Editorial: ‘Examine’ gender parity in India

The Opposition had a field day with their take on this passage drafted in poor taste, which further went on to say that the emancipation of the wife destroys parents’ authority over children.

Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi raised the matter during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, terming it ‘blatantly misogynist.’ Adding that the inclusion of such phrasing in an important exam such as that of the CBSE, reflects poorly on the standards of education and testing, the leader said “it goes against the principles of a progressive, empowered society,” before staging a walkout. 

The Delhi Commission for Women has also issued a notice to the CBSE, which has not only dropped the passage but confirmed that full marks would be awarded to all students for its accompanying questions.

This passage which appeared in one of the most important examinations in a high school student’s life is representative of the microcosm of India’s attitudes when it comes to real freedom concerning women. 

That the perpetuation of ideas that harken back to done-to-death stereotypes of man being designated as the so-called hunter-gatherer or provider, and the woman being responsible for guarding the hearth, still finds a place in a question paper drafted for students in the 21st century is deplorable, especially at a time when the single breadwinner in lakhs of homes across India is often a woman.

The pre-assigning of cliched roles to their parental units is only one part of the problem that impressionable young teenagers are faced with. These developments are also transpiring at a time when the governments on the State and Central levels are working on a war footing to ensure equitable rights for both the girl and boy child with the likes of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative. 

It’s all the more important when one considers that India’s female literacy rate is estimated to be 70.3%, and the male literacy rate is 84.7% (per National Statistical Office reports).

One must remember that India has absolutely no dearth of women achievers – from the likes of business and economics heavyweights Indra Nooyi and Gita Gopinath to sporting stalwarts such as PV Sindhu and Mirabai Chanu, Soumya Swaminathan at the WHO, Tessy Thomas at DRDO, the list is practically infinite. 

And it’s nothing short of preposterous that the collective achievements of millions of women like them are practically sidelined when it comes to setting question papers for what is arguably one of the most decisive exams in a school student’s life. 

The apex school education body in India must take its responsibility of inculcating gender parity seriously. For, it’s their ideas that will inform the youth of tomorrow.