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After reading this article we will discuss about:- 1. Causes of Gender Discrimination 2. Reduction of Gender Discrimination 3. Learning to Make Distinctions 4. Measures to Reduce Gender Discrimination.
Causes of Gender Discrimination:
Discrimination in the behavioural manifestation of prejudice. Discrimination may be of several types based on race, economic standard, caste, religion and sex. Discrimination leads either positive or negative behaviour towards a particular group by another group not due to any genuine reason but because one belongs to a particular class, sex or community.
Because ‘X’ is a Muslim, so he is a traitor, because Y is a Hindu so he is most patriotic or because X belongs to a low caste so he is an idiot or because R is a rich pei’son so he has an excellent personality and so on.
Because of strong social norms discrimination does not always reflect itself in overt reaction. Even if discrimination against women has no clear cut reason certain causes may be traced out based on experience, analysis and observation.
The causes of gender discrimination may be as follows:
(1) Prejudice.
(2) Biological.
(3) Socio-cultural.
(4) Economic.
(5) Educational.
(6) Personal and Psychological.
(7) Adherance to traditional gender roles.
1. Prejudice:
Men are so much biased against the qualities of a woman that when a woman works excellently, men say ‘she is a man’. Once a top bureaucrat was heard commenting in praise of the administrative capacity of a lady administrator. “She is the only man in the Department”. Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi was told the “only man” in her cabinet because of her excellent work as a Prime Minister.
This prejudice suggests that men are viewed as capable where as women are by and large are viewed incapable. Prejudice which literally means pre-judgement, is the root cause of discrimination of any type. It is forming usually a negative attitude or false belief about some person or group in advance.
It is simply a judgement made in advance. Prejudice can be both positive and negative though it is mostly used to denote a negative attitude.
When judgement about women is made in advance without actually observing them, examining their personality and working style, it is called prejudice towards women. This type of negative attitude leads to discrimination.
In case of gender discrimination, discrimination is used to denote negative feelings. When a person or a group is classified, characterized or defined in advance through a group label or social norm it leads to discrimination.
“Mama says not to play with girls because they are very unintelligent and quarrelsome”. A child of 4 years was once heard saying to his classmate. “Women are very jealous and ineffective, they are lazy and back bite, they are unfit for jobs in administration, police and air-force”.
These are very strong prejudices running from generation to generation in our society which explain the cause of discrimination. These prejudices are transmitted through socio-cultural norms and traditions and are accepted by the child without any question.
When the child grows up and becomes an adult member of the society these prejudices against women are so strongly embedded in his personality that they become strong convictions and fixed notions. Once formed, it is quite difficult though not impossible to change or reduce a prejudice.
The sex role decided by the society and culture through traditions add amply to the gender prejudice. When a child finds that his mother and elder sisters are doing the jobs at home and his father and brother doing some other jobs, he accepts this without any hesitation. The girls also feel that they are fit for such jobs. This is how discrimination starts.
Actually in prejudice the experience gained from family and social lives is over simplified and hence lead to pre-judgement. You are travelling in a train and a woman misbehaved with you. You at once generalize this experience and say “all women are very quarrelsome”.
Thus you develop a hostile and discriminative attitude to all women in general. Prejudices indicate unfounded and unscientific judgement. It is wrong to discriminate all women on the behaviour of one woman.
Most of the discrimination arises out of prejudice due to social learning limitations and generalization of one’s experience in a single or couple of situations.
2. Biological Causes:
Men and women differ biologically and physically. But psychologists are of opinion that this biological difference plays a minimum part in behavioural difference of men and women and social learning plays a major hole.
Hence biological differences between man and woman play a minor role in creating gender discrimination. Of course women are to some extent handicapped as they bear and give birth to children and they have to breast feed the child and take care of him.
They have to take maternity leave for 3 to six months if they are working outside. But logically this has nothing to do with gender discrimination though people because of this, think that the woman’s role is to conceive, give birth to children, take care of them and his father and to be a full time house wife.
This is again wrong. A woman is provided with maternity leave before or after the child birth and she can have a baby seater at home to take care of the baby when she goes for work like the western and developed countries. So this is not a genuine reason to debar a woman to join some job up to her choice and strengthen her family’s financial condition. The biological causes of discrimination can thus be solved.
