Schools in principle provide a safe space. The only prerogative of schools is not to teach you Trigonometry, French Revolution or Halogenation of Carbon etc. but also to make sure a child's holistic development take place, where he/she can have their own world view and can differentiate between right and wrong, thus schools play a very important role in shaping a person for the society and it's not presumptuous to say it's a child's second home.
Patriarchy is deep rooted in the society and the solidification of gender stereotypes has ghettoized men and women to certain gender specific roles and has eradicated the difference between Sex and Gender.
Gender sensitisation refers to bring about empathy towards the opposite gender and to ensure that people examine their attitude and personal beliefs about the opposite gender and question notions which reinforce discrimination.
In conversation with Pratisandhi, a youth-led organisation which is working extensively to drive conversations about sexual health and sexuality, they tell us that it's important to inform and educate the youth about sex-education. A dialogue is necessary to bring about normalisation which can help us to achieve the ultimate goal of Gender Sensitisation.
Firstly, it is necessary to understand our body and the biological changes take place which primarily includes hormonal changes and this process cannot take place in isolation and thus understanding the opposite sex is imperative. Even though there's a specific chapter on reproduction in class 8th and 10th but limiting it in our biology textbooks is not enough because schools have to make sure this conversation should bring about normalisation amongst children about sexual differences and sexual health.
Secondly, it's imperative to talk about consent and its importance in our day-day life. With growing awareness about sexual harassment, good touch-bad touch, it's critical to have a dialogue over consent or your right to say 'No'. Sexual consent is not always black and white and it's not uniform therefore understanding the intricacies is pertinent.
In same sex schools, a dialogue over understanding sexual differences and consent is of utmost importance because it is presumed that there is minimal interpersonal interaction between the two sexes.
This seems like a huge burden on schools but they have an important role to play and the ultimate objective of bringing sensitisation can only be achieved if a change takes place from schools
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