Theme 5: Gender Equality

Introduction
The objectives of the module:

• To develop knowledge and skills to counter gender based stereotypes, discrimination

and violence, practice positive gender roles, and promote gender equity and rights in
all situations;
• Develop basic understanding of gender identity, including transgender; question
gender stereotypes and negative constructs of masculinity and femininity;
• Begin to practice/promote positive gender roles and gender equity – at home, school,
society and in media;
• Analyze gender norms and recognize power dynamics, identify strategies to challenge
gender based discrimination and violence, and uphold equality in all interactions.

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 Activities
S. No. Activities Methods
Brainstorming, discussion on
1 What is Gender?
situations

2 Gender Roles and Discrimination Gender exercise

3 Gender Stereotyping and Advertisements Making advertisements

4 Gender Power Walk Game

5 Dealing with Gender-Based Discrimination Case studies

6 Challenging Gender-Based Violence Case studies

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 Activity 1: Knowing my Emotions

Learning Outcomes

• Explains that sex is based on biology, while gender is linked to

social inequalities
• Recognizes gender stereotypes and how they are associated
with men, women, and transgender

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 Understanding Gender
Share some words that they associate with women and some that they
associate with men.

WOMAN MAN

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Summary from the exercise
 Situations

1. What is gender? How is it different from sex?

2. How do gender stereotypes affect our day-to-day life?

3. Can gender stereotypes be changed over time? If so, think of some gender
stereotypes you would like to change

4. Do you think transgender people should have the same rights as other
genders?

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 Summary of discussions

• Gender describes the stereotypical characteristics that

society deems appropriate for men and women
• Gender can vary with culture, society and country. Gender
is socially constructed and thus can be changed over time
• We are all equal and deserve to be treated equally.

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Animation Short Film on Gender Equality and Female Foeticide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HkIP4YkXu4

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 Activity-2: Gender Roles and Discrimination

Learning Outcomes

The learner analyses the effect of gender roles and

stereotypes that result in discrimination.

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Work Distribution

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Points for discussion
• What are your thoughts when you look at the table of gender roles?
• Is the distribution equal? Who has more housework to perform? Who has more
leisure time? Is this distribution acceptable to you? Why or why not?
• Why is it that women do much more housework than men?
• How are gender roles linked to social discrimination against girls and women?
• If we look outside our homes, who does the following work (women or men)?
• Cooking in dhabas/hotels/Master Chef programmes
• Washing/cleaning clothes in dry cleaning shops
• Why don’t most men perform these tasks in their own households?
 Summary of discussions

• If given an opportunity, girls, boys and trans-genders are capable

and should perform all kinds of tasks and work within the
household as well as outside.
• All kinds of work, as mentioned in the table, are important and
deserve equal respect.
• While work is important, leisure and play is also important for
girls and boys and equal opportunity must be provided to them
• When individuals are treated in an unequal manner and are denied
certain rights on the basis of their gender, it is called gender-based
discrimination.

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 Activity-3: Gender Stereotyping and Advertisements

Learning Outcomes

• Challenges gender-based discrimination and negative

influences of the media
• Creates gender equitable advertisements that promote gender
equality and rights

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 Discussion Points

Points for discussion

• Why do people usually make stereotypical associations between certain products

and a particular gender?
• Do you think the media is influencing our behavior by associating products with
a particular gender?

Reflective questions

• Do you think the media has, somewhere, influenced you in terms of gender?
Give examples.
• Are there some existing advertisements, serials, movies, songs or cartoon strips,
which are gender-equitable? If yes, name them
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 Songs from Bollywood
• Ask participant to share songs that portray women negatively and change it to give it
a positive tone.

Changed to:
Example Jadu teri nazar
Jadu teri nazar Khusboo tera badan
Khusboo tera badan Tu ha kar ya na kar
Tu ha kar ya na kar Yeh haq hain tera Kiran
Tu hain meri Kiran Yeh haq hain tera Kiran
 Positive advertising

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaJf0mNMqos
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Ix2_-_-sg

Transgender
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zeeVEKaDLM

Protest against sexist advertisement

• https://mashable.com/2017/12/01/meghan-markle-sexist-ad/
 Summary of discussions

• The media pervades our lives as it influences our behavior

• The media generally promotes gender stereotypes
• One needs to question and challenge the stereotypes that
are being portrayed by the media and not accept or blindly
emulate the images and roles projected in the media.

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 Activity-4: Gender Power Walk

Learning Outcomes

• Analyses how gender norms affect beliefs, attitudes, and

behavior
• Recognizes power dynamics, inequalities and
discrimination, and upholds equality in all interactions

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 Summary of discussions
• Some people get more opportunities than others in society
• These inequalities are based on gender, caste, class, physical
or mental disabilities and other factors.
• Discrimination can play out in many ways, such as access to
education, health, career choices, permission for going out,
befriending people, ability to state one’s opinions openly,etc.
• Often, what people are able to achieve or not depends less on
their ability, and more on the opportunities available to them.
• We need to examine our own behaviour and honestly assess
whether we are discriminatory in any of our interactions, and,
if so, modify our attitudes and behavior
• In the spaces that we can influence (home, school etc.), we
should try to challenge discrimination and ensure that
everyone is treated with equality and respect.
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 Activity-5: Dealing with Gender-based Discrimination

Learning Outcomes

• Recognizes causes of gender-based discrimination.

• Identifies strategies to challenge and address gender-based
discrimination.

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 Case studies

Video

Video

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Case studies

Video

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 Summary of discussions

• We may want to pursue our interests, which may not be

aligned with the existing gender norms and stereotypes.
• We must understand the different causes of our problem before
deciding the strategy to address the problem.
• To challenge gender stereotypes and discrimination, we need
to do what we can at our level, as well as draw support from
different sources such as friends, school, family, and other
institutions.

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 Activity-6: Challenging Gender-based Violence

Learning Outcomes

• Identifies gender-based violence and its causes

• Identifies strategies to challenge and address gender-based
violence

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 Case study
Video

Group 1. You are Soni. What are the different steps that you can take to address the
issue?
Group 2. You are Arun. What are the different steps that you can take to address the
issue?
Group 3. You are the classmates who saw the incident but did not do anything at the
time. What steps can you take later to stop such behaviour?
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 Summary of discussions
• Gender-based violence is a form of violence that targets individuals
or groups on the basis of their gender.
• It results in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering.
• Girls, boys and trans genders should all be enabled to say ‘No!’ to
violence.
• An important aspect of dealing with gender-based violence is to
identify sources of help, and seeking help for the purpose.
• Help can be sought from family members/friends/trusted
adults/teachers/school principal/government functionaries
including the police, etc., to stop such violence.
• It may not be easy to challenge gender-based violence but it is
important to do so. If we uphold dignity, equality and respect in
one situation, we help to make the world a safer place.
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Thank You