GENDER SENSITIZATION LAB

UNIT – I: UNDERSTANDING GENDER

Gender: Why Should We Study It?

INTRODUCTION: The study of Gender aims at preparing the students to face new realities and
set new terms for interaction among young men and women. Often the young boys and girls are
plagued by anxieties and confusions about being male, about femininity, relationships,
responsibilities, gender identities etc. but there are hardly any places where these thoughts,
fears, experiences or emotions are recognized and openly or rationally discussed. An
understanding of the gender issues will enable the students to develop good inter-personal skills
in the society as well as at the work places.
• Gender is the physical and / or social condition of being male or female.
• Different societies, different cultures, different generations have different ideas of
gender.

The study of gender is essential for the following reasons:

•
The experience of gender is emotionally charged for everyone especially young adults.
• Being a man or a woman is a source of different kinds of pleasure and many positive
emotions
• But growing up into a man or a woman can also be painful, confusing and a source of
many anxieties
• The experiences and emotions about the relationship between men and women are
rarely talked about.
• Girls and boys are segregated in the society while growing up. This makes gender a
key axis of inequality
• To obtain equal rights along with men, women had to fight against bias, discrimination
and violence in many spheres of life.
• Indian women were fortunate enough to get the right to vote in 1935 along with men.
Women in several other countries got it much later.

The post-independence “Status of Women Report” of 1975 showed shocking revelations:

- The condition of vast majority of women had deteriorated since independence

- There was a decline in sex ratio
- Women were excluded from newly created jobs
- The number of women in elected bodies was declining
- Rural girls dropped out from schools rapidly
- There was an increase in violence in families such as dowry deaths, etc.
- Women were subjected to sexual violence and custodial rape by the police and
in hostels.
- Women could rarely get justice because of the patriarchal attitudes present in
law and in the functioning of the courts
 • This led to the formation of various women’s groups all over the country; some of the
first ones being Progressive Organization of Women formed by Osmania University
Women students in 1973 followed by another organization in Hyderabad called the
Stree Shakti Sanghatan in 1978.
• As a result, special laws were introduced to support the women fighting against
violence.

The 73rd amendment to the Indian Constitution in 2009, provides for the reservation of
1/3 rd of the seats in village panchayats for women.

DEFINITION OF GENDER, BASIC GENDER CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY

SEX: In general terms, "sex" refers to the biological differences between males and females,
such as the genetic differences. And hence, are anatomical (relating to structure of the body)
and physiological (relating to functions of living organisms). It is universal and mostly
unchanging, without surgery.
GENDER a working definition of gender: People are born female or male, but they learn to be
girls and boys who grow into women and men. They are taught what the appropriate behaviour
and attitudes, roles and activities are for them, and how they should relate to other people. This
learned behaviour is what makes up gender identity, and determines gender roles.

Gender refers to the learnt roles, norms and expectations on the basis of one’s sex. It is a
sociocultural definition of a boy and a girl, of a man and a woman. Not only their responsibilities
are set by the society but also norms/values, dress codes, attitudes, opportunities, rights,
mobility, freedom of expression, priorities and even dreams are determined by the society. It
varies from society to society and can be changed.
GENDER EQUALITY: The state or condition that affords women and men equal enjoyment of
human rights, socially valued goods, opportunities and resources, allowing both sexes the same
opportunities and potential to contribute to and benefit from all spheres of society.
Example: A family has limited funds, and both daughter and son need new pair of shoes for the
new school year, but only one can get new shoes this year. If the family decides which child will
get the new shoes based on the child’s needs and not on the child’s sex, this is an example of
gender equality.
GENDER ANALYSIS:

"Gender analysis is a method of identifying, analysing and understanding:

· Different activities of women, men, boys and girls (gender roles);

· relations between men and women (gender relations);
· patterns of women's and men's access to and control of resources.

"It is an important planning tool because it provides information on the 'gender map' and makes
it possible to plan. It gives information on

· who performs what activities and at what levels - household, community or national;

· who owns what resources;

· who uses what resources;

· who has ultimate control of the resources, at the different levels;

· which major environmental factors (culture, religion, politics, etc.) have critical influence, and
may be responsible for maintaining the system of gender differentiation and inequity.

"It is the identification of these which makes it possible for policy and project planners to identify
the different (or even common) needs of men and women.
GENDER AWARENESS: Gender awareness raising aims to promote and encourage a general
understanding of gender-related challenges, for instance, violence against women and the
gender pay gap. It also aims to show how values and norms influence our reality, reinforce
stereotypes and support the structures that produce inequalities.

Gender awareness raising plays an important role in informing women and men about gender
equality, the benefits of a more gender-equal society and the consequences of gender
inequality.

GENDER EQUALITY vs. GENDER GENDER EQUITY

EQUITY GENDER EQUALITY
The state or condition that affords women Justice and fairness in the treatment of and
men equal enjoyment of human rights, women and men in order to eventually socially
valued goods, opportunities and achieve gender equality, often requesting resources,
allowing both sexes the same differential treatment of women and men opportunities
and potential to contribute to, (or specific measures) in order to and benefit from, all
spheres of society compensate for the historical and social
(economic, political, social, and cultural). disadvantages that prevent women and men from
sharing a level playing field.
Example: A family has limited funds, and Example: Provision of leadership training both
daughter and son need new pair of for women or establishing quotas for women shoes
for the new school year, but only one in decision-making positions in order to can get new
shoes this year. If the family achieve the state of gender equality. decides (and who in
the family decides?) which child will get the new shoes based on the child’s NEED, and
not on the child’s sex, this is an example of gender equality.

IMPORTANT POINT! Equity leads to equality! Equity means that there is a need to
continue taking differential actions to address historical inequality among men and
women and achieve gender equality!

TRANSGENDER vs. TRANSSEXUAL

Transgender: refers to those Trans people who live permanently in their preferred gender,
without necessarily needing to undergo any medical intervention/s.

Transsexual: refers to people who identifies entirely with the gender role opposite to the sex
assigned to at birth and seeks to live permanently in the preferred gender role. Transsexual
people might intend to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment
treatment (which may or may not involve hormone therapy or surgery).

GENDER MAINSTREAMING:
“Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women
and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in any area and at
all levels. It is a strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men a
n integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and
programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres, so that women and men benefit
equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal of mainstreaming is to achieve
gender equality.”
SEX vs. GENDER SEX GENDER
Biological characteristics (including Socially constructed set of roles and
genetics, anatomy and physiology) that responsibilities associated with being girl
generally define humans as female or male. and boy or women and men, and in some
Note that these biological characteristics are cultures a third or other gender.
not mutually exclusive; however, there are
individuals who possess both male and
female characteristics.
Born with. Not born with.
Natural. Learned.
Universal, A-historical Gender roles vary greatly in different
No variation from culture to culture or time to societies, cultures and historical periods
time. as well as they depend also on
socioeconomic factors, age, education,
ethnicity and religion.
Cannot be changed, except with the medical Although deeply rooted, gender roles can be
treatment. changed over time, since social values and
norms are not static.
Example: Only women can give birth. OnlyExample: The expectation of men to be
women can breastfeed. economic providers of the family and for
women to be caregivers is a gender norm in
many cultural contexts.
However, women prove able to
do traditionally male jobs as well as men (e.g. men and women can do housework; men and
women can be leaders and managers). PRACTICAL POINT: At birth, the difference
between boys and girls is their sex; as they grow up society gives those different roles,
attributes, opportunities, privileges and rights that in the end create the social differences.
Between men and women.

SOCIALIZATION: MAKING WOMEN, MAKING MEN

Socialization: The process through which society shapes and trains people to be
social individuals is referred to as socialization
• This training begins in the family for both boys and girls right from their
childhood
• The training continues in schools through teachers, textbooks, games and
other activities.
• Both girls and boys are given training in correct forms of behavior, dressing
etc.
• Girls are trained to be shy, soft and afraid and to remain silent even when
attacked. This is often regarded as preparation for marriage.
• Boys are trained to be rough, strong, dominating, fearless and emotionless.
They are taught to give preference to career success, sexual prowess and to
exert control over others.
• While girls receive most of their training from their mothers, boys learn about
being a man from friends and films.
 • According to the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, Gender is not
natural – it is socially shaped.

