Jargon Free Forum

Gender Inequality

“Gender” is a socio-cultural term referring socially defined roles and behaviors assigned to ‘males’ and ‘females’ in a given society; whereas, the term ‘sex’ is a biological and physiological phenomenon which defines man and woman. In its social, historical and cultural aspects, gender is a function of the power relations between men and women where men are considered superior to women. Therefore, gender may be understood as a man-made concept, while ‘sex’ is the natural or biological characteristics of human beings.

Gender Inequality, in simple words, may be defined as discrimination against women based on their sex. Women are traditionally considered by society as the weaker sex. She has been accorded a subordinate position to men. She is exploited, degraded, violated and discriminated both in our homes and in the outside world. This peculiar type of discrimination against women is prevalent everywhere in the world and more so in Indian society.

Pre-session assessment

There were a total of 50 participants in the 11th standard. The following points were discussed in the pre-session assessment:

Questions for all students:

• What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you hear the words "gender inequality"? - The students replied that gender inequality is discrimination between girls and boys.
• Who believes that girls are gentle/boys are tough? - Some students said that they do not believe that boys are the only ones who are tough. Girls can also be tough and strong. Some boys replied that boys are still tougher than girls.
• Men are logical/women are emotional - Most of the students agreed with this point.
• Women are shy/men are not - Some students replied that they think men are less shy, but some students said that women are not shy anymore. Some students said that some men are also shy.
• Men should work outside the family/women should work within the family - Every student disagreed with this point. They said that women and men can both work in any field.
• What are the responsibilities of a man/woman? - The first group of students replied that a woman's responsibility is to take care of her children, continue her family's generation, support her husband when the family's financial condition is not good, and work outside to help her family. Women's fighting behavior in the house can create problems, educated women are essential for a country's progress, and a woman is the leader of her house. The second group of students replied that a man's responsibilities are to make important decisions for his family, educate his children, take care of his parents, fulfill social and family responsibilities, and meet the family's financial needs.
• How should a girl/boy be? - The third group of students replied that a girl should be beautiful, have good behavior, a quiet nature, be strong, fearless, and good at everything. A girl should be educated and not have bad habits. She should be a good girl who talks slowly and speaks less in front of others. The fourth group of students mentioned that a boy should be physically fit, friendly, independent, determined, respect others, not follow girls, and give respect to them.

Activity conducted during the session

There were a total of 50 participants, all of whom were 11th-grade students. Here are some resources that were discussed during the session:

• #StartWithTheBoys: This short film by Vinil Mathew, starring Madhuri Dixit for Vogue Empower, tackles the issue of domestic violence from a different perspective. The film shows baby boys being raised with the phrase "boys don't cry," which can lead to bottling up emotions and dysfunctional behavior. The film emphasizes that there is nothing wrong with crying, but making someone cry is wrong. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ48uk1FhEg
• Muskan: This animated movie tells the story of a young girl named Muskaan, who learns that her pregnant mother is being forced to undergo a test to determine the gender of the unborn child, which will be aborted if it's a girl. Muskaan takes on the challenge to change the minds of her family members and break down prevalent gender biases and notions in society that lead to female feticides. Link: https://youtu.be/9HKlP4YKXu4
• Meena - Dividing the Mango: In this short film, Meena works hard every day but is always given a smaller portion of food compared to her brother Raju. When Meena and Raju decide to swap jobs for the day, Raju realizes how hard Meena works and decides to share his portion of food equally with her from now on. Link: https://youtu.be/OHaX-_cVEiU
• The Girl Story: This short film highlights the importance of educating girls, stating that "educate a boy and you educate an individual, but educate a girl and you educate a community." Link: https://youtu.be/CJAO5MQf05s

Post-session assessment:

• Where did all these thoughts come from? Most of the students replied that their understanding was shaped by their daily life experiences, what they learned from their childhood, and what they heard in society and at home.
• What is their role in their house? Most of the girls said that they do household work on a daily basis and also some outside work. Some boys said that they also help their mothers with household work and sometimes cook as well.

Do they actually have equality? Some students said that they are treated equally in their family and their parents treat them equally, but some students said that they are treated unequally in their house. For example, some girls mentioned that they have less freedom compared to their brothers, while some boys said they do not have any restrictions as girls have.