Gender neutrality and gender-neutral uniforms have suddenly become a focus of discussions in Kerala. The opinions that have sprung up chiefly centre on implementing shirts and pants for girls as well.
Many have questioned how it could be ‘gender-neutral’ when the said dress code is often attributed only to boys. Even as allegations are being made that the uniform is being imposed forcefully, the girls do not hesitate to voice their opinions on a matter that concerns them the most.
“I would rather wear shirts and pants on a daily basis. It is more comfortable compared to skirts and shirts we have to wear now,” says Sreeparvathi, a Class IX student of Providence Girls Higher Secondary School in Kozhikode city.
She is not alone in this view. A close observation of the young girls these days shows that most prefer to wear jeans/pants and shirts/T-shirts when they have a choice.
“When the schools reopened and most children did not have their uniforms stitched, we had allowed them to wear dresses of their choice for a month. A majority of the girls chose to wear jeans and tops. As for Muslim students, many of them wore a head scarf in addition,” says Divya Diwakaran, a high school teacher from Pullangode in Malappuram district.
It was a ‘revolution’ that started from her school in 2013 that perhaps triggered the whole discussion on gender-neutral uniforms in the State.
Around 100 girls from the school sent a petition to the Chief Minister, the Education Minister and the State Human Rights Commission claiming that ‘shawls’ that were part of their uniform were quite uncomfortable. They had cited around 25 reasons why they did not like to wear shawls. They said it hindered their ‘free movement’ and they could not play wearing shawls.
The petition had triggered an uproar among the conservative elements, and the harassment that dogged the students who had signed the petition and Ms. Diwakaran, the teacher who had guided them, knew no bounds.
“It is all about convenience. Let the girls have an option to wear either churidar, or shirts and pants. This controversy is pointless,” says Ms. Diwakaran.
Ashmila K., a Plus Two student from Nilambur, likes it that she has a choice and that the gender-neutral uniform is not imposed on her. “I prefer to wear churidar. I find it comfortable. I do not have to be conscious about my dress that way,” she says.