GENDER SOCIALIZATION
The most common agents of gender socialization—in other words, the people who
influence the process—are parents, teachers, schools, and the media. Through
gender socialization, children begin to develop their own beliefs about gender and
ultimately form their own gender identity. Gender stereotypes can be a result of
gender socialisation.

Gender Socialization in Childhood

The process of gender socialization begins early in life. Children develop an

understanding of gender categories at a young age. Studies have shown that
children can discern male voices from female voices at six months old, and can
differentiate between men and women in photographs at nine months old. Between
11 and 14 months, children develop the ability to associate sight and sound,
matching male and female voices with photographs of men and women. By age
three, children have formed their own gender identity. They have also begun to learn
their culture’s gender norms, including which toys, activities, behaviours, and
attitudes are associated with each gender.

Because gender categorization is a significant part of a child's social development,

children tend to be especially attentive to same-gender models. When a child
observes same-gender models consistently exhibit specific behaviours that differ
from the behaviours of other-gender models, the child is more likely to exhibit the
behaviours learned from the same-gender models. These models include parents,
peers, teachers, and figures in the media.

Children’s knowledge of gender roles and stereotypes can impact their attitudes
towards their own and other genders. Young children, in particular, may become
especially rigid about what boys and girls "can" and "cannot" do. This eitheror
thinking about gender reaches its peak between the ages of 5 and 7 and then
becomes more flexible.

Gender Socialization throughout Life

Gender socialization is a lifelong process. The beliefs about gender that we acquire
in childhood can affect us throughout our lives. The impact of this socialization can
be big (shaping what we believe we are capable of accomplishing and thus
potentially determining our life's course), small (influencing the colour we choose for
our bedroom walls), or somewhere in the middle.

As adults, our beliefs about gender may grow more flexible, but gender socialization
can still affect our behaviour, whether in school, the workplace, or our relationships.

Some accounts mentioned in the chapters and links:

• Mohana Krishna Indraganti's short film Ammayi, is based on Jamaica
Kincaid's
"Girl".

• Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl":

'Girl' is a prose poem written by Jamaica Kincaid that was published in The
New Yorker in 1978.
The only characters in 'Girl' are a mother and a daughter. 'Girl' is a somewhat
of a stream-of-consciousness narrative of a mother giving her young daughter advice
on important life issues and concerns. The poem is one long sentence of various
commands separated by semi-colons.
The advice consists of how to do certain domestic behaviours, including
making Antiguan dishes, as well as the more assertive points of being a respectable
woman and upholding sexual purity. There is a lot of discussion from the mother
about how the daughter must interact with people as well as how to behave in a
romantic relationship with a man.
The daughter only speaks twice in the story. First she stands up for herself
against one of her mother's questions that turned into an accusation, and again at
the end where she asks her mother a clarifying question. It concludes abruptly with a
rhetorical question from the mother wondering if her daughter didn't understand how
to behave based on everything she was told.
• Mohammed Khadeer Babu’s “Bajji Bajji” is about a boy who wangles a
smart deal for the second hand notebooks that he will recycle and use.
The reader chuckles at his exploits, yet the story is also a testament to
the large numbers of children who must routinely pull together every
resource to manage the demands of life and school. When in another
story he describes his family cooking and sharing a mouth-watering
Sunday lunch of meat, it dawns on us that the pleasure of eating meat is
a well kept secret in the world of Indian stories.

• Gogu Shyamala’s "Radam." Telugu original. "Raw Wound." English

translation.
‘Raw Wound’ is a story about the oppressed condition of women who are forced
to become jogini by villagers. The tag of jogini may sound respectable, but these
women are considered the village’s common, sexual property. The protagonist’s
parents ensure their daughter does not have to suffer such the fate of becoming a
jogini by smuggling her away to school.

• Krishna Kumar, "Growing Up Male"

In the essay Growing up Male, Kumar suggests such a role for schools, "we
need to perceive the school in conflict with the community's code of socialization .…
while the larger social ethos offers stereotyped models of men's and women's roles,
the school must insist that adults working in it will not act in stereotyped or
stereotyping ways".
The way out:
The author says that, while the world outside the school offers stereotyped
models of men’s and women’s roles in the society, the school should act as a
countersocializer. The school’s media such as text books and other materials should
teach its students the true essence of sex roles in the society even if the school has
to go against the society’s code of socialization.
• First lessons in caste: BR Ambedkar from "A childhood journey to
Koregoan becomes a nightmare."

The present extract describes a journey undertaken in 1901 by the ten-year-old

Ambedkar and his siblings, from their residence in Satara to Koregaon, to meet their
father, and the discriminatory behaviour they experience (for being untouchables of
Mahar caste) en route at Masur which makes their very journey appear impossible
and dangerous.
• “How I Upstaged the Clevers of My Class” by Md. Khadeer Babu is a
more light hearted, yet thought provoking account of prejudices that a
young boy faces in his village school.

UNIT – II: GENDER ROLES AND RELATIONS

Gender roles are sets of behavior, roles and responsibilities attributed to women
and men that the culture defines as appropriate for men and women. Thus gender
roles include behaviors and choices that are associated with being male or female.

Our cultural beliefs reinforce what is seen to be acceptable behavior of males or

females. This includes what we do, what we like and how we behave. The various
Socializing agents include parents, teachers, peers, religious leaders, and the media.

Gender roles are reinforced at the various levels of the society imbibing norms and
values through socialization process, household structure, access to resources,
specific impacts of the global economy, and other locally relevant factors3

Although deeply rooted, gender roles can be changed over time, since social values
and norms are not static.

GENDER DISCRIMINATION :

Gender discrimination is unequal or disadvantageous treatment of an individual or

group of individuals based on gender. Sexual harassment is a form of illegal gender
discrimination.
Gender discrimination can be treating an individual differently based upon his/her
gender in academia or extracurricular activities, academic programs, discipline, class
assignments given in a classroom, class enrolment, physical education, grading,
and/or athletics.

EXAMPLES OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Sexual harassment can be based on an individual’s perception of the events in
question.
Conduct (verbal and/or physical) that is based on sex or gender and that is not
welcome can constitute sexual harassment.
Grievance procedures consistent with the principles of due process have been
developed and implemented for faculty and staff, including Administrative and
Professional employees, as well as classified staff. Grievance procedures are
available for students in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.
Grievance procedures for faculty and staff are included in the Faculty Handbook
and the Staff Handbook. Both handbooks can be found at
http://www.langston.edu/faculty-staff/employment/human-resources/human-r....

GENDER DISCRIMINATION
If conduct is unwelcome, could be offensive to a reasonable person, and in fact is
offensive to someone complaining about certain physical and/or verbal acts, then
the conduct may constitute sexual harassment even if it was not intended to be
offensive.
The following types of conduct may constitute gender discrimination:
• A faculty hiring only male graduate assistants
• A professor giving higher grades to female students
• A coach allowing only males to play during an intramural game

Gender disparity still exists in India. Being born as women in the Indian society
one has to face gender discrimination at all levels. At the household level - females
are confined to the bounds of their household chores, raising children and looking
after families, irrespective of her education degrees or her job profile. At her
workplace: women have limited access to job opportunities and are paid less for
the same work.

Education and learning opportunities: gender-wise literacy rates in India showcase

the wide gap that exists between men and women. As per 2011 census data,
effective literacy rates (age 7 and above) were 82.14% for men and 65.46% for
women. The main reason behind parents unwilling to spend on girl’s education is
the mind-set that educating women is of no value as in the future they will only
serve their husbands and the in- laws.
The Indian constitution provides equal rights and privileges for both men and
women
but still majority of women across India doesn’t enjoy these rights and
opportunities guaranteed to them. This is because of a number of reasons.