Today women are taking part in athletics and sports like cricket, hockey, football, volley-ball which were once considered the monopoly of males. But the percentage of women taking part in such games is quite small. It is hoped that if women are encouraged by family, society and government they can prove that they are also physically stronger like men.
Women should be given training on physical fitness, they should be allowed to deal with tough jobs and they should also learn “karate” to make them strong physically and protect themselves from physical violence.
3. Socioculture Causes:
Once when I was discussing with a friend about gender discrimination and wondering why people are no more interested in a girl child and are engaged in the abortion of the unborn female fetus, why parents and in laws feel sorry when a girl is born, my friend had an instant answer.
She said, Don’t you know? A female child in our society is not wanted because she is considered by her parents as flower of someone else’s garden.
The parents take care of the plant, grow it, but when the flower blooms it is plucked by someone else. Usually the girl child in our society is said “PARAYA DHAN” which means an outsiders property. According to our social system after marriage a girl leaves her home for ever and enters a new home, the home of her husband for the rest of her life.
Traditionally it is said that a married woman leaves her husband’s house only when she is dead. Secondly, because a girl is someone else property, parents usually don’t want to spend on her.
A girl has no opportunity to take care of her parents during old age, while a son is expected to take care of his parents, bear their responsibility financially and socially, and finally after death he gives MUKHAGNI to the parents, makes Kriyas for 11 days and gives Sradha to them once in a year, while the girl child is not entitled by religion to do all these. So apparently parents are more attached to the boy than to the girl.
‘Girls are a burden’, I have heard many parents saying, “Because in the present society it is difficult to get a good bride groom without enough dowry”. These are true facts prevalent in our society even to-day and unless these customs are changed and girls are given equal opportunity to serve their parents before and after death discrimination on this ground will not end. We blame the parents for gender discrimination.
But has anyone ever thought about this most fundamental cause of gender discrimination? If people start allowing both sons and daughters to perform MUKHAGNI and 11 days Kriya and Sradha after their parents death this social rule will automatically change. It needs a radical change in the existing religious rules.
I know one or two cases where the father/parents did write in their WILL that their daughter will perform all rites and not their eldest son. But such cases are very rare. The most important cause of more support to boys and sons is that they help in increasing and protecting the generation.
If women can earn and become economically independent, they can also financially support the parents when they need her and the gender discrimination can be prevented. Role of social learning is also extremely important in causing gender discrimination. Sociologists and anthropologists have emphasized the tremendous impact of socio-cultural factors in the growth of gender discrimination.
Reservation in jobs for women to-day causes heart burning in many males and this also leads to hostility and gender discrimination. Through the operation of the principles of similarity and proximity, certain sociological cues develop which serve as environmental support for the development of gender prejudice through beliefs and attitudes.
When a daughter is married off, the parents are depressed due to separation of the daughter. The feeling that the girl has left them forever gives lifelong pain. That is why many parents have told me that they don’t want a girl child. While a daughter leaves the parents after marriage a son brings home a bride along with dowry.
The daughter in law takes care of the in laws in their old age. These are the thinking’s of many parents and would be parents which cannot be neglected saying “Nonsense”. They are realities in our families and societies.
Unless women are economically independent and our social system changes giving women equal right in all religious and social rites the gender discrimination cannot be merely reduced by law. The sex roles i.e., different roles for males and females fixed by the society should also change. There should be no discrimination in this regard on the basis of sex. Right to work should be equal for both the sexes.
Many parents even to-day consider a girl child to be a burden and liability due to the existing social conditions and atrocities, violence against women. Parents are worried when their grown up daughters, even minor daughters go out, parents worry when they leave their daughters alone at home and go out, parents worry when they do not get suitable bridegroom for their daughters.
Parents even worry about their daughters after marriage in view of the rising dowry torture, dowry death and assault on young wives and innocent daughter in laws. While a son brings fortune to the family a daughter brings misfortune. This is at least the common notion and that is why parents are so keen to determine the sex of the unborn child and abort it if it is a girl.
The existing society has been such that no girl or woman dares to go out in the evening. Even in broad day light rapes, murders and eve teasing’s are rampant. Women no more feel secured in the present day society. In Delhi itself rape and murder of women are maximum as data show.
