalya:
This NGO began its work in 2001 by focusing children in Rajasthan. Its
school Vatsalya Shiksha Niketan provides free education until class 8.
Thus, we can say that NGOs play very important role in social
development of a state, nation or a community. It is very important to
bring education and awareness to the people about their rights and duties.
NGOs are importan t because they provide a way for people to get
involved in their community.
Community :
Education is an important instrument for human resource development.
Human resource development for the progress of country requires the
capacity building of both the ge nders. In recent years, the enrolment of
girls of elementary level has increased but gender disparities still persists
and the dropout rate is higher among girls as compared to that of boys at
the primary and upper primary stage.
As per the discussion of p revious sub unit we are aware that government
had implemented various schemes and programmes for the education of
girls and had made special provisions and provide special incentives to
promote girl’s participation in education such as SSA, DPEP, Mahila
Samakshya, KGBV, ECCE, NPEGEL, EGS/AIE, Mid -Day meal scheme,
integrated children development scheme, ICDS, Kishori Shakti Yojana
and so on. All these programmes require effective decentralization for the
effective implementation. Here, community participatio n can play
important and pivotal role in improving the educational status of girls in
India.
In Indian society, the education of male child is important whereas
education for girl child is secondary. The Eleventh Five Year Plan focuses
on the importance of community involvement and also participation in the
school management as well as in programme implementation. It will be
effective strategy to promote girls education at elementary level and to
achieve UEE. munotes.in
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53 Strategies and Programmes on Girl’s Education Girls from a disadvantaged section due to cultur al prejudice attached to
them because they have not been able to take the full advantage of the
available opportunities and facilities due to several social -cultural and
economic factors. Some barriers and challenges make the girls difficult in
accessing e ducation.
Community participation for Girls Education :
The role of community for gender equality in education is that community
can participate for the girls education in several ways for the different
programmes. The strategies include -
1. To make girls ed ucation a community agenda. For that advocate
enrolment and education benefits for girls’ education through
awareness campaign.
2. To monitor and evaluate the implementation of educational equality
programmes for girls.
3. To check students and teachers attenda nce especially female teachers.
4. To help gender friendly classroom learning and environment.
5. To help in the improvement of teacher training and aganwadi.
6. To help in the availability of school facilities such as separate toilets.
7. To provide safe and easy tra nsition of girls to and from schools.
8. To help in proper delivery service in form of textbooks, school bags,
stationery, uniform, bicycles, scholarships and midday meal.
9. To provide help in improving the home environment of girl’s for
participation in schoo l and proper learning.
10. To make provision of vocational training, health awareness, physical
training, life skill training through community support.
11. To provide support to schools in form of manpower, financial and
physical resources to improve girl’s educa tion.
12. To help in clearing the perceptions about a number of issues related to
school education management such as holiday, time, curriculum etc
should receive due consideration.
13. Community can extend its support for the construction and
maintenance of kitc hen shelves, contribution of food grains, storage,
cooking, serving of food, cleaning of kitchen and utensils.
14. To help in giving proper solution for social problems associated with
girls that are hampering their education such as sexual exploitation,
early marriage, female foeticide and infanticide, dowry etc. It should
be discussed by women Samoohs/Women SHGs/ Mother
Associations and approprotae actions to be taken out to solve these
problems through women empowerment.
15. To help in constructing, repairing an d improving school facilities. munotes.in
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54 Education for Women
54 16. To help in recruiting, providing safety and residential facilities to
female teachers in the rural areas.
17. Community members should actively attend school meetings to learn
about girls learning progress and classroom behavior.
18. Community members should have regular/weekly discussion on girls
education, enrolment, achievement and retention in PTAs, MTAs and
VECs and so on
19. Community should support girls with disabilities and provide them
special services by arranging home based le arning and with adjustable
disabilities to schools.
Thus, we can conclude that community participation is believed to make
schools and teachers more accountable to lead to a more efficient school
system and this will definitely help girls in leading their life with progress.
Check Your Progress :
1. Why the participation of community is must in girl’s education?
2. How NGO’s are involve in empowering women and girl’s?
3.5 CONCLUSION Let us conclude our chapter, strategies and programmes on girl’s
education . Education is a opportunity for the awakening of women
because it enables them to respond to opportunities, challenges their
traditional roles and changes their lives. Education is one of the most
important means of empowering girl and women with the know ledge,
skills and self - confidence necessary to participate fully in the
development process towards women autonomy.
The Mahila Samakshya programme was implemented in 1988 in the
guidance and motivation of the New Education Policy (1986). It helps in
enhan cing the women and girl’s to access the legal literacy, information
relating to their rights in society with a view to enhance their participation
equally in all areas. The objectives of KGBV is to ensure that quality
education is feasible and accessible t o the girl’s of disadvantaged groups
of society by setting up residential schools with boarding facilities at
elementary level. The Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan (SSA) programme initiated
“Padhe Bharat, Badhe Bharat” programme in 2014. Whereas, District
Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched in 1994 keeping as
major initiative to reenergize the primary education system and to achieve
the objective of universalization of primary education. NGO’s play the
important role in assisting the government strategi es. It helps to improve munotes.in
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55 Strategies and Programmes on Girl’s Education the educational quality and distribute more funds in education to
implement the educational fees exemption programme. Community plays
important role in girl’s education by helping in gender equality in
education. This will help girl ’s in leading their life with progress.
