Andhra Pradesh reworks textbooks to remove gender stereotypes
Andhra Pradesh has revised its Class 1 and 2 textbooks so household chores are shown shared equally between men and women. The reform aims to challenge early ideas about which tasks belong to which gender. It raises a wider question: can pictures alone change what children believe about gender roles?
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The brief in 7 cards
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Context1 / 7
Andhra Pradesh has introduced textbook images and lessons meant to challenge the traditional, gendered division of household labour. For Classes 1 and 2, illustrations have been revised so about half of depicted household chores are shown being done by men and half by women. Examples include fathers cooking and girls taking part in activities usually assigned to boys. The reform links this content with classroom discussion and practical life-skill activities. State HRD Minister Nara Lokesh described it as part of a wider effort to instil respect for women from an early age.
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Key highlights2 / 7
The specific change: Earlier Class 1 and 2 textbooks showed household chores performed entirely by women; revised books show men and women each performing about half of depicted chores.
Beyond chores: Financial management within the household is also shown as handled across genders.
Linked to broader reform: The change sits within wider curriculum reforms, including No Bag Day activities such as managing a family budget, field visits, and introduction to artificial intelligence and its positive and negative sides.
A stated method: Officials describe gradual, repeated rounds of curriculum improvement rather than a one-time change.
Why textbooks matter: The hidden curriculum comprises social roles and assumptions children absorb from images and examples, beyond explicit lessons. Changing images alone may not shift attitudes if teacher behaviour, school practices and career guidance reinforce stereotypes.
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Key concepts3 / 7
Gender socialisation is how society teaches children behaviours, roles and traits considered appropriate for their gender. It operates through family, peers, media and school, including textbooks; repeated visual patterns can convey norms without explicit instruction.
The hidden curriculum is the unstated norms, values and assumptions conveyed by an education system alongside its official lessons. It includes textbook images, classroom participation and activity labels. Changing textbooks addresses only one part.
Gender-responsive pedagogy actively identifies and counters unequal participation and stereotyping, for example by giving girls and boys equal chances to answer, lead activities and pursue subjects and careers.
Token and substantive representation: Occasional or superficial examples risk tokenism. Substantive representation is sustained across content and practice and is matched by real opportunities. The draft cautions against artificial representation and recommends monitoring participation and access to STEM, sports and leadership.
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Way forward4 / 7
Audit curricula across subjects, including mathematics and science, for stereotyped language and illustrations. Train teachers to facilitate thoughtful discussion about gender roles. Monitor classroom participation and learning outcomes by gender. Pair representation with equal access to STEM, sports and leadership opportunities. Build physically and socially safe school environments alongside content reform.
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Note5 / 7
Why this is not a new debate
Kerala introduced similar gender-neutral textbook imagery in 2024, including an image of a father grating coconut in a kitchen. A 2024 analysis of 466 English-language school textbooks across ten boards found patterns of gender bias, including male-biased language around achievement and work and stereotyped examples linking mothers to cooking and doctors to men. The study reported uneven performance across States. A Parliamentary panel had earlier recommended a thorough NCERT gender-bias analysis of textbooks and curriculum framework. Separate State reforms point to shared recognition of the issue, while implementation and pace vary.
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Note6 / 7
Two sides worth noting
The case for reform: Early, repeated visual cues can shape assumptions about what is normal. Linking pictures to practical activities such as managing budgets may connect representation with everyday expectations. Recommendations to NCERT and reforms in other States also reflect recognition of textbooks' socialising power.
Points of caution: Changed pictures without changes in teacher behaviour, school culture or career guidance may produce symbolic change only. Representation should reflect genuine diversity rather than feel forced. Sustained, cross-subject, multi-year effort is needed; one revised textbook is a starting point, not a complete solution.
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Note7 / 7
A page from Andhra Pradesh's revised Class 1–2 textbook, "My House" : The left panel shows a grandmother combing her granddaughter's hair while a grandfather looks after a toddler, and, in the background, a father cooking at the stove. The right panel shows a family running a flower stall together, with the father, mother and daughter all engaged in the sale. Where earlier editions showed household chores performed only by women, this revision distributes them across the family, including the men. The lesson pairs the images with a rhyme and simple speaking and listening exercises about family members and daily routines, so the shift in roles is something children discuss aloud, not just see on the page.
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Syllabus
| Paper | Subject | Sub-topic |
|---|---|---|
| GS1 | Society | Role of women and women's organisation, effects of globalisation on Indian society. Mains. |
| GS2 | Governance | Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors, and issues arising out of their design and implementation, particularly education. Mains. |
| GS4 | Ethics | Attitude, and its influence and relation with thought and behaviour. Prelims and Mains, for the underlying concepts of socialisation. |
| Essay | Polity | — |
Topics
Related previous-year questions
Asked in earlier UPSC Prelims papers on this topic. Answer, then check.
