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Mainstreaming Gender Equality and Empowerment Education in Post-Primary Schools in India

Authored by: Urvashi Sahni

Categories: Human Rights
Sub-Categories: Human Development
Country: India
Region: South and Central Asia
Year: 2018
Citation: Sahni, Urvashi. Mainstreaming Gender Equality and Empowerment Education in Post-Primary Schools in India. Center for Universal Education at Brookings, 2018.

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Abstract

Both globally and in India, the discourse around girls’ education is particularly charged. There is an urgency as it is now understood that developmental promises cannot be fulfilled unless gender equality is taken seriously. Generally, a complete, high-quality secondary school education for girls is seen as a vital pathway to achieving gender equality. The term “empowerment” is widely used in international development discourse in close conjunction with girls’ education and gender equality, and implies a necessary correlation of girls’ education with their empowerment. Many scholars and researchers have challenged this assumption noting that simply getting girls into school and ensuring that they finish is not enough. There should be a focus on process, content, and curricula that critically address inequitable social norms and structures. This policy brief supports this view and recommends a policy commitment that includes gender studies as an official part of the curriculum along with proper pedagogies, processes, structures, and teacher training.