3.6 STUDY QUESTIONS 1. Explain the concept of Mahila Samakshya Programme?
2. How the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme is working
effectively?
3. Briefly explain the objectives of Sarva Shikshan Abhiyan?
4. How the DPEP is achieving its goal?
5. “NGO’s plays a significance role to improve the educational quality”.
Discuss.
6. How the Community participation for girl’s education is helpful for
gender equality in education?
3.7 REFERENCES 1. Bhatt, B. D. ( 1992) - Women’s Education And Social Development,
Kanishka, Delhi.
2. Dr. Mamta Rao (2008) - ‘Law Relating to women and children,”
Eastern Book Company, Lucknow.
3. Kamini Shah, (2018) - ‘A study on women Empowerment through
Financial Literacy”, University news, 56(27), July 02 -08, 2 -18.
4. Neera Desai & Usha Thakkar, (2011) - Women in Indian Society,
National Book Trust India, New Delhi.
5. Sharma, M. C. & Sharma, A. K.,(2003) - Addressing through
educational Interventions: A hand book for sensitizing Teach er &
Teacher educators, NCTE & NHRC.
6. SubraManyam, R. (2003) - Gender Equality in Education: Definitions
and Measurements, International Journal of Educational
Development.
https://www.education.govt.in
googl e.co.in
en.m.wikipedia.org
education for all in india.com
https://researchgate.net
https://giveindia.org
***** munotes.in
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56 4
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN
GIRL’S EDUCATION
Unit Structure
4.0 Learning Outcomes
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Governmental incentives for girls’ education
4.2.1 Government of India schemes to promote girls’ education
4.3 Corrosion of values and its im pact on girls
4.4 Measures to overcome problems faced by girls’ schools
4.4.1 Role of UNICEF to promote girls’ education
4.5 Let’s sum up
4.6 Major Questions
4.7 References
4.0 LEARNING OUTCOMES After thoroughly reading this module you will be able to:
Define the challenges in girl’s education
Identify the opportunities in girl’s education
State the governmental incentives for girl’s education
List the Government of India initiatives for girls’ education
Understand the corrosion of values
Figure out th e impact on girls schooling
State the measures to overcome problems faced by girls’ schools
4.1 INTRODUCTION Education plays an important role for the development of the entire
mankind; it creates awareness, understanding and knowledge among the
learners f or the betterment of the society. The Indian education system is
considered as the biggest education system in the whole world that caters
different levels of education. But, it is impossible to achieve success in
true sense keeping half of the population outside the classrooms. There
exist many hurdles in the process of getting education that creates
obstacles especially for the girl students to continue their education and
are forced to leave mid -way due to various reasons.
Good quality education can tap the potential of the learners to put them on
the path of achieving success. Educating a girl is one of the best
investments not only for herself but for her family, community and munotes.in
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57 Challenges and Opportunities in Girl’s Education country as a whole. For instance, an educated girl may marry later and
have h ealthier children, educate them, earn more money and re -invest to
their families and communities, more likely to take a positive stand against
any type of injustice or violence. They are also supposed to have a higher
level of psychological well -being, thu s, an educated woman plays an
active role as a leader of the nation. Despite the various benefits of
educating girl students, it is believed that over 129 million girls are not
enrolled in school; it is indeed a massive figure.
Thus, investing for their e ducation can in turn uplift them and also
contribute positively towards the development of the nation. But, poverty,
cost, child marriage, menstruation, household chores, gender -based
violence, conflict and crisis areas & trafficking are other factors stop ping
girls from realizing their dreams. Therefore, the government and all other
stakeholders must take keen interest and active participation in providing
education for the girl students without which girls may lack the skills
needed to cope with any crisi s and help rebuild their families and
communities.
4.2 GOVERNMENTAL INCENTIVES FOR GIRLS’ EDUCATION In a patriarchal society, girls have been subjected to ages of discrimination
in the all fields especially education. This has been changing but the rate
of change is slow. There needs to be more awareness about the
significance of educating a girl student. It is highly crucial to understand
the importance of providing girls with equal opportunities in all fields of
life beginning with the provision of educat ion. According to a recent
report, COVID -19 pandemic has left millions of girl students out of
schools due to the inability of the parents to pay the school fees and other
financial liabilities. The other reasons are lack of provision for the remote
learni ng facility or limited devices and lack of internet services in remote
areas. Other reasons include the responsibility of taking care of the
siblings and family often falls on the shoulders of the girl child.
Even before the COVID -19 pandemic the situatio n for girl students was
not of much difference. According to a recent UNICEF report, nearly one
out of three adolescent girls has never been to school, especially from the
poorest households across the world. The report also suggests that just a
quarter of all the girls from the low -income countries belonging to poorest
families complete their primary schooling. This in turn may contribute to
the vicious circle of poverty and it is being one of the major causes of all
the existing problems related to girls’ education. The following
recommendations were made in the Brookings book titled “What Works in
Girls’ Education'' based on research findings and the governments along
with other stakeholders may take the following five steps to ensure
continuation of educ ation for the marginalized girls.