Under these social circumstances, a son is considered a necessity while a daughter is considered a liability or burden. A man is compared with a BRASS VESSEL while a woman is considered as an “EARTHEN VESSEL” in our existing society. I have heard many rural women saying this while comparing boys and girls.
When I was working as Head of the Department in various offices, and returned late from office or proceeding on tour for 10—15 days a month inside and outside the state my friends and relatives used to tell me, “Hey, you are lucky, you don’t have a daughter.
With a daughter, you could not have gone on frequent tours. With the joint family system disintegrating day by day leaving the daughter alone at home has become risky to-day. These are the practical difficulties for which parents and men particularly do not want girls.
In western countries the perception of the society is more or less equal for boys and girls. In their society dowry system does not prevail. For marriage of the daughter they need not have to worry as girls and boys have the independence to select their partner. Girls are equally courageous and secured there and they know how to protect themselves. Women are fully empowered in the advanced and developed countries.
They are in no way considered inferior to men. 95 percent of the women work and earn. Women can now join any kind of job. Society there does not fix jobs for men and women. Women smoke and drink like men, there is no restriction for them in this regard while in India the society does not allow women to smoke and drink.
These are considered taboos for them. Thus unless the perception about women changes, gender discrimination will persist. Our culture and tradition has to change its values with the changing circumstances of the world. In the name of cultural values we should not encourage injustice and violation of human rights.
Because women are submissive and do not revolt it does not mean that society would torture them. Instead of idealizing the evils of our culture we should idealize equality for both men and women in our culture and give up double standard.
In “Satidaha” system which has mostly died down women were forced to die with their dead husbands. Similarly widow re-marriage was banned in the society. Only recently, the attitude has changed and widows are allowed to remarry though the social stigma is still there.
Our social system needs a thorough change so far as women are concerned. If men are allowed to remarry why not women? In-spite of the equal rights awarded to both the sexes why should there be discrimination? Is this not selfishness? Many women groups ask this question to which the society big wigs have probably no answer.
Society teaches the girls from the very beginning to speak slowly, do not laugh loudly, tolerate the torture of others, accept injustice, obey, sacrifice and cooperate, don’t assert, don’t argue and don’t violet man’s orders. These are the characteristics of a good woman as per the social norms.
The society ruled by the male members propagates these discriminations for their own benefit, for their own comfort, for their own pleasure and finally to fulfill their own selfish interest. Social learning theory of Bandura suggests that whatever the seniors speak and do about women it is learnt and accepted by the juniors in the family. Imitation of the model is one of the major social cause of gender discrimination.
Currently the question of female cruelty on males has been raised by some male organisations and on that basis some males have claimed divorce. In a male dominated society where the woman is weak and in-secured, the question of women torturing men is not believable.
But if it is true it is exceptional. But gradually it may increase and one day the table may be turned. Given equal opportunity women in many cases out do men.
Therefore Baren and Byrne (1988) hold that as women enter new fields and take new roles traditional stereotypes about them may fade subsequently. They may be evaluated in terms of the roles they fill rather than on the basis of their sex.
Then only substantial changes in the prevailing gender discrimination may be possible. By providing women social prestige gender discrimination can be reduced. Sri Biju Patnaik late Chief Minister of Orissa for the first time instructed all schools to enter the name of the mother in the admission register when a child first enters the primary school.
The entry of the father’s name became optional with this order. This gave tremendous social prestige to women.
4. Economic Causes:
Around the globe in almost all societies women were/are economically dependent on men. Since they had no education and expertise to do jobs outside and since men did not allow those who were suitable for jobs, women were financially weak. They were only engaged in domestic work for which they were never paid. One psychologist called women “unpaid maid servants”.
Women had to depend upon males for economic needs. So they could not protest the discrimination and atrocities against them. They thought men did them great favour by giving financial help. Particularly in patriach families women had no say in financial matters.
Their economic dependence on males made them silent and obliged to men. Only yesterday I read news. In Iraq one man was heavily beating his wife seven days a week. When it become in tolerable she took the shelter of court of law.
There are the woman pleaded before the judge that her husband may be ordered to beat her once in a week instead of the full week. Probably the wife of this man thought that it is the birth right of a husband to beat his wife since he is maintaining her and spending on her. If all women show this attitude probably it will take another 150 years to change the world in favour of women.
