What We Teach Our Children: Gender Sensitivity Within the Indian Curriculum

Abstract

Equity and Equality are an integral part of any humane society. As a country with norms formulated and bills passed around gender disparity and equal education rights, India has come a long way to be genderinclusive when it comes to educating the youth. However, beyond the admittance of students in schools, the quality of education imparted to them acts as a measure of the child's development. Despite the tremendous strides in technological and institutional aspects, the Indian curricula still fare poorly in the discourse of gender sensitization. Gender inequality and societal stereotypes are an integral part of the kind of stories included in the Indian syllabi. The present study looks at the magnitude of gender inclusivity within the Indian curriculum by exploring the English textbooks for grades IX and X prescribed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The paper alludes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the country's efforts in maintaining gender equality in the classroom; and draws a parallel to the content taught in a child's formative years. By analyzing the manner in which gender roles, stereotypes, heteronormativity, and gender- based binaries are expressed within the highschool textbooks, the study opens up an academic probe into the impact of rigid gender boundaries on a student's mental health.