1) To lift financial barriers that prevent girls from going to school and
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58 Education for Women
58 2) To scale gender -responsive distance education to reach the most
marginalized girls.
3) To int ensify community mobilization and support for girls’ education,
including for pregnant girls and for those who are out of school.
4) To prioritize girls’ safety and protection.
5) To ensure meaningful participation for adolescent girls.
With such suggestions a nd the lessons learned from past experiences tells
us that there is a need to do more than simply reopen classrooms to make
it possible for the poorest and most marginalized girls to return to school.
It is a once -in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform edu cation and reimagine
the way students learn, so that the schools are more gender -responsive and
inclusive in helping all students to learn, look after all students’ health and
well-being and are also digitally connected. The following subsection
discusses some of the Government of India initiatives towards the
promotion of the girls’ education.
4.2.1. Government of India schemes to promote Girls’ Education :
The Government of India has taken numerous measures to ensure the
equality of girl children. In order to ensure the welfare of the girl child’s
education and health a variety of welfare schemes that includes financial
aids are regularly introduced. The following are the top ten government
schemes for ensuring the welfare of the girl child in India -
1) Be ti Bachao Beti Padhao :
This is a central government scheme that helps girls throughout the nation.
The main aim of this scheme is to save girls from social problems of
gender -based abortions and promote girl child education around the
country. Initially me ant for low sex ratio districts but later successfully
extended to other regions as well. It is an educational scheme with an
intention to change societal attitudes towards girl children.
2) Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana :
This is a Government of India supported savings scheme allowing parents
to set up a trust for their girls’ schooling and to manage marriage
expenses. It motivates parents to save systematically for their daughter’s
higher education and marriage expenses aiming to end the perception of
daughters being a liability on parents.
3) Balika Samridhi Yojana :
This is a scheme similar to the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana but under this
scheme the saving opportunities are limited in nature that is being offered
for the girl child to the parents.
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59 Challenges and Opportunities in Girl’s Education 4) Mukhyamantr i Rajshri Yojana :
This is a scheme launched in Rajasthan offering monetary benefits to the
parents of the girl child i.e. from birth till their higher education.
5) Mukhyamantri Laadli Yojana :
This is a savings scheme specially designed for the parents o f girl child
where an initial deposit of some amount has to be made into the post
office savings account with a fixed tenure of five years wherein the girl
child at regular intervals shall receive the monetary benefits.
6) CBSE Udaan Scheme :
This scheme f or girls as the name suggests was implemented by the
Central Board of Secondary Education, the then Ministry of Human
Resources Development, now the Ministry of Education, Government of
India. The main aim of this scheme is to increase the girls’ enrolment in
reputed engineering and technical colleges all over India where the
students shall go to their CBSE schools in order to participate in this
programme.
7) National Scheme of Incentives :
To Girls for Secondary Education is a pan India scheme operated by the
Department of Education and Education, the then Ministry of Human
Resources Development, now the Ministry of Education, Government of
India with an aim to mainly benefit the girls belonging to the
disadvantaged classes of India. After being selected f or the scheme a fixed
amount shall be deposited as a fixed deposit on her behalf and after
completing the age of 18 years the entire amount with interest can be
withdrawn after the girl student passes the standard tenth examination.
8) Mukhyamantri Kanya S uraksha Yojana :
Another reward programme introduced by the Bihar state government for
rewarding every girl child where under this scheme a particular amount is
released after the birth of a girl child and can avail the benefit of this
scheme by reproducin g the girl child’s birth certificate.
9) Mazi Kanya Bhagyashree Scheme :
It was launched in the state of Maharashtra where monetary benefits are
being provided to the mother of the girl child.
10) Nanda Devi Kanya Yojana :
This was launched for the new bor n girl child in the state of Uttarakhand
where a fixed amount is deposited in the name of the new born girl child.
As she attains the age of 18 years and completes her higher education the
entire amount with accrued interest is given to the girl child.
Considering the numerous barriers that come in the way of a girl child
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60 Education for Women
60 with monetary benefits to make every girl child self -dependent. This is
also done to make sure that every girl child is given the right opportunity
and additional aid to help herself progress and succeed in life. With this a
desired change in the existing education system can take place where girls
and boys have equal opportunity to attend school and access quality
educati on.
4.3 CORROSION OF VALUES AND ITS IMPACT ON GIRLS Even before the birth the girl child faces discrimination on the basis of
gender. Female foeticide and infanticide is a devastating phenomenon in
India and across the world. As low cost abortion technolog y is available
households with lowest mentality exercise their choice for boys over girls.
Hence, government had to come up with strict laws making sex
determination as a punishable offence. Previously it was considered that a
girl child is lucky if she wa s allowed to be born, but with such laws the
rights of a girl child comes into action even before she is born. Even after
the birth, at times the girl child has to face injustice and bigotry as she is
not provided with adequate meals in comparison with the male siblings.
Moreover, the girl child’s education is not given much priority and in
many families the parents enroll their sons to English medium schools and
then for higher education whereas daughters are not allowed to resume
schooling and are expect ed to do household work. It is very important to
note that the term parents include mother as well, mother being a lady
herself can bring a huge change in these negative mindsets. In order to
break this vicious cycle of injustice and restore the values of equality,
daughters must be treated at par with sons and quality education should be
provided to both.
