TRANSFORMING IDEAS, TRANSMITTING VALUES: A NEW ROAD TO GENDER EQUALITY

Abstract

Before speaking about gender equality, we must clear the concept between social ‘gender’ and physiological ‘sex’. Though apparently we find little or no difference between the two, at the deep- structure level the distinction is still prominent. While gender refers to the person’s strong feelings of becoming male, female or transgender, sex denotes an individual’s external biological determinant and internal reproductive systems. The concept of gender and sex of a person may not be the same always. Whatever it may be, the phallocentric world always looks upon the feminine-self as the ‘other’, de-centred mere commodities. The feminist thinker Judith Butler in Gender Trouble categorically says that “gender mirrors sex or is otherwise restricted by it”. Here lies the role of education to ignite the minds and spirits of the weaker section with sparks of knowledge. The ultimate aim of education is to live and let live and to fulfill this aim, the Government of India has come up with quiet a handful of policies to protect the ‘other’. They bridge the gender gap by incorporating gender inclusiveness, gender equality and providing quality education to all students with a diversified curricula which focus on critical thinking and experiential learning. The National Education Policy 2020 takes a major role in this arena along with the Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5 (SDG) which address almost all the gender issues acting as a barrier in the field of education.