LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Language and Gender -
Linguistic Analysis of Intermediate English Textbooks in Pakistan

Malik Naseer Hussain, M.Phil., Ph.D. Scholar
Ayaz Afsar, Ph.D.

Abstract

This study aims at analyzing the four English language textbooks of intermediate classes in Pakistan. The textbooks are the approved course of Intermediate classes by Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Islamabad [FBISE], Pakistan and all the educational boards of the Punjab, Pakistan. The starting point of the study is that gender equality and gender equity are among the major concerns of the world today. This concern about gender equality has also been reiterated in the Pakistan Education Sectors Reforms 2001-2005, and National Plan of Action concerning Education for All [EFA] 2001-2015. But the current practices in education sector in Pakistan do not speak for it.

The study has been conducted by employing feminist perspective on the textbooks. The analysis uses the qualitative approach of Kabira & Masinjila (1997) framework of gender analysis. This model looks at the textbooks by raising a series of questions that expose the gender responsiveness of a text. This paper uses only one aspect named "language use" of the model to analyse the gender related language of the textbooks.

The results of the study show that in most of the textbook items language regarding gender issues is stereotypical and does not represent the present world realities. The study concludes that female gender has been demeaned and marginalized through the negative stereotyping of the language whereas male gender has been uplifted in the textbooks. Thus, the textbooks offer only the realities of the past which cannot be acceptable to females in the present world. Moreover, such type of biased use of language may impart negative impact on the minds of the students who study these textbooks on daily basis. Therefore, the study recommends that textbooks should be reviewed, and instead of gender biased and gender blind use of language in the textbooks, gendered balanced and gender aware language should be used in the English language textbooks.

Introduction

Gender equality and gender equity are among the major concerns of the world today. This can be seen on the UN agenda in different fields of life. Goal-5 of the international declaration of World Education Forum, Dakar Framework for Action 2000, is a pledge to achieve gender equality in education by 2015 (UNESCO, 2002). Pakistan also signed to follow the recommendations of Dakar Framework for Action 2000.

This concern about gender equality has also been reiterated in the Pakistan Education Sectors Reforms 2001-2005 (Govt. of Pakistan, 2002) and National Plan of Action concerning Education for All [EFA] 2001-2015(Govt. of Pakistan, 2003). But the current practices in education sector in Pakistan do not speak for it.

In Pakistan, the issue of gender representation in textbooks has not been given much attention in the past. Yet, a few studies conducted in Pakistan in this area have found disparities between the portrayal of male and female in the curriculum (Jafri, 1994; Mirza, 2006; Mirza & Rana'a, 1999; Zeenatunnisa, 1989).

On the whole, the research on language and gender is scanty in Pakistan, and hence the present situation demands for further research in this area. In other parts of the world, through the linguistic analyses of textbooks, researchers have found gender bias at different levels. At the word level, particular adjectives like beautiful, pretty and tall are often associated with women while words like poor, rich, strong, and young for men (Carroll & Kowitz, 1994; Glass, 1995). Lesikin (2001) states that at the sentence level, males are mostly placed in the position of communicative prominence and in the participants' roles males are often presented to have greater social prominence and power. Poulou (1997) reveals that at the dialogue level, females produce fewer utterances and words.

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