Economically weak persons become weak socially and psychologically and they become slaves in the hands of men. Empowerment of women through education, work, jobs, shelter, social and psychological training is essential for providing them economic independence.
Late Chief Minister of Orissa, Sri Biju Patnaik took two major decisions during his Chief Minister-ship to boost the image of women in Orissa and provide them financial support.
He made 33 percent reservation for women in Panchayat elections and in various state cadre jobs. These were two major decisions to improve the socio-economic conditions of the women of the state. Probably Orissa was the first state to take these decisions for the empowerment of women which also helped reduction of gender discrimination.
5. Educational Causes:
Knowledge is power. Education and not mere literacy provides knowledge. Uneducated, illiterate women lack knowledge, hence lack power. To face the challenges of life, and to overcome the disadvantages, disabilities and handicaps of life, to be free of discrimination women should be educated at the first place.
Empowerment of women is possible through education in the first place. In order to make women self-sufficient and reduce gender discrimination women should be educated. Empowerment of women means improvement in their political status, financial position, occupational status and legal awareness etc., which can be achieved through education.
Experience and observation shows that in general the status of women to-day is very low, they are discriminated because of want of education. Education is considered to be the most significant agent of basic change in the status of women including economic and occupational status.
Mahatma Gandhi told that if a man is educated, we educate a single person, if a woman is educated the whole family is educated. Education not only provides knowledge and confidence, it also fosters the development of new values.
Because our girl children are uneducated and remain illiterate due to the social restrictions and socio-economic conditions, they are unable to grow their personality in the right direction and hence are discriminated.
The National policy of education 1986 was framed with the aim of ensuring woman’s equality through wide spread education to girl children and women of the country. Subsequently various steps have been taken to improve the literacy percentage of women.
Since education provides power to the women to fight discrimination, lack of education is a fundamental cause of gender discrimination. In the past girls were not allowed to read and write and go to school because the male dominated selfish society wanted to keep women inside the four walls of their house.
They probably thought if women are educated they would not obey them. Secondly, they did not want to spend money on “PARAYA DHAN”. In some societies till to-day giving education to women is considered as a sin. This is pure superstition and selfishness.
To sensitize women and girl children they should get proper education like the males. In a recent survey in Orissa it has been found that the literacy rate of girls is much lower than the boys particularly in some backward and tribal districts in-spite of the efforts made by the State Government through the help of World Bank and Central Government.
This is probably due to lack of social awareness and sensitization of illiterate parents who want immediate satisfaction of their needs by utilizing girl children as menial labours, maid servants or for taking care of the siblings when mother goes to work in the field or the forest.
They have to be explained how education of the mother improves the condition of the family, children and how it helps in building a positive self image and self confidence in their children.
Education may not be able to fulfill the immediate need, but if ultimately brings outstanding changes in the personality of the girl child. Social change can be possible in the right earnest if women are empowered with education and hence knowledge.
Education of women can bring positive attitudinal change in the society. Women can rebuild their personality. Once literate, they can be motivated to take self employment to improve their financial standard and empower them.
6. Low Level of Aspiration:
A study by Mohanty (1973) shows that women show low level of aspiration than males for which they are not able to utilize their inner potentialities and hence considered inferior to men.
The cause of low level of aspiration of women may be assigned to the socio-cultural attitude towards women. For the very beginning they are told every day, every moment that they are born inferior to men, that their only job is a caretaker of the house.
Their only job is to cook, and feed the family, give birth to children and take care of them. The girls are rarely allowed to expose their inner potentialities, to reinforce their rare talents and support their full-fledged personality development.
Even if a girl studies very well in rural homes, she is not allowed to get higher education. Under these prevailing cultural conditions in India, it is natural that women and girls have low self esteem and hence low level of aspiration. They have very little aspiration in life, so they are considered inferior to men.
Reduction of Gender Discrimination:
1. Through Reduction of Prejudice:
Fieldman has suggested three major techniques to reduce prejudice and discrimination.
Contact:
The use of contact between the prejudiced people and the targets of discrimination is very important in reducing discrimination. When groups spend time together differences disappear Allport first suggested that intergroup contact can reduce discrimination and prejudice.
The question here arises even if men and women have together in the society as husband and wife, brother and sister, mother and son, or as coworkers in office and business, why discrimination does not decrease. Keeping other factors constant, contact helps in decreasing discrimination.
