Learning from gender education training in India
Despite India’s high economic growth and push for social inclusion, poverty remains a major issue. Class, caste, gender, and geography are still strong determinants of a person’s social standing. According to UNICEF, 47% of girls in India are married before the age of 18 years. Female literacy rates in India are 68%, amongst the lowest in the world. The Indian government has worked hard over the past few years to help women learn to read. But gender roles still play a central role in restricting women’s access to education; early marriage is still the norm. The cultural traditions are just too strong and hard to break. In light of recent events in India and Pakistan like the brutal gang rape that led to the death of a young woman and the case of Malala, a school girl in Pakistan, who was shot in the head by the Taliban because she was an advocate for girls’ education, I started to think about the importance of gender training for men. The impact of a gender education training program on adolescent men in India became the theme of my doctoral dissertation. I conducted 54 interviews and focus group discussions with men who attended a gender and reproductive health education and training program in 14 rural villages in the state of Gujarat in India to see if there was any measurable impact. Gujarat is amongst the richest states in India with strong economic growth. Education and health outcomes continue to be poor, though. The literacy rate, for example, is below India’s average. Caste still plays a big role Most of the villagers I interviewed were from the Rajput caste which imposes severe restrictions on a woman’s education, mobility, and dress. Just the appearance of women outside of the home is perceived by other members of the Rajput community as a loss of the woman’s purity or a loss of the family’s control, which may damage the family’s reputation.
Most girls are allowed to go to school with other females, and occasionally they are allowed to go alone. But outside of school, girls are not permitted to leave their village compound. One woman from Sakiayapura village said, “We don’t go out much. Even together or by ourselves we don’t go out alone—only with our mother-in-law or our husband.” It was difficult to ask the women about their needs and their wishes. Before the gender training, many of the men interviewed proudly said that none of their wives have gone anywhere alone. One man from Rampura village said, “My wife has never gone anywhere alone. She can go out, but she has to ask. My family needs to know where she is.” A majority of the men were strongly influenced by joint family arrangements, the caste system and gender roles. There is a belief that if men didn’t marry before the age of 20 it would be hard for their family to find a “good quality girl” for them to marry. There was also the family’s “need” for a wife to do all the household chores which are hard and time-consuming in an environment that is basically without electricity.
Gender roles are deeply embedded in this conservative caste and any change from the sharply defined roles for both men and women can lead to gossip and damage to the prestige of the family. This tends to uphold outdated traditions and gender roles. One man from Ranoli village said, “After marriage, I don’t cook. I have a wife, why should I do anything. Before I had my mother, now I have my wife, so I have no reason to cook or clean on my own.” Covering her head to show deference to the males (ghunghat) is also very common for women in these villages. One male from Kotna village said, “Girls keep ghunghat. It is the old ways—respect for elders. It is still kept in our houses. Younger sisters-in-law are not allowed to eat in front of me. There won’t be changes—never. The traditions are important and won’t change. In Kotna (village) there is no love or inter-caste marriage.” Does gender training help? After the gender training, many men seemed more knowledgeable about the positive impact in delaying the age of marriage for their own children. A man from Road Fajalpur village said, “Now education is important. Before we didn’t let girls go to school, but now they are allowed. If I have a daughter it would be okay for her to study up until college. But if she leaves school then she will get married.” In these rural village communities, change will take time. Increased awareness (and men’s participation in such training) is a first small and modest step forward. In Koyali village, a man summed up the situation, “I am open to have major changes with my caste, but those will be slow. However, I have already seen major changes in the villages. More girls are getting married later and going to school longer. I think there is a change related to development. Something that is happening is that our new generation is more open minded than the past generation.” So, there is a hope for things to slowly change in the long run. But we need to ensure that gender education will be scaled up as part of school-based curriculum and be part of non-formal training programs—for children, adolescents as well as elders in both rural and urban areas.
For Further Reading:
Jody Heymann and Adele Cassola: Lessons in Educational Equality. Successful Approaches to Intractable Problems Around The World. (see Chapter by Prouty, Banik, Srikantiah) Greene, M.E. (1998).
"Male involvement in reproductive health: Translating good intentions into gender sensitive programs". In Male involvement in reproductive and sexual health programs and services. Rome: FAO, WHO, UNFPA. Singh, K.B.K., (1998).
Marriage and family systems of Rajputs: A study of tradition and change. New Delhi: Wisdom Publishers.