Gender stereotyping communicated in the school through the behavior of
the teachers or in the teaching and learning process may have a deep
impact on the girl students’ academic performance and may negatively
influence the choice of field of study. Such attitudes may reinforce
messages that may impact the girl students’ ambitions and their
perceptions about their roles in the society. It is evident that no t many
young women pursue the science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) disciplines. It has also created disparities in the
labor market engagement and occupational segregation.
Child marriage is another critical challenge where mostly girls are
pressurized to drop out of the school and marry at a very tender age. They
are more likely to have children at a very young age and are vulnerable to
higher levels of violence from their partners or in -laws. In turn, it affects
their children’s health , education and ability to earn. According to a recent
report every day thousands of girls below the age of 18 get married or are
forced to get married. On the contrary, girls with higher education are
more likely to get married a little later, start earni ng for self and family, it
shall also reduce the gender gap in the labor market. Being half of the munotes.in
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61 Challenges and Opportunities in Girl’s Education population, their contribution can be the game -changer in the nation’s
growth and development.
Gender -based violence is another factor that causes higher imp act on the
girl’s and girls’ education. Data estimates millions of girls are sexually
assaulted on their way to school negatively impacting the mental well -
being of the girl child. Often walking long distances for school places girls
at an increased risk o f violence and negative experiences at the schools are
also the reasons for lower attendance and the rise in dropout rates amongst
the girls. The report from UNESCO estimates that over 129 million girls
are out of school out of which 32 million are of prim ary school age and 97
million of secondary school age around the world.
The genesis of all the crimes against the girl child is due to the absence of
self-regulation, lack of integrity and morality or sense of responsibility
among the other members of the community. Thus, the degradation of
moral values has been identified as the most significant factor that has
contributed to the failure of society in order to protect the lives and dignity
of girls and women that has led to the emergence of the current maj or
crisis. Women activists who are associated with religious, social and
educational organizations have taken the initiative to inculcate moral
values especially among the male members of the families and clans.
4.4 MEASURES TO OVERCOME PROBLEMS FACED BY G IRLS’ SCHOOLING Transformation of an individual can be done by providing education to a
man but the transformation of the entire society is totally dependent on the
provision of education to a woman. Hence, investing in girls’ education
will transform the nation and the entire world. Our focus for girls’
education and mental well -being shall go beyond the school attendance
and learning outcomes but rather we shall ensure girl students have safe,
joyful and inclusive learning experience with an education sys tem that
encourages them for achieving success in life and to become life -long
learners. The following are the measures to overcome problems faced by
girls’ schooling:
1) Removing barriers to schooling:
It is important to address financial barriers. It can be done through
scholarships, stipends, grants, conditional cash transfers. Constructing
schools at appropriate locations for addressing the problem of long
distances, lack of safety to and from school and also by providing various
modes of transportation for girls to reach schools. Conduct awareness
programmes that may change the narrow perceptions that prevent girls
from pursuing education. Conducting and promoting campaigns on the
higher returns that an educated girl can give to a family, community,
country and the entire world.
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62 Education for Women
62 2) Promoting safe and inclusive schools:
The stakeholders must construct and maintain a school that offers safe and
inclusive learning environments. Creating a school culture and promoting
practices that may help in reducing ge nder-based violence and ensure
active mechanisms to report gender -based violence. It is also important to
support the hygiene facilities and menstrual hygiene management for
adolescent girls.
3) Improving the quality of education :
The quality of education mostly depends on the professionalism of the
stakeholders. It is significant to invest in teacher professional
development, to eliminate gender biases and gender stereotyping in the
curriculum and teaching practices and focus should be given on the
founda tional learning. Teaching aids used in the teaching and learning
process must be gender sensitive with respect to language used, pictorial
aspects and implications.
4) Developing skills and empowering girls for life and labor market
success :
Promoting gir l empowerment by conducting skills development programs
and workshops based on social issues. It is important to encourage the girl
students also for specializing in the STEM disciplines and pursue a career
as per their choice. Scholarship programs for gir ls to pursue higher
education must be provided. Most importantly support must be provided
for childcare facilities for women and child care programs for girls joining
the labor market.
With such proactive initiatives the parents will be motivated to invest
more time and money for their daughters’ education where they can
foresee the far off benefits in terms of self -dependence and self -identity.
Conducting sessions on the job opportunities for educated women and the
provision of seat reservation for women i n the village council shall create
efficient woman leaders and this in turn will inspire several other girls to
follow the path. This shall play an impactful role in clearing the
misconceptions and overcoming the barriers to the girls’ schooling.
4.4.1 Rol e of UNICEF to Promote Girls’ Education :
UNICEF is continuously working to prioritize girls’ secondary education
initiatives to tackle gender norms that are discriminatory. It also works
towards addressing the issues related to menstrual hygiene management in
the schools. Education Cannot Wait is considered as the world’s first fund
that is dedicated for education for promoting safe learning environments,
improving teachers' skills and to support gender -responsive education
programs.
