A WOMAN IN SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

On Spanish roads men and women have the same rights. The authorities have conducted an experiment in a Madrid suburb. Specialists changed the lights at pedestrian crossings so that now a man's image alternates a woman's. 

A pedestrian of one sex, male, used to appear on the lights at pedestrian crossings in the Spanish capital, as in most cities of the world. These are common signs of permission and prohibition. The Spanish authorities have now decided to combat discrimination on the roads. Specialists have changed the clothes of the figures on public signs and given them a plait and ribbon.

Such behaviour by the city municipality is in line with Spanish policy over recent years. Women are given half the seats in the Cabinet of Ministers while private companies are obliged to employ more representatives of the weaker sex.

Of course, it has not yet occurred to the Azerbaijani authorities to carry out similar experiments, not to mention to give half the seats in the Cabinet of Ministers to women. And the "femininization" of traffic lights and road signs is unlikely to affect Baku in the near future. But one would like to hope that there are, nevertheless, changes for the better in the equality of the sexes in our country. One positive sign is the conduct of research in Azerbaijan recently that could not have been dreamt of six years ago. I am talking about the gender analysis of some textbooks published by the Azerbaijani Education Ministry, "Know the World" for first-year pupils, "Man and Society" for eighth-year pupils and "The History of Azerbaijan" for 10th-year pupils. 

The research is unique in that it was conducted in our country for the first time. The experts worked to reveal hidden threats to personal development through gender stereotyping in textbooks for different levels of study. The analysis was carried out by a working group of the nongovernmental organisation, the Centre for Empowerment in Education (CEE). There is no doubt at all that this research is very topical today. There are very many prejudices related to gender in our contemporary society. This is probably why the 8 March holiday, International Women's Day, is so popular in Azerbaijan and in all the post-Soviet countries. Well-established, unshakeable prejudices can be found in the understanding of the typical, traditional characteristics of men and women, their temperament, abilities, motives and values. Where do they come from? What stage of socialisation in a person's life is the most significant for the formation of gender stereotypes?

Gender insensitivity

The Constitution of the Azerbaijani Republic refers to the equal rights of men and women who (who are they?) must ensure the gender awareness of the representatives of the sexes towards one another. But the stereotypes predominating in the minds of Azerbaijani society cannot meet the requirements of this clause of the Constitution. Experts already understand that only a change in generations can solve the problem of gender and that it would be more effective to raise the issue in educational institutions at the early stages of the socialisation of personality.

For example, it is difficult to explain why an Azerbaijani girl who dreams of playing the nagara (a traditional drum) will be told by her family, and especially her father, that a potential husband would simply not want to marry her when he found out that she played the nagara. One of the strongest stereotypes in Azerbaijani society is that the nagara is a musical instrument that it is only right for men to play. It is difficult to explain why ballroom dancing in Azerbaijan has a feminine image, while male dancers are perceived by society as having an unconventional sexual orientation, why baby girls are dressed in pink and boys in blue, why boys are told that they must not cry but girls can, why only boys are taught carpentry in schools and only girls sewing, although women often have to use a hammer when they're busy at home. There wouldn't be enough room in one publication to list all the examples of stereotyping in Azerbaijani society. It is clear that the roots of this understanding of male and female roles in society go far back into childhood.

"This is why we chose to analyse school textbooks," the CEE's executive director, Gulara Afandiyeva told R+. "Let's take 'Know the World' as an example. It gives the youngest pupils their first information about the world around them and the society in which they live. It is in the early years at school that the foundations of knowledge and life skills are laid, that the child's perception of the world is formed as an individual and a future citizen of the country. First of all we tried to determine the frequency with which men and women were represented. At the same time, we found out the ways that images and norms of behaviour were established both in the public and private space, the ways that social and historically assigned stereotypes of male and female roles are reinforced in the consciousness of pupils and we also established a description of the stereotypes most often encountered."

