How do conceptions of identity inform perceptions of power and justice within larger communities?
Originally, when I conceived of this question, I had hoped to find lots of support for the lingering caste system. I did encounter instances and anecdotes that revealed caste prejudices and differences; however, I found far more support in the area of gender equality, specifically the treatment of women and girls. There is clearly an awareness among students and women that being a woman or girl means that you do not share the same power or opportunities as men. According to the United Nations Development Programme 2016 Human Development Reports, 12.2 % of women are represented in Parliament. 35.3 % of women complete a secondary education as opposed to 61.4% of men. The discrepancy isn’t necessarily in access to education as India’s infrastructure allows for lots of students to be in school, although The Teacher Foundation reports that at least 1 million children are not in school even though attendance is mandatory. In my host school, Brilliant Stars School in Tripura, India, I was fortunate to work with teachers and students who are committed to Project Based Learning to benefit not only their students but the local community each year. During my visit, the students were in the survey phase and getting ready to collect data before they decided upon an outreach project on gender equality. I observed a grade 5 class and they performed a few skits, two of which were scenarios in which girls/women were asking to either take a job or go out at night. The male figure in the skits shut both of these scenarios down. The fifth graders’ awareness of the inequity that is held in place, not by laws but by social norms and primarily the family structure. The teacher led a discussion regarding reasons why girls, specifically, are not in school. The web they created on the board listed a variety of reasons why girls do not have an equal access to education: educated girls would not be available to take care of younger children or aging parents; they would not be at home to take care of household chores; a prevailing stereotype that girls are weaker and incapable of being in the workforce; and insecurity among girls themselves. The fifth graders then talked to me about suttee, an outlawed (1829) Hindu custom, that still happens on rare occasions, where women voluntarily and occasionally are forced to burn in their husband’s funeral pyre. Although historically this has origins in respect and grief, but in reality it was often used by in-laws who did not want the widow to inherit the husband’s money. Our cook for the week was a widow, happy to serve at the school. Full of joy. In a candid discussion with two male teachers, one of who was a widower and said that remarriage was possible for him, we asked if S would remarry. They replied in unison “no, she will not remarry.” We did not ask why, but I can infer that social restrictions and family infrastructure prevent her from doing so. I observed as we went from home to home, lucky to be hosted by such gracious and open people, that the women did not usually eat with us. Often they served and either stood by the table or went out of the room. In several of the homes, the mother-in-laws and the women spent hours doing the cooking, and they cook for every meal, and they do their laundry by hand. Most of these tasks fall on the women. I did visit one home where there seemed to be a more equitable form of division of labor, where the male did most of the cooking and child care. However, this progressive family did not live with their extended family, which is typical in India, where the bride goes to live with the groom’s family, permanently after marriage. This couple had made a choice to defy traditional social norms, but you could tell that they were struggling with new roles, and even here, the wife did not sit down and eat with us. Another observation I made was that in my three weeks stay, I never saw a woman driving, so I decided to do some research. According to the Times of India, “ In India, driving an automobile is largely a male activity. An analysis of 21 states for which men-women break-up of driving licence data is available shows that only 4% of the total licence holders are women.” Again, there is no legal ban on women driving, but societal and familial pressure could be preventing women from driving. In every school we visited, we noticed that although there were students who did not fit into a binary gender identification, there was not a support system for those students. Although the Hindu gods appear in various gender incarnations and there is a recognition of hijras as a third gender, young people are not being supported in school settings, and homosexuality is still considered a criminal offense. The August 2017 Indian Supreme Court ruling on privacy seems to be a step in the right direction for the LGBTQ population as it, “... is an individual’s choice as to who enters his house, how he lives and in what relationship. The privacy of the home must protect the family, marriage, procreation and sexual orientation which are all important aspects of dignity.” My host teacher/principal has shared with me that his grade 10 class is currently narrowing their data collection down to target the following areas regarding the gender equality service project, “physical harassment and molestation to girls, girl child trafficking, female foeticide and equal opportunity and right for LGBT community,” and my students and I will be sharing in these same conversations. My guiding question started out too broadly, but I was able to learn quite a bit about gender inequality and how women, girls and the LGBTQ population were marginalized. However, there is an awareness of this discrimination, as noted, mostly embedded in societal and familial structures, and more importantly than awareness, groups of people and students who are taking action.
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