Some of them are:

Poverty – This is the root cause of gender discrimination in the patriarchal Indian
society as the economic dependence on the male counterpart is itself a cause of
gender disparity. A total of 30 percent people live below the poverty line and out of
this
70 percent are women.
Illiteracy - Gender discrimination In India had led to educational backwardness for
girls. It’s a sad reality that despite educational reforms in the country girls in India are
still denied a chance at learning. The mind-set needs to be changed and people
need to understand the benefits of educating girls. An educated, well-read woman
ensures that other members especially the children of the house get quality
education. Patriarchal setup in our Indian society – Men dominate societal and
family life in
India, this has been the case in the past ages and still continues to be practiced in
majority of the households. Though this mind-set is changing with urbanization and
education, still there is long way to go for a permanent change in the scenario.

Direct discrimination

• An employer refuses to interview a candidate because he belongs to a

Scheduled Caste. This is direct discrimination in relation to caste.
• An employer fires a female employee after her marriage because he makes the
assumption that married women do not make efficient workers. This is prima
facie direct discrimination in relation to sex.
• A hospital hires only female nurses based on the assumption that women are
more caring than men. This is prima facie direct discrimination in relation to sex.
• A housing society advertisement offers apartments on rent to married couples.
This is prima facie direct discrimination in relation to marital status.
• A university has a policy of conducting random security checks of student hostel
rooms. In practice, this policy is only invoked to check rooms of Kashmiri
students. This is prima facie direct discrimination in relation to ethnicity, descent
and linguistic identity.

Indirect Discrimination

• An employer pays part-time workers at a lower hourly rate than full-time workers
for doing the same work. A majority of part-time workers in his establishment are
women but a majority of full-time workers are men. This is prima facie indirect
discrimination in relation to sex.
• A housing society only rents out apartments to persons with a Master’s degree.
In the relevant geographical area, persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes
are substantially less likely to have Master’s degrees compared with others. This
is prima facie indirect discrimination in relation to caste.
• A milk delivery company has a policy of not supplying milk to butchers. Most
butchers in that locality are Muslims. This is prima facie indirect discrimination in
relation to religion.

Harassment

• A schoolboy, who refuses to play sports, is called a 'sissy' by his teacher. This is
harassment in relation to gender identity.
• A co-worker sprinkles 'holy water' on a machine previously operated by a
colleague belonging to a scheduled caste to 'purify' it. This is harassment in
relation to caste.

Boycott

• A khap panchayat orders villagers to stop all interaction with the families of a
couple who belong to different religions. This is boycott in relation to religion-
cummarital status.
Segregation

• An employer operates separate canteens for upper-caste Hindus and all others.
• A Hindu boy is threatened with violence unless he breaks off his romantic
relationship with a Muslim girl.
• An adult consenting couple, walking hand in hand in a park, is set upon by a
mob which, on discovering that they are not married, forces the woman to tie a
rakhi on the man's wrist.
• A young woman has her movements restricted and monitored by her family
because she is seen at a cinema hall in the company of a young man belonging
to the same gotra as herself.

STRUGGLES WITH DISCRIMINATION:

Compared to the general population, gender-diverse kids face drastically increased

rates of bullying, assault, depression, school drop-out, drug abuse, self-harm and
suicide. A 2009 report from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network paints
a grim picture. Nearly 90 percent of transgender youth surveyed had experienced
verbal harassment at school because of their gender expression. Two-thirds
expressed feeling unsafe at school; more than half experienced physical
harassment. A quarter experienced physical assault. Most of these incidents were
never reported to school officials.

Students in the study who experienced high levels of gender-identity harassment

were more likely to skip school for safety reasons and to have significantly lower
grade-point averages than their peers who experienced little to no harassment.

Gender Diversity: Words You Should Know

Sex -Either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and
most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions.

Gender-The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and
cultural differences rather than biological ones).
Assigned Gender. The gender a baby is given upon birth, usually based on the
child’s birth sex.

Gender Identity
How we feel about our gender in our hearts and minds.

Gender Expression/Gender Presentation

How we show our gender to the world through external choices (e.g. dress,
behaviour, hairstyle).

Cisgender
Describes a person whose birth sex and gender identity align.
Birth Sex/Biological Sex
A specific set of genetic, chemical and anatomical characteristics that we are either
born with or that develop as we mature.

Binary Gender
The faulty concept that there are only two genders: male and female.

Genderqueer
A broad descriptor many people use to indicate a person does not identify as either
male or female.

Transgender
Describes anyone whose gender identity and birth sex do not align. The word should
be used as, “transgender,” not “transgendered.” For example, “My brother Sam is
transgender. His birth name was Samantha.”

Preferred Personal Pronouns

In addition to the traditional pronouns (he/him, she/her, they), some people prefer to
use gender-neutral pronouns, such as ne, ve, ze/zie and xe. If you don’t know a
student’s preferred personal pronoun, it’s always best to ask.

The Humiliating Practice of Sex-Testing Female Athletes

For years, international sports organizations have been policing women for
“masculine” qualities — and turning their Olympic dreams into nightmares. But when
Dutee Chand appealed her ban, she may have changed the rules.
The tests were meant to identify competitors whose chromosomes, hormones,
genitalia, reproductive organs or secondary sex characteristics don’t develop or align
in the typical way. The word “hermaphrodite” is considered stigmatizing, so
physicians and advocates instead use the term “intersex” or refer to the condition as
D.S.D., which stands for either a disorder or a difference of sex development.

Scientists are trying to unravel the complex biological breakdowns of gender, and as
they learn more, it’s becoming more apparent there aren’t just men and women
among us.

The scientists discovered the XX and XY cells that differentiate between genders can
actually behave in different ways. When scientists took a closer look, they found not
all people have cells that contain the same set of genes. Instead, it’s more like a
mosaic of different unevenly divided sex cells, which biologists have taken to calling
“mosaicism.” Although it’s a rare condition that only affects about 1 in 15,000 people,
it still leaves an unidentified population of society outside of the familiar dichotomy.

Dutee Chand, is one of the most fastest woman sprinters India has ever produced.

She won India’s sprint title in 2013, but the following year, weeks before she was to
run at the Commonwealth Games, the sport’s governing body informed her she was
permanently banned from competition unless she had surgery or took other medical
steps to alter her body chemistry. The International Association of Athletics
Federations (IAAF) ruled that she had failed a test for hyperandrogenism (the latest
iteration of gender verification) because her natural testosterone level had been ruled
too high for her to be considered a woman.

Ms. Chand was by all accounts mystified – she had not even known that gender
testing existed. When the South African runner Caster Semenya faced a similar
controversy in 2009, her country stepped up to defend her and filed a human rights
complaint with the United Nations. India, however, did not seem prepared to fight for
Ms. Chand.

Last year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport agreed with Indian athlete Dutee Chand's
contention that hormone testing for females was discriminatory and ineffective.

It suspended the tests, allowing Chand and other "hyperandrogenic" athletes,

including South African Caster Semenya, to compete.

Hyperandrogenism is a medical condition characterised by excessive levels of

androgens (the male sex hormone) in the body. It is a common endocrine disorder in
women of reproductive-age and a majority of patients also have polycystic ovary
syndrome.

Manabi Bandyopadhyay:

Manabi Bandyopadhyay took charge of Krishnanagar Women's College in West

Bengal's Nadia district. She is the first transgender person in the country to be
appointed the Principal of a college. On 9 June 2015, Manabi Bandyopadhyay took
charge of Krishnanagar Women's College in West Bengal's Nadia district. She is the
first transgender person in the country to be appointed the principal of a college.

MISSING WOMEN: SEX SELECTION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

Sex Ratio / Overall Sex Ratio: The sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a
population. In most sexually reproducing species, the ratio tends to be 1:1.
In India, the Child Sex Ratio is defined as the number of females per thousand males
in the age group 0–6 years in a human population. In the Population Census of 2011,
it was revealed that the population ratio of India was 940 females per 1000 of males.

Causes for Decline Sex Ratio:

The main reasons for a decreasing sex ratio in India are:
• Selective terminations of pregnancy, and female infanticide.
• Abortions are legal in India, but determining the sex of the foetus is not.
But finding a doctor or a sinologist who's willing to tell you the sex of the
foetus is ridiculously easy.
• A third factor is that female babies are more likely to be undernourished,
resulting in disease and death.