‘Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan’ is a national campaign to
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Answer: C. VERDICT: The answer is to eradicate the practice of manual scavenging and rehabilitate the manual scavengers. ANALYSIS: Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan, the National Campaign for Dignity and Elimination of Manual Scavenging, began in 2001 and worked to liberate women manual scavengers across India and to persuade them to give up this caste based and unconstitutional occupation. Its stated aim extends beyond release to social, economic, political and cultural rehabilitation. The homeless rehabilitation, sex worker rehabilitation and bonded labour options each describe real areas of social intervention but belong to different programmes. SOURCE: Press Information Bureau material and press reporting on the campaign. Source type EN. HOW TO CRACK IT: Translate the Hindi in the campaign name, since garima means dignity, and then ask which of the four listed practices is characterised in public discourse specifically as an assault on dignity rather than as poverty or exploitation. Manual scavenging is the one framed that way, because its wrong is caste based degradation. Reading scheme names for their key noun, garima for dignity, swachh for cleanliness, ujjwala for light, is a reliable shortcut across the whole schemes syllabus.
Difficulty: medium · direct
Open this question on its own page, with the full explanation →
Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017? 1. Pregnant women are entitled for three months pre-delivery and three months post-delivery paid leave. 2. Enterprises with creches must allow the mother minimum six creche visits daily. 3. Women with two children get reduced entitlements. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
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Answer: C. Statement 1 – INCORRECT: It provides for full paid absence from work for a period of 26 weeks (earlier 12 weeks) to take care of the child. The statement incorrectly says three months pre- and post-delivery. Statement 2 – INCORRECT: The proviso of Section 11A states that the employer shall allow 4 visits a day to the creche by the woman employee, not six visits. Statement 3 – CORRECT: For women who are expecting after having 2 children, the duration of paid maternity leave shall be 12 weeks. Hence women with two children get reduced entitlements. Correct statement: 3 only → Option (c).
Difficulty: medium · statement
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With reference to the 'Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan', consider the following statements: 1. This scheme guarantees a minimum package of antenatal care services to women in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy and six months post-delivery health care service in any government health facility. 2. Under this scheme, private sector health care providers of certain specialities can volunteer to provide services at nearby government health facilities. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Answer: B. Statement 1 – INCORRECT: The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) is introduced to ensure quality Antenatal care to over 3 crore pregnant women. Under the campaign, a minimum package of antenatal care services would be provided to beneficiaries on the 9th day of every month to ensure every pregnant woman receives at least one checkup in the 2nd or 3rd trimester of pregnancy by a doctor. The scheme does not cover six months post-delivery health care. Hence statement 1 is not correct. Statement 2 – CORRECT: OBGY specialists/Radiologist/physicians from private sector would be encouraged to provide voluntary services at public health facilities where government sector practitioners are not available or inadequate. Hence statement 2 is correct. Correct statements: 2 only → Option (b).
Difficulty: medium · statement
Open this question on its own page, with the full explanation →
Practice questions
With reference to the hidden curriculum in education, consider the following statements: 1. It refers to values and social norms conveyed through a school's stated, official syllabus alone. 2. It can be shaped by textbook illustrations, teacher behaviour and everyday school practices. 3. Changing textbook content alone is generally regarded as sufficient to alter the hidden curriculum. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Answer: A. Statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is wrong because the hidden curriculum concerns unstated norms conveyed apart from the official syllabus. Statement 3 is wrong because textbook changes alone are not sufficient without changes in teacher behaviour and school practice.
Difficulty: medium · statement
With reference to gender socialisation, consider the following statements: 1. It occurs through multiple channels, including family, media, peers and school. 2. It is typically an explicit, deliberately taught set of rules rather than an unconscious process. 3. Repeated visual patterns in children's textbooks can contribute to gender socialisation. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: A. Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: gender socialisation is often absorbed gradually and unconsciously through repeated exposure.
Difficulty: medium · statement
Consider the following statements regarding efforts to address gender bias in Indian school textbooks: 1. Kerala introduced gender-neutral imagery in its textbooks before Andhra Pradesh's recent revision. 2. A 2024 study found no significant gender bias in any Indian State's school textbooks. 3. A Parliamentary panel has recommended that NCERT undertake a gender-bias analysis of its curriculum framework and textbooks. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: A. Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the cited 2024 study found gender bias in the textbooks it examined.
Difficulty: medium · statement
Mains practice
Answer-writing practice on this article. Attempt it first, then open the hints.
Textbook content is one part of a school's hidden curriculum. Discuss, with reference to recent State-level efforts to remove gender stereotypes from early-grade textbooks. (250 words)
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- Define the hidden curriculum and gender socialisation and explain their role in shaping children's assumptions.
- Describe the Andhra Pradesh reform and similar efforts in other States.
- Discuss the limits of textbook-only reform, including teacher behaviour, career counselling and school culture.
- Explain gender-responsive pedagogy as a complementary approach.
- Consider token representation and ways to track whether reforms translate into real outcomes.
A picture in a child's textbook can shape the world they believe is possible.
Show hints
- Explain how early, repeated imagery can shape a child's sense of what is normal.
- Use examples such as household roles, occupational role models and career aspirations.
- Discuss the gap between symbolic representation and substantive equality of access and outcome.
- Consider the combined role of schools, families and media in shaping a child's worldview.
- Offer a balanced view: representation matters but is not sufficient on its own.