UNICEF works with vario us stakeholders such as the communities,
Governments and partners to remove the barriers for girls’ education even
in the most challenging settings and promoting gender equality in munotes.in
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63 Challenges and Opportunities in Girl’s Education education. It works as one of the most effective and transformative
strateg ies for development where investments are done for girls’
secondary education. It attempts to enable all the girls to complete their
secondary education and develop the required skills for their life and
career. This can be done only when the most marginal ized and
disadvantaged girls are given support to enter and complete their pre -
primary and primary education.
UNICEF is working towards overcoming the following barriers that
come across in girls’ education:
To tackle gender norms those are discriminatory in nature
To curb the harmful practices that deny access to school and quality
learning to the girls
To support the Governments in ensuring that budgets are gender -
responsive
To encourage Governments to plan educational policies that prioritize
gender equa lity
To help schools in using assessment data for eliminating gender gaps
in learning
To promote social protection measures that may include cash transfers
To improve girls’ transition and retention in secondary schools
To focus on teacher training and pro fessional development especially
on gender -responsive pedagogies
To remove gender stereotyping instances from the teaching and
learning materials
To address the other obstacles like distance -related barriers to
education
To address the issue of re -entry po licies for the young mothers
4.5 LET’S SUM UP Girls face barriers to education that are caused by poverty, cultural norms,
ill-practices, poor hygiene management system or poor infrastructure,
violence and related issues. It is a girls’ right to receive qu ality education.
Educating the other half of the population will definitely contribute
towards the growth and development of the nation. It is the role of the
schools and the Government to provide a safe and peaceful learning
environment to the girl studen ts. munotes.in
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64 Education for Women
64 Girls being the half of the population must gain knowledge and skills to
cope with the different socio -emotional phases of life successfully. Both,
the individuals and the nation shall benefit from girls’ education. Better
educated women are more info rmed about nutrition and healthcare. They
are more likely to participate in the formal labor market and earn higher
incomes leaving no scope for exploitation on the basis of gender. They
may marry at a later age and choose to become a mother, probably shal l
have fewer children and usually their children are healthier.
Investing in girls’ education can increase the national growth rates with a
decline in the child marriage rate, child mortality rate and maternal
mortality rate. The combining effects of all these factors shall help lift
households, communities and countries out of poverty. Ensuring education
for all the girls and young women and fostering necessary life -skills for
their career and mental well -being is the moral responsibility of each and
every member of the society.
“There is no more valuable investment than in a girls’ education.”
- Ban Ki Moon, Secretary -General, United Nations
4.6 MAJOR QUESTIONS 1) Explain the Government of India schemes for girls’ education?
2) How do you interpret corrosion of values and state its impact on girls?
3) What measures can be taken to overcome problems faced by girls’
schools?
4) What can we do to make sure that every girl has the opportunity to
learn?
5) What contribution can research make to address this global challenge?
6) State the role of individuals in promoting girls’ education.
7) What non -governmental organizations can do in promoting girls’
education?
4.7 REFERENCES Chandani, P. & Kakkar, G. (2020). Opportunities and challenges for
girl child schooling and education in India. edusanchar.com
ResearchGate. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343969349_Opportunities_a
nd_Challenges_for_Girl_Child_Schooling_and_Education_in_India
Centrally sponsored scheme “Incentives to Girls for Secondary
Education” (201 1). Retrieved from
https://www.education.gov.in/en/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload
_ document/NSISGE -Scheme -Copy.pdf munotes.in
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65 Challenges and Opportunities in Girl’s Education CreditMantri (2022). Top 10 government schemes for girl children in
India. Retrieved from https://www.creditmantri.com/top -10-
governmen t-schemes -for-girl-children -in-india/
Gerbner, G. (1998). Why the cultural environment movement?
Gazette: The International
Journal for Communication Studies, 60(2), 133 –138.
Glennerster, R. & Neal, M. (2017). 4 common barriers to girls’
schooling —and how to overcome them. One campaign. Retrieved
from https://www.one.org/us/blog/girls -education -barriers/
Jenkins, R. &Winthrop, R. (2020). 5 actions to help bring the most
marginalized girls back to school after COVID -19. Brookings
Education Plus Development. Retrieved from
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education -plus-
development/2020/05/15/5 -actions -to-help-bring -the-most -
marginalized -girls-back -to-school -after-covid -19/
King, E. M. & Winthrop, R. (2015). Today’s challenges for girls’
education. Global Economy and Development at Brookings.
Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/wp -
content/uploads/2016/07/todays -challenges -girls-educationv6.pdf
Rodriguez, L. (2019). 7 obstacles to girls’ education and how to
overcome them. Global c itizen Defeat Poverty. Retrieved from
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/barriers -to-girls-education -
around -the-world/
Sharma, M. (2018). Deteri oration of moral values root cause of crime
against women. The Tribune: Voice of the people. Retrieved from
https:/ /www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/ludhiana/deterioration -of-
moral -values -root-cause -of-crime -against -women -580372
Taneri, P.O., Gao, J. & Johnson, R. (2016). Reasons for the
deterioration of moral values: Cross -cultural comparative analysis.
