“An Education in Subordination:
Gender Discrimination in Higher Learning Institutions”
By Elizabeth Chatelain

Imagine a place where individual human rights are not a priority. A bell dictates when to eat, to work, and to sleep. Leaving the gated compound is nearly impossible. An authority carefully reads communication with family members. Does this sound like a prison? No, this is a psychological and cultural incarceration; this is the higher education system for women in Kerala. While the number of females entering degree courses is increasing, women continue to experience under-representation and discrimination on campuses, especially in residential life. Furthermore, the number of women workers in Kerala remains negligible and has decreased in the last ten years. Statistics such as these suggest that though women are finding education, they are not gaining independence and equality. Instead, their college experience leads them down yet another road to subjugation by a patriarchal society.

While some institutions in Kerala prove more liberal than others, the general discriminatory attitude towards women remains consistent across the state. Under the guise of “safety issues,” young women in hostels are sometimes constrained to the extent of losing complete individual freedom. Often confined to the college campus or hostel, with the exception of one or two Saturdays per month, they follow diligently enforced time schedules for study, eating, and sleeping. Mobile phones are prohibited, and in some establishments, letters are opened and read by the college authority. Some institutions ban female students from sitting in areas of campus that could potentially facilitate coed relationships. These regulations are unfathomable for a population theoretically old enough to work, marry, and own property. Indeed, if these rules were enforced on young men, there would be uproar. But women are expected to accept them without resistance.

Not unlike the present situation for women throughout the world, those living in Kerala’s college hostels undoubtedly face a double standard. Men have later curfews, are allowed to leave the campus, and are less strictly regulated than the women. Mobile phones are allowed, and certainly no rules exist pertaining to where they can stand or sit. Again, women’s protection is considered justification for discriminatory regulations. But why are the alleged perpetrators of such dangers allowed freedom while the victims face the punishment? While the college authorities moralize on protecting girls from coed relationships, the verbal sexual harassment from male students on campus is still overwhelmingly tolerated. These double standards lead to feelings of subordination, worthlessness, and worst of all, unnecessary guilt. Serious psychological, social and cultural implications arise from this discrimination, which simultaneously reflects and bolsters the chauvinism found in India and throughout the world.

Kerala prides itself on having the highest literacy rate in the country, and the number of females in higher education is increasing. In spite of this, 84.7% of women in Kerala are classified as “non-workers.” In fact, while the amount of male workers has increased between the years of 1991 and 2001, the amount of female workers has decreased. These statistics suggest that both educated and uneducated women are limited to subservient roles in society; the education and experience they receive in college does not necessarily lead to employment. Instead, the institution’s restrictions prepare them for a life under the authority of a patriarchal and authoritarian system not to be questioned or challenged.

Despite the numerous restrictions, some argue that the women in Kerala’s higher education are given adequate representation and advocacy. In student union elections, there is often at least two or three “lady representatives” who address women’s issues on campus. However, when the majority of the student body (sometimes more than 80%) is female, this representation becomes grossly disproportionate. Furthermore, while men of political parties strike for even moot points, the women remain silent about their oppression. They have come to accept the hidden discrimination committed against them daily. Some argue this phenomenon is cultural; but where does culture end and unjust totems begin? Even educated and respected female professors adhere to a socially enforced discriminatory dress code pressuring them to wear saris.

Herein lies the hardest struggle: female students seeking equality receive little support on campus from men, women, teachers and peers alike. Resistant action by women is looked upon with contempt. Even the colleges’ pro-left political parties whose ideology demands equal rights and democracy for all often ignore the issues of women’s rights on campus. As the “oppressed majority” of the world, do women not fall under this category? Instead, male college students are granted the illusion of power and human agency in the form of political strikes and elections that become little more than a stage for their adolescent angst. Rather than challenging the authority to change unjust policies, often times their energy is focused on defeating the opposing party. The institution can permit such acts of “rebellion” with little fear, because the students rarely turn their violence on the system. Only when meaningful resistance is directed at the patriarchal and authoritarian establishment will the dictatorial hold on institutionalized education be broken.

The situation found in Kerala’s higher educational institutions is perhaps indicative of the greater social malady. With one-third of the 12 million girls born in India dying in their first year, and 25% dying before the age of 15, discrimination is faced from cradle to the grave. Abortion of female fetuses is becoming ever more prevalent: statistics show a decline in the number of girls born from 945 to 927 for every 1000 boys (1991-2001). Adult women have to face employment discrimination, domestic violence, rape and sexual exploitation. In the year 2000, there was a woman raped every hour. The National Family Health Survey 2007 found that 37.2 % of married women experienced spousal violence. The National Crimes Bureau Home Ministry reported 5,199 dowry deaths in 1994. Unfortunately, this violence is often ignored by the judicial system and the culture at large. It is even justified by transforming the victim into the perpetrator: accusing the woman of provoking her attacker. In a nation lauded as “the largest democracy in the world,” why are women’s voices still silenced? Not until equality exists for everyone, regardless of sex, caste, race or religion, can a true democracy exist.

Necessary to the empowerment of women is legislation and institutions that facilitate the exercise of individual freedoms, provide opportunities for education and work, and allow the uninhibited expression of ideas. Though world wide initiatives aim at empowering women, activist Aruna Rao asserts, “women’s lack of rights (equality under the law), resources (equality of opportunity) and voice (political equality) all inhibit achievement of this goal.” Only when regulations ensuring equality for women are written and justly enforced can there be hope for improvement of the female situation. Only when women are given opportunities to exercise their capacities in educational institutions and workplaces will they feel the power to take a stand. Not until women are given a platform to speak freely for their interests and against discrimination will they find equal footing with men. Ultimately, the viewpoint of society must transform. Words can be written on parchment, but they also must be written in the hearts and minds of humanity. Women have been the subordinate people group since the beginning of time, but history does not legitimize injustice. Inequalities must be recognized and resisted, challenged and changed.