In view of rising number of rape cases across the country, the Government is all set to constitute a committee under the National Commission for Women to study school textbooks and recommend changes to inculcate gender sensitivity among children. The Ministry of Woman and Child Development (WCD) has asked the NCW to set up a board at the earliest to suggest changes to the textbooks.
“We plan to include academicians, representatives from the school education boards, women group activists, gender and child specialists, psychologists in the panel. These can study school textbooks and suggest necessary changes,” said an official from the WCD Ministry. “Once we have the list of suggested changes, including necessary additions, which the panel deems important for gender sensitisation in the school texts, we can send them to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and school education boards. We will then forward the final recommendations to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry for their feedback,” he said.
Minister for Woman and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has also communicated her intent to suggest changes to school texts ‘to make them more gender sensitive’ to HRD Minister Smriti Irani. The WCD Ministry is also ready with a film on sensitising the school children across India on ‘Good touch bad touch.’ “We would ideally like to screen the film not only in all Government schools but would also like complete participation from private institutions. Sexual abuse and exploitation is rampant across society,” said an official.
According to Government data, the number of cases of rape and assault on women has shown an increasing trend between 2011 and 2013. Provisional data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the number of such cases registered was 1,17,035 in 2013, 79,447 in 2012 and 75,744 in 2011. In 2013, the highest number of such cases reported were in Maharastra (13,827) followed by Madhya Pradesh (13,323) and Andhra Pradesh (13,267).
Maneka has also suggested including lessons on gender and body sensitisation under SABlA. With an objective to improve the nutritional and health status of adolescent girls in the age group of 11-18 years and empower them by providing education in life-skills, health and nutrition, Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for empowerment of adolescent girls (RGSEAG) - SABlA was formed in 2010.