The underlying reason is basically that a girl is seen as a liability -

 1. She will get married and leave the house, so cannot be counted for
support in your old age
2. You have to pay a huge dowry (although this is illegal in India, the
practice isn't uncommon)
3. Needs to be protected much more - so makes it difficult for both
parents to work (i.e. somebody needs to be at home with the girl to make sure
she is safe)
4. Much higher chance of bringing disgrace to the family if something
goes wrong.

DEMOGRAPHIC CONSEQUENCES

India has a lot of social problems, and female foeticide is the perhaps the most
depressing one. This is a very tough issue to tackle. The difference might look small
in the chart, but that is 30-40 Million girls missing.
Simply put, there aren't enough girls in our country, and this will have a wide variety
of problems in the future when the 0-19 age group moves on to the 25-39 age group.
It is going to screw up productivity, fertility ratios, and the country as a whole.

Social Consequences of a Skewed Sex Ratio:

A skewed sex ratio may instead be making the lot of women worse. Sociologist say it
encourages abuse, notably in the trafficking. Reports circulate of unknown numbers
of girls who are drugged, beaten and sometimes killed by traffickers.

Men, especially if poor and from a low caste, suffer too. Women in India are
sometimes permitted, even encouraged, to “marry up” into a higher income bracket
or caste, so richer men find it easier to get a bride. The poor are forced into a long or
permanent bachelorhood; a status widely frowned upon in India, where marriage is
deemed essential to becoming a full member of society. Poor bachelors are often
victims of violent crime.

GENDER SPECTRUM: BEYOND THE BINARY

The gender spectrum perceives gender as having many options; it is a linear model,
ranging from 100% man to 100% woman, with various states of androgyny in
between.

Two or many?
Let’s see an example: When we meet a new-born baby, most of us ask the same
question: boy or girl? Often, the answer is easy. Often, but not always.
Boy or girl?

When we meet people for the first time, we look for gender cues in a way so
automated we don’t even know we’re doing it.

Long hair, Dress, Makeup = Female.

Short haircut, Broad shoulders, Well-built body = Male.

Then someone different from both of the above walks into the room, and everything
we thought we knew about gender flies out the window.

Gender may seem simple, but the myths surrounding this concept mask its true
complexity. Experts who work with youth and gender issues tell us the two most
common myths are these: First, gender is binary, offering only two options; second,
gender and sex are the same thing. Summed up, the myth goes like this: Every
person is either male or female, and the distinction is based on that person’s
anatomy.

For most kids, birth sex and gender identity match. This population is referred to as
being cisgender. But in some cases, children’s gender identity—how they feel about
themselves—differs from their biology. Some kids know their gender identities and
birth sexes don’t match almost as soon as they begin to talk. For some it is as simple
as wishing to swap one gender for another—“I was born a girl, but I’m really a boy.”
For others, their sense of gender exists somewhere between male and female, at
various points along what is known as the gender spectrum.

The terminology used to describe these identities is vast and evolving. Gender
nonconforming and transgender are common terms. Increasingly popular are such
phrases as gender independent, gender creative, gender expansive and gender
diverse.

UNIT – III: GENDER AND LABOUR

HOUSEWORK: THE INVISIBLE LABOUR

The society which we live in believes that the roles of boys and girls are
different in a well-defined manner. Broadly speaking, our societies are mostly
patriarchal i.e., a male is always the head of the family. As compared to boys, girls
spend more time in the kitchen and they are the ones who help the mother in taking
care of the requirements of the household.

It is a preconceived notion that women who stay at home do not work, but it is not
true. Women who stay at home do almost an equal amount of work as compared to
their
male counterparts by running the household, which is not an easy task. On an
average, women spend more time working as compared to men.
Housework is invisible and unpaid work, is physically demanding and is time
consuming.
Invisible here means something which is not noticed. A good example will be
breakfast in the morning, which we eat without realizing the amount of effort put in
making it.

Physically demanding means something which requires hard work. An example of

this is washing clothes.

Time consuming means something which takes a long time to be done. Cleaning the
house is an example of this:

Since our society considers men to be the breadwinners of the family, any work that
a woman does is not valued much because it does not contribute to the total income
of the family. However, it must be noted that the amount of time women spend in
taking care of the household, which involves tasks such as preparing three meals,
getting kids ready for school, taking care of the general cleanliness of the household,
managing rations, dealing with maids or other such domestic helps etc., and the
effectiveness with which they do it is truly commendable.

The poem “Vantillu” by Vimala is the story of the poet’s mother and all mothers and
mothers’ mothers. It tells us how modernity brings a fancy kitchen with modern
gadgets and points out that there has been no change in women’s lives.

Abburi Chaya Devi expresses the difference between an academic feminist vision
and the material reality for modern women in her famous story “Srimathi Udyogini”.

Judy Brady's "I want a wife"

At some point in our lives, we have wanted to have someone else do things for us.
These things range from doing chores and tasks, such as laundry and cooking, to
just keeping us satisfied in life, dealing with our mental, physical, social, and sexual
needs. In Judy Brady’s essay, “I Want a Wife”, she explores why she would like to
have a wife.
Judy Brady's purpose of the essay, "I Want a Wife", is to show women how men
think, act, and feel. She being a feminist wants to show how men truly think of
woman, that when they get what they want men set women aside for bigger and
better things. Not only that but she wants to let the world know that she is fed up with
everything that she is doing and wants to switch roles where she is the husband.
Brady wants to have the satisfaction of not having to do those household things.
Brady writes this essay in the 1st person, she is writing as the man who wants a wife.
She makes a list of the responsibilities that a typical woman from the 1970's would
have.

WOMEN’S WORK: ITS POLITICS AND ECONOMICS

“My mother does not work”. In country after country, this expression is heard
each time someone describes a woman not engaged in paid employment. None of
the family enterprises would run if women refuse to shoulder the responsibility of the
household. Whether women have a paid job or not, they all do the housework, as it is
seen as a woman's duty.
Employment and social security policies disregard women's labour at home.
Women are sentenced to dependence on husbands and fathers and to housework.
Neglect of women’s contribution to our economies as homemakers or care-givers
has a common sense-like acceptance. In India, claims for a non-earning woman’s
accident or death are often of negligible value.
As daughters, siblings, wives or mothers, women are mostly employed
in full-time work that involves household chores, and production of goods and
services not sold in the market and so on. They also perform a swathe of
caregiving work besides the rearing of children. The major difference between
this work and paid employment is financial compensation. Some women work
from home, i.e. their work is home based work and some others work part time.
Many women across the employment spectrum in India drop out of paid work
once they have children. In case of earning women, their wages are often seen as
supplementary or supportive wage for the family. Working women also carry the
burden of housework and childcare. It is vital that this burden is taken away from
them with the formation of childcare centres at work and new social security policies.
Gender pay gap in India refers to the difference in earnings between women
and men in the paid employment and labour market. For the year 2013, the gender
pay gap in India was estimated to be 24.81%. A report by the World Economic
Forum highlights that in the corporate sector in India, a woman is paid only one-third
of what a man in the same position is paid.
Further, while analysing the level of female participation in the economy, this
report slots India as one of the bottom 10 countries on its list. Thus, in addition to
unequal pay, there is also unequal representation, because while women constitute
almost half the Indian population (about 48% of the total), their representation in the
work force amounts to only about one-fourth of the total.
If trade unions see women as members with equal rights, they need to fight
against conditions that prevent women from having work or a social life and that
make their work at home invisible.
Men, the state, trade unions and society need to accept that housework exists
and has market value. It has to be shown that women who work outside of the home
and then also do the housework are doubly exploited.
 It is vital that equal work brings equal pay, that childcare centres are opened
at work places and trade unions, that jobs with trade union membership, social
security and guarantee are demanded, and that the principle of the social state is
defended against neoliberal politics
Men today do a higher share of chores and household work than any
generation of men before them. Yet working women, especially working mothers,
continue to do significantly more.
Each week, mothers spend nearly twice as long as fathers doing unpaid
domestic work. But while it’s important to address inequality at home, it’s equally
critical to acknowledge the way these problems extend into the workplace. Women’s
emotional labour—which can involve everything from tending to others’ feelings to
managing family dynamics to writing thank-you notes—is a big issue that’s rarely
discussed.

