Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

The Reinforcement of Gender Stereotypes 221
Chhimtuipui District). She is a student of Class VIII at the government
higher secondary school at Saiha and stays with a cousin, her father’s
brother’s daughter. Her father has passed the High School Leaving Certificate
(HSLC) and is a middle school teacher in their village. Her mother
is literate and practices lo-siam mi (farming). R’s family of nine includes
a grandparent (father’s mother), her parents and five siblings (three sisters
and two brothers). The eldest sister, studying in Class X, stays with their
father’s brother at another place. The other children study in the village
itself.
R speaks Mizo at home and attends the services of the Isua Krista
Kohhran (IKK) church. Her cousin and host earns a living by making
beedis and kuhva (betel). The cousin’s husband, who earlier worked as a
bus conductor and then as a tailor, is presently unemployed. Both have
passed the HSLC. They have two daughters. The family has some savings
but no steady source of income, but have rented out a room for Rs 300
per month.
R has all along been a good student. She did her primary and middle
school in the village with Mizo as the medium and secured a first division.
In her free time, R helps her cousin with all household chores, such as
cleaning, washing and cooking. She is a quiet girl and spends the rest of
her time with her studies. She is also very regular in attending the services
and the Sunday School at the church. She gets emotional support from
her cousin.
R’s is a interesting case because her father motivates and encourages
both his daughters, R and her eldest sister, who are studying away from
home. R has deeply incorporated the culture and the ethos (bildung),
which have almost become her second nature. Though her mother is
just literate, her father has more than compensated for it. Highly motivated,
unlike other pupils from rural areas, she has overcome the disadvantages
of the place of her birth and upbringing primarily due to
hard work, determination and a single-minded pursuit of education. R’s
cousin, too, has motivated her to do better. As her father is himself in the
teaching profession, the family endorses and understands the school
processes.
The two case studies throw some light on certain aspects of school
education in Mizoram. Gender, class, minority ethnic status and ruralurban
residence interact meaningfully and in substantial ways. Students
such as E suffer from the burden of gender, poverty, rural origin and