Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

212 B. LAKSHMI
respectively. Sumi Krishna (2005), too, states that despite the Mizo women’s
rich farming experience, adages ridicule women. The grip of these adages
on the Mizo mind is still strong despite the conversion to Christianity,
which emphasises equality between men and women. Consider some of
these sayings:
Hmeichhe finin tuikhur ral a kai lo. Women’s wit does not go beyond
the water point, which is just outside
the village.
Hmeichhia leh pal chhia chu thlak A wife and an old fence can be
theih an ni. changed any time.
Hmeichhia leh chakaiin sakhua Women and crabs have no religion.
an nei lo.
Nupui vau loh leh vau sam loh An unthreatened wife and weeds of
chu an pawng tual tual. the field not properly cut are both
unbearable.
Chakai sa sa ni suh, hmeichhe Just as crab meat is not considered
thu thu ni suh. meat, women’s word is not regarded
as word.
Landscapes and natural resources too are gendered in common speech
(Krishna 2005). Ann Oakley (1972) has argued that feminine social roles
are not an inevitable product of female biology. It is the culture of a society
that determines the behaviour of sexes within it. Oakley (1974) shows
how the process of socialisation shapes the behaviour of girls and boys
from an early age. She states that there are four ways of socialisation: canalisation,
which involves directing boys and girls towards different objects;
use of verbal appellations, which lead children to identify with their gender;
manipulation, which involves influencing the child’s self-concept;
and finally, exposure to different activities.
GENDER BIAS IN EDUCATIONAL
KNOWLEDGE AND VALUES
Let us now turn our attention to the values being transmitted by the educational
knowledge, especially from a gender perspective. In ‘Work
Education’, a subject in the school curriculum, crafts are gendered as in
society: girl students are required to take up weaving and tailoring, while