The 2016 WEI International Academic Conference Proceedings. 242 -
252. Retrieved from https://www.westeastinstitute.com/wp -
content/uploads/2016/09/P. -O.-Taneri-J.-Gao-R.-Johnson.pdf
The World Bank IBRD – IDA (2022) Understanding Poverty Girl’s
Education. Retrieved from
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/girlseducation#1
Unicef for ev ery child. (n.d.). Girls’ education: Gender equality in
education benefits every child. Retrieved from
https://www.unicef.org/education/girls -education .
*****
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66 5
PRACTICAL WORK IN EDUCATION FOR
WOMEN
Unit Structure
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 A Film based on Women’s Issues
a. Introduction
b. Presentation
c. Conclusion
5.3 A Street Play Highlighting Women’s Issues
a. Introduction
b. Presentation
c. Conclusion
5.4 A Boo k Written By a Female Writer
a. Introduction
b. Presentation
c. Conclusion
5.5 Conclusion on Practical Work in Education for Women
5.6 Study Questions
5.7 References
5.0 OBJECTIVES To enable the students to understand the importance of education for
women.
To he lp the student to understand the need for the practical work in
education for women.
To enable the students to analyse a film based on women’s issues.
To enable the students to understand the importance of a street play
high lighting women’s issues.
To ena ble students to analyse a book written by a female writer.
5.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter that is, Education for women, we are discussing the
practical work in education for women.
Shri Ramkrishna uses to say, “As long as I live, so long do I learn.” The
man or the society which has nothing to learn is already in the jaws of munotes.in
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67 Practical Work in Education for Women death. Our duty is to encourage everyone specially girls and women in
their struggle to live up to their own highest idea and
Strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as poss ible to the truth.
Education is the gateway to information and it leads women from poverty,
ignorance and exploitation, to freedom and knowledge of social and
cultural development of the nation.
Women’s empowerment is central to human development. Empowerm ent
does not takes place in vacuum. Women’s state of powerlessness is the
result of the interaction of several environmental factors. Empowerment of
women could only be achieved if their economic and social status is
improved. This is only possible by adop ting social and education policies
related to the development of women.
Here, we are discussing three different medium as film, street play and
book (specially written by woman), which present the woman with
different issues. We have to come forward to sol ve different issues for the
empowerment of women. This could be possible by providing perfect
education for girls and women.
5.2 A FILM BASED ON WOMEN’S ISSUES A. Introduction :
The Indian film industry has an extended viewership across the globe.
Cinema o r film has become the most popular mode of leisure and
entertainment. In a country where actors are become heroes that are
idolized and adored, so few responsibility also falls on them to rid the
movie industry of such misconceptions and misrepresentati on.
Kabir Singh, one of the super hit movie of 2019, was scrutinized for the
way it was portrayed in an abusive relationship as a form of love.
ShahidKapoor, who played the lead role, treats his lover like his property.
ShahidKapoor is the epitome of toxi n masculinity, yet is forgiven and
wins his lady back at the end. The box office success of such an
unapologetic glorification of misogyny shows how there is still a long way
to go.
However, changing times have brought into the limelight several
successes directed by women, Gully Boy by ZoyaAkhtar, Deepa Mehta’s
Fire and Earth, and popular film English Vinglish by GauriShinde, are a
few of many, who are slowly bringing in a much needed change to the
industry, through representation of women for all walks of life.
However, actresses such as Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma are
producing and backing movies with women in empowering roles and
KanganaRanaout with Queen and VidyaBalan with Kahani are
synonymous with strong female leads in movies.
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68 Education for Women
68 B. Presentati on:
There are number of films who revolve with idea of women issues, such
as-Arth, Bandit Queen, Fire, Daman, Lajja, Water, Chingaari,
SaatKhoonMaaf, and so on.
All the films have feminist themes and in these movie women fix their
own problems, unlike a lo t of other movies which claim to be women -
centric but have men solving the problems in the end. These movies
portray women as self dependent, capable of solving their own problems
and have the ability to perform all the duties of a man. These films
represe nt women from various social class.
Let us discuss one film :
Lajja (Shame) -2001 :
This film’s story revolves around various plights that women suffer in
India. Vahedehi played by ManishaKoirala is one of the protagonists, a
wife of a rich sophisticated man. The film begins by showing that
pregnant Vahedehi is running here and there, in order to hide from her
abusive husband, who would kill her as soon as she delivers their child.
On her journey, she came across with three different women, named
Janaki, playe d by Madhuri Dixit, Maithili played by MahimaChoudhary
and Ramdulari, played by Rekha. All these were belonging to different
towns, socio -economic level of society and facing different problems that
Indian women face.
Maithili, a bride to be from a middl e class family, shows extreme courage
by calling off her wedding due to the ever increasing, unreasonable dowry
demand from the groom’s family.
Janaki, a resident of the small town named Hridaypur and an extremely
successful theatre actress. An independent women, living life on her own
terms and not caring about society’s norms, is pregnant with her lover’s
child. However, her finance refuses to marry her due to some
misunderstanding created by Purasattam, director/producer of her theatre
group in the relat ionship. Unable to bear the pain of this break up, Janaki
suffers a mis carriage. Unlike, other women, she is determined to make
Purasattam pay for this act.
