Gender-neutral literature can change attitude towards women, say authors

BHOPAL

: Authors of children

literature

stressed on the need for proper upbringing of kids, which would ensure that they grow up as sensitive and caring men. They had converged for the Bookaroo festival of Children’s Literature at

Bharat Bhavan

.


“Minds of children are impressionable and they grasp even the smallest of gestures. It impacts their mind when certain literature portrays women as ‘damsels in distress’ and helpless creatures. Added with some small things at home, like asking girls to help in the kitchen, while boys watch television; serving hot rotis only to boys, this can unconsciously lead to a sense of superiority in the male child. Literature has to be such that it shows all humans as equals,” said Paro Anand, author several books for teenagers.

Senior writer, Deepa Agarwal, said: “If children read stories or watch films that reject the right values, it can lead them astray. Movies and books that depict women as objects only promote attitudes in men that are anti-women. When this is coupled with the patriarchal attitude of society, men start feeling that women ‘need’ to be dominated. Crimes against women are not just physical attacks, they originate from a whim to dominate women and prove their superiority.”

Speaking about gender-neutral stories and books, author Vaishali Shroff listed several stories and novels that break the stereotypes and promote an open and gender-neutral thinking.

“Unlike earlier, a lot of literature today is gender neutral and shows women as strong protagonists who have the voice of their own. There is a book about a girl, who stands against the whole village, to convey the message of consent and the meaning of ‘no’. Such novels need to be promoted among teens so that we can influence a change in attitude,” said Shroff.

Agarwal further gave the example of Chandrakanta that shows princess Chandrakanta as independent, strong and talented.

“Chandrakanta was written in 1888, and shows a woman in a strong light instead of being the damsel in distress. When our ancestors were so open-minded and gender-neutral, we too, need to adopt the same attitude towards women and stop calling them the ‘weaker sex’”, Agarwal added.