The analysis of the textbooks provided little comfort from the point of view of gender awareness. The results of the analysis of the "Know the World" textbook showed many instances of gender imbalance. Professions are allocated along strictly male and female lines (I think this is superfluous) which does not promote the correct gender orientation of pupils in the youngest classes. Analysis of the structure of male and female professions represented in the economy revealed that throughout the material, both in the text and illustrations, women are excluded from the professional sphere and are limited in their activity to certain specialisms, reflecting the patriarchal attitude dominant in society. There are more references in the texts and illustrations to male white-collar professions than to female ones with a ratio of 36:26 (45 per cent to 32 per cent).

The authors of the textbook also deserve attention. All four authors are men. The pedagogical science editor is a man, the readers are four male doctors of science, the professor is a man and the two school teachers are women. Other text books that were analysed also had primarily male authors. 

A word about women

The "History of Azerbaijan" 10th-year textbook that covers historical events in Azerbaijani society from the 19th to the 20th centuries is also an example of traditional "male" history, at the centre of which there are as a rule only men. Where there are a few representations of women, the authors think that they were outside the norms and representations ascribed to women by society - the positive representation of the female warrior at the same time shows that this role is not typical for women. The stereotype of the dominant role of men in history encompasses practically all social, political, cultural and other public spheres. Only the domestic sphere is left for women, which the authors of the textbook do not find time or space to describe. The reader simply has to guess the role predetermined for Azerbaijani woman. If the representation of men and women in the "Science and Culture" textbook is compared, then it emerges that men are represented 486 times in the text and 38 in the illustrations, while women get 11 mentions in the text and four in the illustrations. This makes 98 per cent male and 2 per cent female representation in the text and 90 per cent male and 10 per cent female in the illustrations.

"Our analysis can be considered a recommendation," Olga Rzayeva, a CEE expert on gender and children's rights, said. "Similar research has been conducted in Russia, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Moldova and Kazakhstan. We can say with complete certainty that the lack of gender awareness that we find today in practically every walk of life is an inheritance from the Soviet past. It is possible to say that gender imbalance occurs to a greater degree in Russian domestic life than Azerbaijani. However, it's very important that we make a start today. A simple example will suffice: eliminating legal ignorance began in Azerbaijan in 1998. And despite some problems we have achieved major success today in this area. Therefore, we should be talking today about eliminating ignorance in gender awareness. In a certain sense this research should be accepted as an innovation in education, which, we hope, will be applied when Azerbaijani textbooks are republished. It is not just that Azerbaijani textbooks are not gender aware, it is that the material in our textbooks is quite dogmatic and does not allow for creative thought. More often than not teachers cannot depart from the school syllabus and academic plan, while the textbook should harmoniously supplement the material presented by the teacher. And there is one more important rule - it is through children that we can influence adults. This is called the hidden syllabus. All this will lead to future generations living in a healthy society in terms of gender."

It is good that the Education Ministry gave the green light for the research to go ahead. This is largely thanks to the fact that the Education Ministry is planning to reissue school textbooks as part of a new curriculum envisaging a fresh approach to education in the 2007-08 academic year. Gender analysis of textbooks is, therefore, very timely. The curriculum proposes differentiating subjects by block: the exact sciences, the arts and natural sciences, as a result of which the whole education system will be reorganised and textbooks revised. The curriculum also proposes reforming the system of pre-school education in line with international standards.

"Our centre will hold training sessions and seminars on the subject of gender for the authors of future textbooks in cooperation with the Education Ministry. What matters most is that all our recommendations should be taken into account and not left on paper," Olga Rzayeva said.

Having summed up the results of the analysis of textbooks, the experts concluded that it would be effective if a competent expert commission analysed new textbooks and teaching aids for gender at the preparatory stage. It is desirable to maintain a gender balance when appointing specialists to work on the textbooks and it wouldn't be a bad idea to use additional literature and historical documents and events that give an idea of gender balance. For example, it would be effective to correct history books in such a way that political history is supplemented by the history of private, everyday life. This would increase the representation of women and show their role in society. Female researchers in Western Europe and the USA are proposing something similar. They think that the past should be rewritten to increase the significance of the role of women and that not only his-story should be studied but her-story too. 

The results of the analysis of gender awareness in textbooks will soon be submitted to the Azerbaijani Education Ministry. Who knows, maybe one day Azerbaijan will decide to change the clothes of the figures on traffic lights and road signs and give them a plait and ribbon. Everything begins with textbooks.