Ramdulari is a brave widow and a midwife by profession. The only
person in the entire village not only supports the education of women but
protest against the exploitative nature of the village leaders/zamindars,
towards the women. The ZamindarsVirendra played by Gulshan Grover
and Gajendra played by Danny Danzongpa vehemently oppose
Ramdhulari’s e fforts to educate the women in the village but she continues
with her action with the help of her educated son.. But, an unanticipated
situation arises when Ramdulari’s son falls for Gajendra’s daughter and
they elope. The infuriaterGajendra, therefore brutally rapes her and burns
her alive to seek revenge for her and her son’s actions. All this happenene munotes.in
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69 Practical Work in Education for Women in front of Vahedehi’s eye and she decided to punish Gajendra for this
behavior.
After a few month, when Gajendra shift to politics and was campaigning
for himself in the public then knowing this, Vahedehi successfully express
his real identity of a killer and a rapist in front of the crowd. His reality
outraged the women presented in the croed and is punished by them. The
rapist is killed and he gets hi s punishments.
The story can boast of an unusual ending where Vahedehi gives birth to a
baby girl, who is named after Ramdulari. Maithili, happily married to
another man. Janaki and Maithili are active members of a women’s
organization that help women in d istress. The story ends by showing that
all the money earned from the shows is donated to the central women’s
organization of India.
This film is a 65 minute long movie and directed by RajkumarSantoshi.
This film has wonderful songs and item numbers dance, with A list star
cast but failed to fair well at the Indian box office but did a pretty decent
business in the U.K. and U.S.A. The movie had won several Indian
awards.
C. Conclusion :
Thus Bollywood has seen female leads take on many forms from
sacrifi cing mother, widow and so on. The change is slow and much
delayed but now the representation of empowered women on screen is
steadily increasing. The success of films such as Tumhari Sulu, NH10,
Neerja, etc. has proved that the actresses can be truste d to carry film on
their shoulders. However, much work to be done and very important, there
should be greater empathy and sensibility towards showcasing real women
and the problems they are facing.
5.3 A STREET PLAY HIGHLIGHTING WOMEN’S ISSUES A. Introduct ion:
Street play, street theatre, popularly known as NukkadNatak, uses public
spaces as a plateform to make people aware of social issues and evils. This
art form usually has a taste of everything i.e. humour, political satire,
music and of course some pow erful performances.
Though the origins of street play can be traced back to the pre -
independence era, it continues to have a place in modern India. This form
has different names across various regions, such as -Rahs in Punjab,
Nautanki in Uttar Pradesh, Jal sa in Bengal, Path Natya in Maharashtra,
Path Natika or NukkadNatak in Hindi.
Some of the aspects that sets street theatre apart from other drama is that it
has a strong narrative and talks about socio -political issues up front with
the audience and the pe rformers don’t require a stage because all the munotes.in
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70 Education for Women
70 world is a stage. SantuGuchait, has been working as a community theatre
specialist with Bangla Natak.Com, a social enterprise that is focused on
fostering inclusive and sustainable development using culture -based
approaches in the areas of women and minority rights as well as child
welfare. The main goal behind these street plays was to empower women
and girls and encourage them to obtain education and empowerment.
Here, the effort led to an open dialogue with communities and had a strong
outreach. Many youth came forward to share their stories of resisting the
societal pressure to marry and pursuing further education to fulfill their
dreams, also many families began supporting the education of girls after
watch ing the plays.
Since street plays touch upon social and political realities, there may be
some tricky situation to deal with while portraying them, especially when
they have to keep in mind to not hurt the sentiments of citizens.
The street plays done by Bharat Dekho (AbhijeetBiswas) during the CAA -
NRC protests were warmly welcomed by the audience and also
extensively covered by the media.
Street plays are important because in the present digital age, there is a
chance that people can get consumed in their devices and fall prey to an
overdose of both right and wrong information. In this situations, street
play can help to communicate an unbiased message to the masses in an
interactive manner. Besides this, our huge population is still living in rural
and re mote regions, where right information is not easily accessible so in
such cases street plays can prove to be a great tool to communicate with
this society.
b. Presentation :
Street plays on women issues - Here, is an example of street play is given
from Byat ikram Mass Aware and Development Organization organized
many events, including a series of short street plays on the theme
Betibachao, betipadhao, on International Women’s Day i.e. on 8th
March.
This plays were staged by a student’s group from Pragiyotishc ollege in
front of Dighalipukhuri tank. These events are being held in association
with the Telegraph.
It was a short play and had subject like child marriage, female foeticide,
girls education, human trafficking and molestation connected to the
Centre’s B etibachao, betipadhao, and was a social campaign on saving and
educating girls.
This play on child marriage depicted a minor being married off to a much
older man and how a citizen’s group is able to stop the marriage with the
help of the police, and also landing the parents of the would be bride
behind the bars. munotes.in
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71 Practical Work in Education for Women (Note: Student can write the street play in short according to the
requirement of the question.)
