Skirt Or Pants At School: Can We Let The Students Decide?

Gender-neutral school uniforms: Over the past few years, Indian schools have come under direct fire on social media platforms as students, past and present, have opened up about how institutions reinforce gendered norms. One such way is the stereotypical norms for school uniforms that students are forced to adhere to. Even in 2021, why should girls be forced to wear a dress that schools feel is "appropriate" for their gender, and not what they feel more comfortable in?

The debate here is not just about the length and fitting of a girl's skirt. It is about not taking her will and preferences in consideration. How many women have gotten in trouble at school because their uniforms couldn't meet the set standards? How many girls continue to do so, because a short skirt makes your character "loose" and a pant is not "lady-like"?

Having said that, it is not as if gender-neutral uniforms is an alien concept for Indian schools. It was first brought in by a headmistress of a government lower primary school in Valayanchirangara, Kerala, back in 2018. This dress code enabled all students to wear three-fourth of trousers and a shirt. The former headmistress, C Raji, who brought in this change, said that the move was made to encourage gender equality. She also added that the school, which is 105 years old, did not face any objection from parents or students.

At the time, the reason given for the gender-neutral uniform was that skirts can be restrictive to the idea of what girls can do or cannot, eliminating it was seen as a step forward to empower them.

But having a gender-neutral uniform does not necessarily mean eliminating skirts altogether. It means to break the mould from a traditional idea of what gender can wear which uniform. It also indicates the inclusion of other genders in a space that has been following the binary understanding for the past many years.

A gender-neutral uniform needs to recognise and accept a spectrum of gender which lies between a girl and a boy. It needs to give an option to the students on what uniform would they want to opt for, whether it be a skirt, trousers or dress.

This change is urgently required. Unisex uniforms and a washroom can be a step towards this change because schools have been dragging their traditional understanding of gender for a long time now. This has fueled debates on how gender-inclusive Indian schools are.

Recently the National Council of Education and Research Training (NCERT) had stepped its foot in the right direction by putting out a manual on the inclusion of transgender and gender non-conforming students. The manual included the need for gender-neutral toilets, teachers talking about puberty blockers, gender-neutral uniforms and other progressive thoughts.

But the manual was taken down from the site after NCPCR received a complaint from an organisation called Legal Rights Observatory which claimed to be driven by "legal activism in national interest" and is led by former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak Vinay Joshi. They claimed that this manual is a "criminal conspiracy to psychologically traumatise school going students under the name of gender sensitisation."

As per the 2017 survey conducted at the top ten schools of the country's capital, New Delhi by the Society of Peoples' Awareness, Care and Empowerment, 30 percent of trans students face gender-based bullying, 39 percent face name-calling while 24 percent face physical violence like pushing and shoving.

Now this move by NCERT raises questions on whether or not is our education system ready to encourage gender inclusivity in schools, even if it faces opposition from individuals and organisations? The education system needs to strengthen itself and understand what gender-neutral means in its true sense to implement it and make the students aware of it. The right way to usher in this change is to listen to the students and understand what they want.

Do you think gender-neutral uniforms are the way forward?

Views expressed are the author's own.

Suggested Reading:

Punjab To Begin Gender Sensitisation Project In Government Schools

Gender Neutrality Will Imply Equal Opportunities: Author Sanchita Ganguly

Haryana Bus Drivers And Conductors Get Trained In Gender Sensitisation

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