GENDER MAINSTREAMING
Gender mainstreaming is the process of ensuring that gender is considered at all
times, both within agencies (institutionally) and programmes (operationally). As these
are closely interlinked, gender mainstreaming must be implemented both
institutionally and operationally to be successful.

The concept of gender mainstreaming was first proposed at the 1985 Third World
Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya. The idea has been pushed in the United
Nations development community.

Gender mainstreaming has been defined by the United Nations as “the process of
assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including
legislation, policies or programmes, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy for
making the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integral
dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and
programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men
benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal (of
mainstreaming) is to achieve gender equality”.

There are different approaches to gender mainstreaming:

Institutional perspective: The ways in which specific organizations adopt and
implement mainstreaming policies. This will often involve an analysis of how national
politics intersects with international norms and practices.
Discursive perspective: Queries the ways in which mainstreaming reproduces
power relations through language and issue-framing. This approach will often involve
looking at documents, resolutions and peace agreements to see how they reproduce
the narratives of gender in a political context.
A good practice example of gender mainstreaming could be actions which lead to a positive
change in:

• Policies;
• Strategies / approach;
• Advocacy efforts;
• Legislation;
• Research and other analytical work;
• Statistics- greater sex disaggregation, improved gender analysis of data, or identifying
gaps in the data base;
• Development of indicators and improved monitoring; • Medium-term plans and budgets;
• Procedures and processes.

A good practice example could also document positive organizational changes necessary to
promote gender mainstreaming, such as:

• Competence development on mainstreaming;

• Establishment of a gender unit or focal point with a clear mandate and necessary
resources to promote and support mainstreaming;
• Indication of management commitment to mainstreaming;
• Establishment of accountability mechanisms;
• Development of guidelines, manuals, and other tools to support mainstreaming:
• Establishment of a resource base of relevant gender equality expertise for
mainstreaming.

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

The concept “development” is gender invariant. It is considered to be the
manifestation of progressive realization of the capabilities, abilities and talents of
each individual for his/her own satisfaction and enhancement of social goods.

Amartya Sen in his book Development as Freedom stated that development

consists of the removal of various types of freedom namely deprivation,
destitution and oppression and overcoming these problems is a central part of
the exercise of development.

Gender equality is considered to be essential for growth and poverty reduction, and
it is the key in reaching Millennium Development goals, especially through
empowering women.
Women are increasingly seen as active agent of change, the dynamic promoters
of social transformation that can alter the lives of both women and man.

However, in developing world, women suffer disproportionately from poverty and

its related ills, such as malnutrition, poor health and illiteracy. This phenomenon
came to be known as Feminization of Poverty.

The persistence of gender inequality is strikingly revealed by Amartya Sen in his

concept of Missing Women, missing in the sense of being dead as a result of
gender bias in the distribution of health care and basic necessities of life.
More deadly manifestation of Gender inequality is reflected in the ‘Violence against
Women’. Physical violence in the form of blows of various intensity, burns, Attempted
hanging, sexual abuse and rape; psychological violence-insult, humiliation,
emotional threats etc. are ever-increasing phenomena.

In many cases cultural and social factors are observed to be interlinked with the
development and propagation of violent behaviour. However, no society can make
any claim of development in case one half of its population- the women section of
the society- continues to live in the shackles of socio-economic exploitation,
suppression and domination.
 GENDER DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
1. Access to Education
A 2013 report by UNESCO found that 31 million girls of primary school age were not
in school, and about one out of every four young women in developing countries had
never completed their primary school education. That number represents a huge pool
of untapped girl power: that same report suggests that educated women are more
likely to get married later, survive childbirth, raise healthy kids, find work, and earn
more money, among other positives.

2. Employment Opportunities
Even in a country as wealthy and developed as the US, women still experience major
inequality in the workforce. Globally, the gender gap is even wider: women earn only
one tenth of the world’s income despite working two thirds of the total work hours.
Empowering women to earn their fair share could benefit their entire communities in a
big way: women are likely to invest more of their money back into their families and
communities than men typically do.

3. Reproductive Health & Rights

225 million women in developing countries have an unmet need for family planning,
contributing to 74 million unplanned pregnancies and 36 million abortions every year.
Helping women take charge of their baby-making reduces unsafe abortions and
maternal deaths by over 70% each, and conserves precious resources that would
otherwise have gone toward pregnancy-related costs.

4. Maternal Health
The World Health Organization estimates that 800 women die every day from
preventable, pregnancy-related causes. That’s nearly 300,000 lives per year
needlessly lost during what is fundamentally a life-creating event.
 5. Gender-based Violence
1 in 3 women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes, according to
WHO. Whether it’s domestic abuse, rape, or sexual trafficking, gender-based violence
denies far too many women the opportunity to live happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives.

6. Child Marriage
An estimated 140 million girls will become child brides between 2011 and 2020. Girls
who marry before age 18 are typically denied an education, at risk of complications
related to premature childbearing, and more vulnerable to intimate partner violence.

7. Water & Sanitation

When clean drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities are in short supply,
women and girls suffer most. Case in point: Girls whose schools lack proper
bathrooms will often skip school during their menstrual periods for fear of
embarrassment or stigma. It’s also true that women in developing countries are
frequently tasked with fetching water, which can be a time-consuming process. As my
colleague Christina pointed out, the girls and women of the world have much better
things to do with their time than shuttle buckets around.

8. Gender Equality
Equality (or the lack thereof) is a recurring issue when it comes to women and girls,
whether it’s unequal access to schooling for girls in developing countries, or unequal
pay for women in the workplace. In a world where 95% of countries are led by a male
head of state, it’s clear that we as a global community have a long way to go before
women are given a fair shake.

UNIT – IV: GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

Introduction
Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. ...
Furthermore, violence often has lifelong consequences for physical and mental
health and social functioning and can slow economic and social development.

Violence is a global phenomenon resulting in the deaths of more than 1.6 million
people each year, making it one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Defining
violence
As a result of violence being such a complex phenomenon, there is no clear definition
for it. Therefore, it is often understood differently by different people in different
contexts - such as those from different countries, cultures, or belief systems.
While no standard definition of violence has been established, it is important, when
developing effective prevention strategies, to have a clear understanding of violence
and the context in which it occurs.
WHO definition of violence
“The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against
oneself,
another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high
likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or
deprivation.”

Categories and types of violence

On the basis of the WHO’s definition of violence, an elaborate “typology of violence”

has been developed that characterises different categories and types of violence, as
well as the links between them (allowing for a holistic approach to intervention).
It divides violence into three broad categories according to who the perpetrators and victims
are of violent acts:
Self-directed violence refers to violent acts a person inflicts upon him- or herself,
and includes self-abuse (such as self-mutilation) and suicidal behaviour (including
suicidal thoughts, as well as attempted and completed suicide).
Interpersonal violence refers to violence inflicted by another individual or by a small group
of individuals. It can be further divided into two subcategories:

• Family and intimate partner violence – violence largely between family

members and intimate partners, usually, though not exclusively, taking place in
the home. This includes forms of violence such as child abuse, intimate
partner violence and abuse of the elderly.
 • Community violence – violence between individuals who are unrelated, and
who may or may not know each other, generally taking place outside the
home.
This includes youth violence, random acts of violence, rape or sexual assault
by strangers, and violence in institutional settings such as schools,
workplaces, prisons and nursing homes.