Another example of street play, AbToh Bolo Kuch,” a street play on
sexual Harassment, which was presented by the student of Government
Law College, (NSS Unit) to take the fight against sexual Harassment,
across the Mumbai City in three different location in South Mumbai.
c. Conclusion :
Beside this, there are numbers of street plays, which are presented by
different colleges ( as NSS Programme and it is compulsory activity in
B.Ed Syllabus)and also presented be professional theatre group to make
more and more awareness about the different issues which are related to
girls and women. It is a suggestion that to create more awareness in a
society, street play performance related to social and political issues
should be made compulsory to all school and colleges.
5.4 A BOOK WRITTEN BY A FEMALE WRITER - a. Introduction :
Mahasweta Devi was an In dian writer in Bengal and an activist. Infact, for
Devi, the two seem to go together. She was a luminary par excellence.
Mahasweta Devi was one of India’s foremost literary figures from the late
20th and early 21stcenturies and her literary work include n umerous novels,
plays, essays and short stories as such she has written, Mother of 1084,
Breast stories, The Queen of Jhansi, ChottiMunda and His Arrow, In the
Name of Mother, Dust on the Road, After Kurukshetra, and so on.
Mahasweta Devi had received the Jnanpith Award, India’s highest
Literaryhonour in 1996. She was also awarded the Raman Magsaysay
Award in 1997.
She is remembered for immersing herself in the lives of India’s deprived
people as she recounted the discriminations against them in her writing s.
As you can probably tell from the titles, she writes about women and their
place in Indian society. Some of the characters in her stories are old
women living in poverty and some of them are exploited because of their
lack of wealth, however, some of th em are middle class. Regardless of
their stat6us, though they all suffer some kind of mistreatment whether it’s
physical or mental abuse but not all of them are willing to accept their
fate. So it would appear that Devi’s works, many of which are available in
English from Calcutta based Seagull Books, which would definitely offer
a powerful experience for the reader.
b. Presentation :
Mother of 1084 :
Mother of 1084 is a popular novel which was made into a movie in the
late 1990s, is a story at the time of 19 70s when Naxalite movement pick
up in Bengal. BratiChatterjee was a young and was having charm munotes.in
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72 Education for Women
72 personality got excited in the ideologies of Naxal Movement leading him
to death. It was his mother, Sujata Devi, who cared for him so far he was
born. Others appear to forget about Brati or as he was not an important
part of Chatterjee family. It was only Sujata Devi whose mind was always
getting upset by the thoughts of Brati. She was still thinking about her
son’s death, who has just become a number as 1084. As days were
passing, Sujata Devi was getting swamp in pain and yet there was no
single tear drop one can see in her eyes.
Sujata Devi meets Somu’s mother and Nandini with whom Brati has
spend his final days. As she speaks with them, then Sujata Devi rea lized
that little did she knewabout her son.
This book drafted a story of a tough lady Sujata Devi and her
extraordinary son Brati. As story process ahead then one can easily
understand the pain which Sujata Devi is going through. According to
story, it was revealed that Sujata Devi was a tough lady, so may be she did
not cry, may be she doesn’t tell tale about her son’s death but deep down
in her heart, she has an unseen prod which is killing her degrees. Within
few pages, Mahasweta Devi has profoundly discussed the issues of
patriarchy, the enraged among the young minds to change the world and
life of an independent women.
Mahasweta Devi’s style of wriveniting and her art of delineating humans
is definitely impressed the reader. She has given the det ails of every
character.
c. Conclusion:
Here, we can definitely agree that she was undoubtedly a gem of Indian
literature. This book, touches the heights of any literature as it presents the
psychological fiction, which required the reader to have great
understanding about literature.
Besides this, there are various female writer who have done great work by
writing excellently about women with their issues.
5.5 CONCLUSION In conclusion, we can say that any medium of expression, whether in
written form (stor y, novel, book, poetry) or in audio -visual forms as street
plays or films, plays important and crucial role to solve various problems
related to girls and women. It makes people aware of problems. Media
today, from traditional legacy media to online media, still hugely influence
our perceptions and ideas about the role of girls and women in society. By
creating gender transformative content and breaking gender stereotypes,
media can play wonderful role in achieving gender equality in societies.
So it is imp ortant that not only people of India but world should be aware
of various issues related to women and also able to solve their problems
and as well as provide whole heartly help to them to get success in
achieving their goals for the prosperous life of wom en. munotes.in
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73 Practical Work in Education for Women Jawaharlal Nehru once said,” Education of boy is the education of one
person, but the education of a girl is the education of an entire family,
society and nation.” Nehru remarked that if we want to awaken the people,
it is the women who have to be awa kened. Once she is on the move, the
household moves. The village moves and country moves and through the
women her children are brought into the picture and given the opportunity
of higher life and better training. Thus, when we give the opportunity to
women today, we build the India of tomorrow.”
[Please note that the given material is a guideline for a learner. Students
would have to elaborate answers according to the need of the questions.]
5.6 STUDY QUESTION 1. How films can become a strong medium to eradicate women related
issues?
2. “Street plays are important for public awareness”. Discuss.
3. Why women should come forward to write about women related
issues?
5.7 REFERENCES https://www.harpersbazzar.co m
www.//filmfare.com
https://litmp.ac.in
https://www.juhranjash.com
https://www.powells.com
www.theguardian.com
https://www.safety.in
https://www.telegraph.india.com
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