Promoting Gender Equality

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An issue plaguing India today is the rising rate of crimes against women. In 2015, the number of recorded rape cases stood at 34, 615- a decline compared to the 36,735 cases recorded in 2014 (Venkat, 2017, para. 4). Clearly, our country lacks a supportive social environment and healthy attitude between the genders, which would prevent these crimes in the first place. To achieve this, practices that promote gender equality must be adopted right at the primary school level, to help children imbibe it in their crucial, formative years. This must be holistic and include dimensions which positively impact children individually, and their interpersonal interactions. The key to promoting gender equality in schools is by making the curriculum and pedagogy …show more content…

Statistics show us why it is important for children from all economic backgrounds. As of 2015, 53% children between the ages of 5 and 12 are victims of sexual abuse. 18% of the girls are married before the age of 15 and 47% are married before they turn 18. More than 50% of the girls in rural areas, and 6.7% of girls in urban areas did not know the meaning of menstruation (Pujari, 2015). Also, social taboo is one of the biggest impediments to sex education in India; states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, etc. had banned a course on the adolescent education program suggested by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). Many parents believe that sex education is against Indian culture. Therefore, the onus is on schools to ensure that sex education is made an important part of the curriculum. In 2005, the CBSE issued a circular planning the Adolescence Reproductive and Sexual Health Education (ARSH) projects, which has never entirely been implemented (Boruah, …show more content…

The draft of the National Education Policy of 2016 recognized the significance of sex education (Boruah, 2016). It is important that sex education is conducted in open and interactive environments, and that girls and boys are made to sit together during these programs. Programs must be designed such that students are encouraged to ask questions and learn from one another, so that their curiosity finds a healthy outlet. Lastly, students must also be made aware of alternate sexualities, particularly the transgender community, to understand the nuances of sex and