Collective violence can be defined as the instrumental use of violence by people

who identify themselves as members of a group – whether this group is transitory or
has a more permanent identity – against another group or set of individuals, in order
to achieve political, economic or social objectives. This can manifest in a number of
forms, such as genocide, repression, terrorism and organised violent crime.
By looking more closely at the nature of acts of violence, these three categories can be
further divided into four, more specific, types of violence:
Physical violence is the intentional use of physical force, used with the potential for
causing harm, injury, disability or death. This includes, but is not limited to:
scratching, pushing, shoving, grabbing, biting, choking, shaking, slapping, punching,
hitting, burning, use of a weapon, and use of restraint or one’s body against another
person.
This type of violence does not only lead to physical harm, but can also have severe
negative psychological effects – for example, if a child is frequently a victim of
physical violence at home, he or she can suffer from mental health problems and be
traumatised as a consequence of this victimisation.
Sexual violence involves a sexual act being committed or attempted against a victim
who has not freely given consent, or who is unable to consent or refuse. This
includes, but is not limited to: forced, alcohol/drug-facilitated or unwanted penetration,
sexual touching, or non-contact acts of a sexual nature. A perpetrator forcing or
coercing a victim to engage in sexual acts with a third party also qualifies as sexual
violence.
This type of violence can also lead to physical harm, and in most cases has severe negative
psychological effects too.
Psychological violence (also referred to as emotional or mental abuse) includes
verbal and non-verbal communication used with the intent to harm another person
mentally or emotionally, or to exert control over another person.
The impact of psychological violence can be just as significant as that of other, more
physical forms of violence, as the perpetrator subjects the victim to behaviour which
may result in some form of psychological trauma, such as anxiety, depression or
posttraumatic stress disorder. This includes, but is not limited to:

• expressive aggression (e.g., humiliating and degrading),

• coercive control (e.g., limiting access to things or people, and excessive monitoring of a
person’s whereabouts or communications),
• threats of physical or sexual violence,
• control of reproductive or sexual health,
• and exploitation of a person’s vulnerability (e.g., immigration status or disability).
This not only leads to mental health problems, but also to severe physical problems, such
as psychosomatic disorders.
Neglect, or deprivation, is a type of abuse which occurs when someone has the
responsibility to provide care for an individual who is unable to care for him- or herself, but
fails to do so, therefore depriving them of adequate care. Neglect may include the failure to
provide sufficient supervision, nourishment, or medical care, or the failure to fulfil other needs
for which the victim cannot provide themselves.
Neglect can lead to many long-term side effects such as: physical injuries, low
selfesteem, attention disorders, violent behaviour, physical and psychological illness,
and can even result death.
GENDER BASED VIOLENCE (GBV)

Gender based violence (GBV) is violence targeted at individuals or groups on the

basis of their gender. While research suggests that a significant proportion of women
worldwide will at some point in their lives experience GBV, the extent to which men
and boys are affected is unknown. An associated form of violence is Violence against
Women and Girls (VAWG), which is directed specifically at females.

GBV is often divided into two interlinked categories, interpersonal and

structural/institutional violence. Interpersonal violence refers to an act of economic,
sexual, psychological or other violence perpetrated by an individual against another
individual. Structural/institutional violence refers to ‘any form of structural inequality or
institutional discrimination that maintains a person in a subordinate position, whether
physical or ideological, to other people within her family, household or community’
(Manjoo 2011). Both types involve the prioritisation of hegemonic masculinities above
the rights of other gendered identities, including women’s.

GBV is manifested through a multitude of actions, including forced marriage of young

girls, trafficking in persons, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), female
infanticide, male rape, purdah, violence directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) individuals, sexual violence, verbal abuse and laws and
regulations that limit women’s and girls’ rights and access to services in relation to
men’s. These practices are not only violations of the human rights of the individuals
affected, but are also an instrumentalist approach to sustain the status quo and the
hierarchy of gender identities. Women living in poverty are particularly vulnerable, as
they face high levels of structural violence, including difficulty accessing health and
legal services needed to address the effects of interpersonal GBV.

Costs and consequences of GBV

Gender-based violence has significant impact at the individual level, with victims
suffering from physical and mental effects, loss of earnings and increased healthcare
costs. It also has a wider societal impact, including lower productivity and thus
reduced economic output and growth, and increased pressure on social and health
services. Quantifying the cost of GBV in terms of human suffering and economic
indicators is difficult: its hidden nature makes prevalence hard to establish. A number
of methodologies have been developed, each of which offers both strengths and
weaknesses, and these need to be assessed on a case by case basis.
Female infanticide
Female infanticide is an extreme form of GBV, encompassing actions such as
aborting female foetuses and killing girl babies. This practice is particularly common
in India and China, where millions of girls and women are now ‘missing’ (ActionAid
and IDRC, 2008). Parents in these countries are under pressure to produce male
heirs to guard the family line. Families tend to see their girl children as burdens,
particularly if dowry is required.

Harmful traditional practices

Harmful traditional practices (HTPs), such as female genital mutilation/cutting, early
and forced marriage, polygamy and purdah, are practiced in many communities.
These practices are primarily directed at girls and women. HTPs stem from deeply
entrenched social, economic and political structures, and are tools used to control the
lives of girls and women, limiting their independence and future opportunities. While
associated with patriarchal norms, both women and men carry out HTPs. Women’s
participation in these practices must be viewed within the social convention which
dictates that these practices must be followed to be part of the community. Women
and girls themselves may therefore opt for, or put their children through, these
practices despite knowing the risks. Not doing so would mean a lifetime of stigma and
rejection by the community.

Domestic violence
Domestic violence is primarily thought to affect women, girls and boys, although men
are also victims. Forms of domestic violence can include physical violence, sexual
violence, economic control, and psychological violence. Prevalence is difficult to
assess because of significant underreporting among both male and female victims.
Domestic violence is a tool to assert control in the household, but certain risk factors
have been identified which increase the likelihood of victimisation. Children who grow
up witnessing domestic abuse are more likely to become victims themselves (girls) or
perpetrators (boys). There are also some links between low self-esteem among
women, often related to low socioeconomic status, young age and low education
levels, and victimisation. Male substance abuse has also been identified as a trigger
factor for domestic violence. In some societies, such as in South Asia, extreme cases
of domestic violence include acid attacks, resulting in burns that can be fatal.

Sexual violence
Sexual violence is perpetrated by and against both men and women. It is a strategy
used to assert power over the victim and to cause long-term suffering for the victim by
turning an experience that should be associated with pleasure into one associated
with harm. While research has shown that sexual violence against women
perpetrated by men is widely practiced, less is known about the prevalence of sexual
violence perpetrated against men and women’s roles as perpetrators.
Human trafficking
Trafficking in persons is defined by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons as ‘the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or
receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion,
of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of
vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the
consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of
exploitation’. Human trafficking is a gendered form of violence. It is estimated that 55-
60 per cent of victims are women and a further 17 per cent girls, while men and boys
make up 10 per cent of victims, although patterns differ between regions (UNODC,
2012). Most trafficking is for sexual exploitation and prostitution, where women and
girls are the main victims. Other forms of trafficking include forced labour, factory
work, begging and forced marriage. Perpetrators of trafficking include both men and
women, with studies showing that women dominate or play an important role in
trafficking networks in some regions (Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Nigeria).

Addressing Gender-based Violence

Addressing gender-based violence (GBV) is not only a human rights principle: states
that have ratified CEDAW also have a legal responsibility to address GBV to the best
of their capacities (referred to as the due diligence standard). To date, addressing
GBV has taken multiple forms, including: legislative and criminal justice responses,
measuring incidence and costing of GBV, awareness raising, women’s empowerment
programmes, community-based social norm programmes, and health-based
interventions. Initiatives to work with men and boys to change their perceptions
around women and gender equality have also been tried. While initial evaluations
suggest that including men and boys shows promising results, this continues to be a
controversial issue among feminists, who fear that it will divert resources away from
women and girls.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT: SAY NO!
Eve teasing is a euphemism used throughout South Asia for public sexual
harassment or molestation (often known as "street harassment") of women by men.
Stalking and its impacts on the Society:
A popular category of Eve teasing is stalking. The general definition of Stalking can
be described as repeated harassing or threatening behaviour by an individual, such
as following a person, appearing at person’s home, person’s workplace, making
harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects or vandalizing person’s
property.
Eve Teasing: Sections 294 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) prohibit any
individual or group of people pass any kind of offensive comment or execute any
such gesture towards a girl of any age
Films Make Sexual Harassment A Joke
We as moviegoers often consume and laugh at sexual harassment without
even noticing it. The harassment here functions as part of the scenery, more or less
unaddressed and is purely atmospheric.
Further reading: "Chupulu"
Chupulu, a poem translated as 'looks' or sometimes 'stares', written by
Jayaprabha, is a poem about the male gaze. It begins with the poet-personal
describing the assault of stares she endures daily and ends with the poet hoping for
the day when women can return the stares and reclaim public spaces for
themselves.

