Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has condemned the inclusion of sexist stereotypes in the NCTE textbook, which it claimed, reflected the Brahmanical worldview of women. It alleged that the government is setting up a dangerous precedent of saffronizing educational literature and institutions.
SFI said that a chapter titled ‘Vaasuki kaa Prashna’ in an NCTE textbook was introduced. The chapter indulges in creating and upholding a sexist stereotype of a meek and docile housewife whose only duty is to serve the version, embodied in the alleged figure of the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar’s wife Vasuki.
“This mischievous project of subtly peddling an obnoxious Brahmanical worldview that projects women as castigated to forever occupy a submissive position of powerlessness and indignity vis-à-vis the family, society, and the State goes against the values enshrined in the Constitution,” it added.
They held that such content should not have any place in textbooks curated and/or endorsed by entities like the NCTE, which have the objective of imparting quality education without prejudice or malice.
While unequivocally condemning the inclusion of the chapter to define an ‘ideal wife’ in the textbook, SFI demanded its rectification by an expert committee that is academically competent to do so in an unbiased manner.
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Rushda Fathima Khan is the Staff Reporter for The Cognate.