But identification of appropriate contact is essential to reduce discrimination. Contact is effective to a maximum degree when the status is equal between the in group and out group.
Further the contact must be close physically and mentally, Intimate contact helps to individualize the disliked group members which indicates that a person will be perceived less in terms of a stereotyped one and more in terms of an individual.
2. Cognitive Approach:
Changes in the beliefs and attitudes about the disadvantaged and the out groups can bring a corresponding change in the discrimination and behaviour of the victimizer. Through persuasion, propaganda, and demonstration this can be achieved.
In propaganda, the controversial elements seen in the out group may be disguised, eliminated or hidden. In case of gender discrimination where historical and traditional forces are operating, understanding of interpersonal relationship and group need is of tremendous importance.
3. Educational Approaches:
By teaching people to understand others and like them through direct educational techniques discrimination can be reduced. Earlier the empowerment of women through education was discussed. Here education of the victimizer is discussed.
Through coeducation a lot of discrimination can be reduced. I remember once a social reformer said that all girls schools and women’s colleges should be closed to change the negative attitude between men and women through close contact.
Baron and Byrne (1988) have suggested four techniques to combat prejudice and discrimination.
1. Learning Not to Hate:
Earlier discussion indicates how social learning and imitation of parental model help in the development of discriminatory attitude. This grows slowly and gradually through the socialization process and social learning like modeling and operant conditioning.
So parents should be given training to teach their children not to hate on the basis of gender not to hate on the basis of gender not to develop a feeling of discrimination or hatred against anybody, particularly males or females. Campaigns should be planned to increase awareness of parents to be an ideal model for the child. So parents should not show prejudice and discriminative attitude before their children.
2. Direct Inter Contact:
This has been earlier discussed.
Learning to Make Distinctions:
When someone is biased against some body and meets her for the first time he fails to notice the favorable qualities of that woman. Such biased and stereotyped thinking are the cause of various discriminations which are due to “mindlessness”. Such tendencies can be eliminated by inducting people to behave more carefully and more mindfully.
Langer, Bashner and Charowitz’s Study (1985) indicate that as per the direction of the U.S. Supreme Court all the schools of U.S.A. which were earlier strictly divided under racial basis were desegregated and combined. But the results were not very encouraging since the minority children came from disadvantaged status.
Measures to Reduce Gender Discrimination:
Besides the above some other measures to reduce discrimination against women are discussed below:
i. Change in Attitude:
Change in attitude of males and females towards each other, particularly of the males should be made through education, training and socio-cultural changes. Through various attitude change techniques like identification, education, internalization, prestige suggestion, frame of reference, role playing techniques attitude of males against females can be changed from anti to pro.
ii. Change of Perception:
Change of Perception and control of motivational and emotional factors discrimination can be minimized.
iii. Propaganda through Electronic Media:
Propaganda through electronic media like television, and radio, news papers, journals and magazines, books and other reading materials the low image of women can be changed and people in the society can be made aware of the true characteristics of women. Now a days we find many T.V. channels are showing serials and films on violence and crime against women.
This should be followed by other Television channels. More and more movies and serials should be produced based on problems of women and the treatment meted to them by the society,
iv. Education:
Education is a source of power. Girl children should be given free education at all levels including technical and vocational education and 50 percent of seats in professional education should be reserved for them to make them self sufficient which ultimately increases their self confidence and decrease gender discrimination.
Socially and psychologically education develops and strengthens courage and awareness of the external world. The availability of better and equal opportunity to women in the sphere of education may change their existing social roles to better ones. The positive self concept thus developed helps them to tackle various problems like gender bias, and violence with courage and determination.
v. Empowerment of Women:
Empowerment means to make one powerful or equip one with power so that the powerful cannot torture the powerless. The low status of women in the present society can be elevated by education, training and workshops, so that women can improve their personality traits as well as contribute significantly to the society.
The traditional disability of women and their inefficiency can be reduced through empowerment. Earlier a woman’s status was decided on the amount of dowry she brought from her parents. More daughters implied bigger liability on the parents. When women become educated and earn, this liability can be reduced.
In the past dowry was probably given at the time of marriage because women were not qualified to maintain themselves and they had to depend on their husbands. Qualified and working women having equal status with men can have a better image. Empowerment can be promoted through literacy and education.