Stares (Chupulu)
– Jayaprabha
Looks / from two eyes
Dart like needles / Roam freely on flesh.
The looks never / Look into the face
The words never come from the heart They
crawl on the body like white ants Disgust
every time I see them.
Those eyes / Belong to a million classes
But their looks are all the same.
Only one signal / In those looks
Hunger like a salivating dog’s
An ugly bear-fist / Chases you even in dreams
No difference between day and night
In this thick forest / No place at all
To escape these looks
On the road / In buses, classrooms
Behind your every step
Wounding
Some part of the body / Looks tipped with poison
Keep pricking you
Frightened / I
Want to disappear
Into the distant sky, into emptiness
But
Escape is no solution
So I began to teach my eyes / The sharpness of thorns
To fight those poison looks
Now to chase away those eyes
I fight with my eyes / Timid eyes which
Cannot look straight / For two seconds
Run to the underworld
A day will come
When women in this country have
Thorns
Not only in their eyes
But all over their bodies.
The above is a poem about how insensitive men are and how uncomfortable they
make women feel by staring at them, scanning through them ruthlessly. As a female,
all of us have gone through this ‘ordeal’ of being stared at without any mercy. The
Blank Noise Project may have had their way and stared right back at these animals
but isn’t there a better solution to this than just stare back? Why do what they are
doing? I am all for staring back; in fact I think it is one of the best ways to punish
these gentlemen. But I have always wondered if there was a better way of dealing
with this.

As a woman, my blood literally boils when I see a man staring right at me. It happens
everywhere, all the time. In buses especially, the men just have nothing to do. In
spite of us staring back at them, they continue staring at us. It just makes me want to
hold them by their collars and give them a piece of my mind. When are they going to
learn? What is going on in their minds? What do they get out of staring at us?

It is just plain insanity. Why can’t a girl or a woman be able to walk on the road
without being stared at? How much ever we try to fight against latching, it is not
going to stop. It is their eyes after all. They can look where they want to. There is not
much we can do about that. We can sit all day and all night and talk about etiquette
and every other possible thing. And these guys would have stared the life out of a
hundred other girls by then.
Being a girl may not be the easiest task in this world because you are constantly
under the scanner not just by people who know you but also strangers. The one
thing I would like to do is extend a request to all the male members of society and tell
them to do their bit to make us women feel at least a little more comfortable in our
own skin.

Sexual harassment: Considered a problem related to delinquency in youth, it

is a form of sexual aggression that ranges in severity from sexually suggestive
remarks, brushing in public places and catcalls to groping. Sometimes the severity of
these incidents grew as well, in some cases leading to acid throwing.
Sexual harassment by strangers, as with any type of harassment, has been a
notoriously difficult crime to prove, as perpetrators often devise discreet ways to
harass women, even though Eve teasing usually occurs in public spaces, streets,
and public transport.
This behaviour is sometimes referred to as a kind of "little rape". Some people
warn women to avoid attracting the attention of these kinds of men by wearing
conservative clothing. However, this harassment is reported both by the
conservatively dressed Indian women and by the modern women including women in
foreign countries.
The problem first received public and media attention in the 1970s. In the
following decades, more and more women started going to college and working
independently, meaning that they were often no longer accompanied by a male
escort as had been the norm in traditional society. In response, the problem grew to
alarming proportions, despite this not being the case in other cultures where women
go and come as they please. Soon the Indian government had to take remedial
measures, both judicial and law enforcement, to curb the practice. Efforts were made
to sensitize the police about the issue, and police started rounding up Eve teasers.
The deployment of plain-clothed female police officers for the purpose has been
particularly effective. Other measures taken in various states by the police were
setting up of dedicated women's help lines in various cities, police-stations staffed by
women, and special police cells.
 Also seen during this period was a marked rise in the number of women
coming forward to report cases of sexual harassment, due to changing public opinion
against this practice.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: SPEAKING OUT

Domestic violence is abuse that happens in a personal relationship. It can
happen between past or current partners, spouses, or boyfriends and girlfriends.
Domestic violence affects men and women of any ethnic group, race, or religion; gay
or straight; rich or poor; teen, adult, or elderly. But most of its victims are women. In
fact, 1 out of 4 women will be a victim at some point.
The abuser may use fear, bullying, and threats to gain power and control over
the other person. He or she may act jealous, controlling, or possessive. These early
signs of abuse may happen soon after the start of the relationship and might be hard
to notice at first.
After the relationship becomes more serious, the abuse may get worse.

• The abuser may begin making threats, calling the other person names, and
slamming doors or breaking dishes. This is a form of emotional abuse that is
sometimes used to make the person feel bad or weak.
• Physical abuse that starts with a slap might lead to kicking, shoving, and
choking over time.
• As a way to control the person, the abuser may make violent threats against
the person's children, other family members, or pets.
• Abusers may also control or withhold money to make the person feel weak
and dependent. This is called financial abuse.
• Domestic violence also includes sexual abuse, such as forcing a person to
have sex against her will.

When Women Unite: The story of an Uprising” by Shabnam Virmani

It recreates a piece of history that took place in Nellore District, Andhra
Pradesh, India, between 1992 and 1995. Arrack, a type of country liquor, was being
manufactured by the government and supplied to the villages through middlemen.
Since arrack was easier to obtain than water, the village men were staying
intoxicated and becoming more and more abusive to their families. The women of the
villages in Nellore District rallied and got the government to stop the sale of arrack in
the villages.

THINKING ABOUT SEXUAL VIOLENCE

What should you do if you're being abused?
It's important to get help. Talk with someone you trust, such as a friend, a help
centre, or your doctor. Talking with someone can help you make the changes you
need.
Your first step is to contact a local advocacy group for support, information, and
advice on how to stay safe.
Here are some other things you can do:

• Know your legal rights. Consider asking the police for help.
• Make sure that you know phone numbers you can call and places you
can go in an emergency.
• Teach your children not to get in the middle of a fight.
• If you think you may leave, make a plan to help keep you safe. This will
help when you are getting ready to leave.
• Your plan might include:
• Putting together and hiding a suitcase of clothing, copies of your car
and house keys, money or credit cards, and important papers, such as
Social Security cards and birth certificates for you and your children.
Keep the suitcase hidden in your home or leave it with friends or family
or at work if possible.
• Open a savings account or get a credit card, if you can do so in secret.
• If you are a teen, talk to a trusted adult, such as your parents, family
friend, or school counsellor.

DIVORCE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:

Domestic violence affects millions of households each year. Over the past several
decades, every state has enacted laws to protect domestic abuse victims. Many laws
specifically address how domestic violence or other abuse affects court decisions in
divorces.

I fought for my life:

Sohaila Abdulia is an Indian born author and journalist who currently lives in the U.S.
In 1980, at the age of 17 she survived a violent gang rape in India. Faced with
a gang of violent men, Sohaila makes a choice to survive. Three years later she
wrote about her experience in the Indian magazine, Manushi.
She has researched and given numerous public talks on issues of sexual violence.
She’s Senior Editor at Ubuntu Education Fund, an international NGO working with
children in South Africa. Her website is www.sohailaink.com

THE CASTE FACE OF VIOLENCE:

Bhanwari Devi (also spelled Bahveri Devi) is an Indian dalit social-worker from
Bhateri, Rajasthan, who was allegedly gang raped in 1992, by higher-caste men,
angered by her efforts to prevent a child marriage in their family. Her subsequent
treatment by the police, and court acquittal of the accused, attracted widespread
national and international media attention, and became a landmark episode in India's
women's rights movement.
 UNIT – V: GENDER AND CULTURE
GENDER AND MEDIA
Introduction
Media play important roles in society. They report on current events, provide
frameworks for interpretation, mobilize citizens with regard to various issues,
reproduce predominant culture and society, and entertain (Llanos and Nina, 2011).

Media and Gender refers to the relationship between media and gender, and how
representations of the different genders are created for by the mass media.

As such, the media can be an important factor in the promotion of gender equality,
both within the working environment (in terms of employment and promotion of
female staff at all levels) and in the representation of women and men (in terms of
fair gender portrayal and the use of neutral and non-gender specific language).

