A study entitled ‘Sexism in ESL textbooks in Sri Lanka: A case study of the G.C.E. O/L textbooks’ was released yesterday in the 12th Volume of The OUSL Journal. The OUSL Journal is a peer-reviewed open access journal published by the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) and is the first scholarly journal in Sri Lanka focusing on research in the field of Open and Distance Learning (ODL).
The article in question has been authored by L.M.S. Wijetunga “identified that there are clear demarcations of sexism in the texts analyzed, with the males being given a dominating, powerful and central role while females were relegated to a secondary supportive role. It was also identified that representation of female role models was inadequate and severely out of date”. The author notes that “This trend could have a grave impact in terms of creating the next generation of Sri Lanka as the exposure provided to the learners does not expose them to a more gender-sensitive society”.
The study raises serious concerns about what children are taught at a young age regarding gender roles and the position of females in society. In a country such as Sri Lanka where just 6% of our National Parliament compromises of women and according to UNFPA 90% of women face harassment on public transport; perhaps it is time we take a long hard look at what we are teaching our children to emulate starting at an early age.
The full text of the article can be accessed online here
(Sharanya Sekaram reporting for bakamoono.lk)