A lower primary government school in Ernakulam district of Kerala has shown the way of gender neutrality by introducing a common uniform for all its students.
The gender neutral policy was introduced in 2018 which required the students to wear shirts and three-fourths trousers. However, it was not discussed much at that time but it now it has sparked discussions on social media across the state.
C Raji, the former Headmistress, who proposed this idea in 2018 after the approval from the school management committee and parents teachers committee, said, "Gender equality was the main subject when we were talking about many factors to implement in the school. Therefore uniform came to mind when I was thinking about what to do with it. Girls face a lot of problems when it comes to skirts. The idea of a change in this was discussed with everyone. 90% of parents supported this at that time. The kids were happy too. I feel very happy and proud that this is being discussed now."
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Suma KP, the present Headmistress of the school said, "Although this decision was implemented in 2018, it is still under discussion. This uniform made the children very confident. This uniform is very helpful for doing anything, especially for girls. They and their parents are very happy with this decision. The reason for this decision is the idea that boys and girls should have equal freedom and happiness."
754 students are studying in the school, curently.