Gender bias in media

• Many magazines have sexualised images on the cover of women.

• These days’ media try to attract its audience with the images of women with
little clothing, sexual expression, body language and gestures.
• Media are teaching people and children that these things are what is
important instead of actual important things going on in the world.
• Men and women are constantly being sexualised on different forms of media
eg, bike ads, perfume ads.
• One in five experts interviewed by media are women. Women are frequently
portrayed in stereotypical and hyper-sexualised roles in advertising and the
film industry, which has long-term social consequences. And 73% of the
 management jobs are occupied by men compared to 27% occupied by
women.

Participation and influence of women in the media

Studies have found that although the number of women working in the media has
been increasing globally, the top positions (producers, executives, chief editors and
publishers) are still very male dominated (White, 2009). This disparity is particularly
evident in Africa, where cultural impediments to women fulfilling the role of journalist
remain (e.g. travelling away from home, evening work and covering issues such as
politics and sports which are considered to fall within the masculine domain) (Myers,
2009). The Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) reports that throughout the
world, female journalists are more likely to be assigned ‘soft’ subjects such as family,
lifestyle, fashion and arts. The ‘hard’ news, politics and the economy, is much less
likely to be written or covered by women.

The level of participation and influence of women in the media also has implications
for media content: female media professionals are more likely to reflect other
women’s needs and perspectives than their male colleagues. It is important to
acknowledge, however, that not all women working in the media will be gender
aware and prone to cover women’s needs and perspectives; and it is not impossible
for men to effectively cover gender issues. Recent research from 18 disparate
countries shows that male and female journalists’ attitudes do not differ significantly
(Hanitzsch & Hanusch, 2012). Nonetheless, the presence of women on the radio,
television and in print is more likely to provide positive role models for women and
girls, to gain the confidence of women as sources and interviewees, and to attract a
female audience.

Media content and portrayal of men and women in the media

Fair gender portrayal in the media should be a professional and ethical aspiration,
similar to respect for accuracy, fairness and honesty (White, 2009). Yet, unbalanced
gender portrayal is widespread. The Global Media Monitoring Project finds that
women are more likely than men to be featured as victims in news stories and to be
identified according to family status. Women are also far less likely than men to be
featured in the world’s news headlines, and to be relied upon as ‘spokespeople’ or as
‘experts’. Certain categories of women, such as the poor, older women, or those
belonging to ethnic minorities, are even less visible.

Stereotypes are also prevalent in every day media. Women are often portrayed
solely as homemakers and carers of the family, dependent on men, or as objects of
male attention. Stories by female reporters are more likely to challenge stereotypes
than those filed by male reporters (Gallagher et al., 2010). As such, there is a link
between the participation of women in the media and improvements in the
representation of women.
Men are also subjected to stereotyping in the media. They are typically characterised
as powerful and dominant. There is little room for alternative visions of masculinity.
The media tends to demean men in caring or domestic roles, or those who oppose
violence. Such portrayals can influence perceptions in terms of what society may
expect from men and women, but also what they may expect from themselves. They
promote an unbalanced vision of the roles of women and men in society.
Participatory community media
Participatory community media initiatives aimed at increasing the involvement of
women in the media perceive women as producers and contributors of media
content and not solely as ‘consumers’ (Pavarala, Malik, and Cheeli, 2006). Such
initiatives encourage the involvement of women in technical, decision-making, and
agendasetting activities. They have the potential to develop the capacities of women
as sociopolitical actors. They also have the potential to promote a balanced and
nonstereotyped portrayal of women in the media and to challenge the status quo. In
Fiji, women who took part in a participatory video project presented themselves as
active citizens who made significant contributions to their families and communities.
These recorded images improved the status of women in the minds of government
bureaucrats.

We strongly believe in the transformative role media can play in achieving gender
equality in societies. By creating gender-sensitive and gender-transformative content
and breaking gender stereotypes. By challenging traditional social and cultural norms
and attitudes regarding gender perceptions both in content and in the media houses.

Few recommendations on the Status of Women:

• To recognize the crucial role of media in achieving gender equality in all

domains by creating gender-sensitive and gender-transformative content and
breaking gender stereotypes.
• Media should lead the way towards gender equality through gender-sensitive
and gender- transformative content. For this we need coherent policies, rules,
and mechanisms on all levels, starting with national media policies and media
industry self-regulation.
• Safety of female media workers needs to be a key priority for Member States
and the media industry. A culture of safety needs to be created and effective
mechanisms for complaints and redress need to be put in place.

Just Relationships: Being Together As Equals

Truly Just Relationships are those relationships which are just i.e. they have
justice and equality in them.
• True friendship or love allows each other to feel comfortable, to be themselves
and to pursue their goals, dreams and passions
• True friends stand by us through the darkest moments of our life
• True love or friendship has no place for jealousy, domination, violence,
cruelty, vulgarity or misbehaviour.
• The behaviour of the present day heroes, in our Indian films, on the name of
love and heroism, is unfortunately sending wrong signals to the youth in the
society.

Some accounts of truly just relationships:

• Mary Kom and Onler:

Mary Kom is a woman of substance, self-made, dedicated to her chosen field, and a
winner of glory for her country. Daughter, wife, mother of three, Mary Kom has
always yet been her own person, with a dream that grows bigger with every success.

Her relation with Onler was a relationship that developed slowly. At first Onler was
only concerned about helping her. He saw her problems, and how she was
struggling single handedly. Her parents lived in the village, they were no support at
all, either financially or otherwise. And as a woman boxer, Mary had many hurdles to
cross.

Onler gave her support and was her true friend.

• Love and acid just do not mix

Laxmi Agarwal is an acid attack survivor and works for the rights of acid attack
victims. She was attacked in 2005 at age 15, by a 32-year-old man whose advances
she had rejected. The attack left her face disfigured. She underwent several painful
surgeries that left her weak and her family penniless.
Lakshmi fell in love with social activist Alok Dixit. Both decided not to get married and
instead be in a live-in relationship, challenging the society by not getting married.
Lakshmi is now a mother. Her daughter today accompanies her mother where ever
she goes, and probably knows it in her heart that her parents are the most beautiful
human beings she’ll come across.

• Emma Watson’s speech

In September 2014 British actor and Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, Emma
Watson, gave a smart, important, and moving speech about gender inequality and
how to fight it. In doing so, she launched the He For She initiative, which aims to get
men and boys to join the feminist fight for gender equality. In the speech, Ms.
Watson made the important point that in order for gender equality to be achieved,
harmful and destructive stereotypes of masculinity and behavioural expectations for
boys and men have got to change.
• Love letters
Letters to Jyotiba, from his wife Savitribai Phule: These aren't love letters, but tell you
what love is all about. The letter show how the relationship between the pioneering
couple of women's education in India was marked by deep and shared concerns as
they provided strength to each other.

• “Braveheart Badeyya”, by Gogu Shyamala is a story in which a son is

saddened that his mother cannot wear slippers in the presence of the upper
caste landlord even when walking on thorn-infested land. Outraged by this
unjust custom, he stays awake the whole night and makes a pair of slippers
for his mother using his father’s leathermaking tools.

Further reading: Rosa Parks-The Braveheart

Civil rights activist Rosa Parks, Called "the mother of the civil rights movement,"
refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, spurring the Montgomery
boycott and other efforts to end segregation. Parks' arrest on December 1, 1955
launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott by 17,000 black citizens. Its success launched
nationwide efforts to end racial segregation of public facilities.

Civil rights activist Rosa Parks’ refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on
a Montgomery, Alabama bus spurred a city-wide boycott. It galvanized the Civil
Rights Movement in the United States. For 382 days, almost the entire African-
American population of Montgomery, Alabama, including leaders Martin Luther King
Jr. and Rosa Parks, refused to ride on segregated buses, a turning point in the
American civil rights movement.
The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on
public buses.
Rosa Parks' childhood brought her early experiences with racial discrimination and
activism for racial equality. At an early age, Rosa Parks faced injustice wherever she
went and decided that by taking action she could change the world around her. Rosa
Parks received many accolades during her lifetime, including the NAACP's highest
award.

________×__________