📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Arjunaraoc
Education
Andhra Pradesh revamps school textbooks to show fathers cooking, girls drumming
✍️ The Indian Express
🗓 25 Sep 2026, 05:32 PM
👁 12
The Andhra Pradesh education department has updated school textbooks to feature non‑traditional gender roles, such as fathers in the kitchen and girls playing drums, aiming to curb stereotypes.
The state government of Andhra Pradesh has introduced a new set of school textbooks that deliberately portray children in roles that challenge conventional gender expectations. Illustrations now show fathers preparing meals and girls engaging in activities like drumming, a departure from traditional depictions.
Education officials say the visual changes are part of a broader curriculum overhaul intended to promote gender equality from an early age. By normalising diverse responsibilities and interests, the textbooks aim to influence attitudes of students, teachers and parents alike.
The revision aligns with the state's ongoing efforts to embed progressive social values in education, reinforcing the message that career choices and household duties should not be limited by gender. The updated books are slated for rollout in the upcoming academic year across government and aided schools in Andhra Pradesh.
Stakeholders, including child rights groups, have welcomed the move, noting that early exposure to balanced role models can reduce bias and open up opportunities for both boys and girls.
The initiative reflects a growing trend among Indian states to use educational content as a tool for social change, with Andhra Pradesh positioning itself at the forefront of gender‑sensitive pedagogy.
Education officials say the visual changes are part of a broader curriculum overhaul intended to promote gender equality from an early age. By normalising diverse responsibilities and interests, the textbooks aim to influence attitudes of students, teachers and parents alike.
The revision aligns with the state's ongoing efforts to embed progressive social values in education, reinforcing the message that career choices and household duties should not be limited by gender. The updated books are slated for rollout in the upcoming academic year across government and aided schools in Andhra Pradesh.
Stakeholders, including child rights groups, have welcomed the move, noting that early exposure to balanced role models can reduce bias and open up opportunities for both boys and girls.
The initiative reflects a growing trend among Indian states to use educational content as a tool for social change, with Andhra Pradesh positioning itself at the forefront of gender‑sensitive pedagogy.