Therefore various government and non government organisations have started launching massive programmes on the empowerment of women through education, training, awareness and counselling to women. Empowerment further refers to redistribution of work-roles, reorienting values to the changing world and attitudes and also evolving new kinds of adjustments, understanding and trust.
It is a new ideology for carrying democratic values in to the family and society. Moreover, through empowerment basic changes in the system of marriage, family relationship including husband and wife, in gender discrimination take place.
An empowered woman should be mentally prepared to face separation, divorce, legal litigations when she is discriminated, tortured, harassed, oppressed and physically assaulted. She has to resist male dominance in a male chauhanistic society. Interference in matters of family planning, taking up a job, greater freedom in domestic, political and social activities should also be faced with courage and determination.
vi. Counselling and Training:
Counselling centres should be opened in all schools to guide the girls for right vocational choice. Women who are the victims of gender discrimination and gender bias should also get counselling and psychological training to assert their right.
Assertive training given by clinical psychologists helps a lot to the victims of gender discrimination. Males should also get counselling and various psychological therapies to make themselves free from gender bias.
v. Course Content:
The courses of studies at all levels of education should include materials for gender socialization.
When government and non government organisations understood the importance of education for reducing gender discrimination they came forward launching massive programmes of educational expansion by opening schools and colleges exclusively for women because many conservative parents did not want their daughters to join co-educational institutions.
Women also began taking active part in social and political activities. With these along with various other steps taken by government and nongovernment organisations like overall acceptance of democracy modernization and the duty of welfare state, there has been a significant change in the role and status of women.
However the majority of the women still suffer from the atrocities of men which needs to be curbed by empowering women in a greater degree. We have seen that through proper parental training and empowerment many women have excelled men.
Mrs. Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, Sarojini Naidu, Margaret Thecher, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Sirimavo Bandara Naike, Chandri Ka Kumara Tungo, Klialida Zia, Benazir Bhooto, Sekh Hasina, Meghabati Sukarna all have excelled in the area of politics and leadership perhaps because these great women come from famous political families and got the opportunity to express their inner potentialities.
Similarly Florence Nightengle, Mother Teresa is famous in the area of social work and working for the poor, oppressed and down trodden. Madame Curie, space scientist Kalpana Chawla and many more have become memorable names throughout the world. In the war for the independence of India along with Kasturaba Gandhi many dedicated women had their contributions.
Inspite of the above contributions of women to society who act as models for other women, the percentage of such women is very less and we have to confess that unfortunately even to-day women lag far behind men. So a lot is to be done to prevent prejudice against men in the social and psychological plane.
Homey is one of the females in psycho-analytic treatment who disagreed with Freud strongly over his view that differences between men and women largely stemmed from innate factors, such as anatomical differences resulting from ‘Penis Envy’ among females.
She further argued if women were raised in a different type of environment, they would see themselves more favorably. I fully support this view of Horney. Women can change their image through stimulating environment provided with all opportunities.
Gender discrimination can be uprooted through empowerment of women and social awareness. By providing women the opportunity to take active part in socio, economic political and familial decisions this discrimination can be reduced.
Late Sri Biju Patnaik ex Chief Minister of Orissa will be remembered by the women of Orissa, and the country in general for his progressive steps to empower women by 33 percent reservation in jobs and Panchayat and Municipality Election.
Even he took the decision that in each Panchayat, a woman member will either hold the post of a chairman or a vice chairman. Margaret Thacher the ex Prime Minister of Britain, the iron lady and most famous English Woman Since Queen Elizabeth and the first woman to head a government in Britain for quite a long years once remarked. If you want something ask a MAN, if you want something done ask a WOMAN.
Assertiveness in women should be encouraged since assertiveness is not aggressiveness which many male wrongly think. Withdrawal behaviour in women should not be encouraged. Men now should learn to tolerate women not only for justice, but because women have tolerated them since long time back. It is now the turn of women to get justice and equality in the society.
Men and women should act in a cooperative way without any gender bias, they should forget the age old man made conflicts between them and work sincerely, and patiently for building a better India making it a developed from a developing country, forgetting the bitter past. Let the charity begin from HOME.
Group therapy for men, to reduce gender bias should be provided by government, non-government and social organisation.