Preschool teachers in Victoria are being encouraged to break down gender stereotypes in the classroom with fewer stories about princes and princesses.Speaking with Anita Barar, Muktesh Chhibbar says that there is a need to change gender stereotypes.
The Andrews Government denies it wants to ban fairy tales but says it does want to improve male attitudes towards women from an early age and reduce domestic violence later in life.
he says he does believe entrenched views of gender roles and capabilities need to be changed.
The views are echoed by Muktesh too who says that not only fairytales should be discouraged, gender-specific toys and gender-based role play should also be avoided.
And she says such attitudes in children's literature can have more sinister consequences down the track. She adds, For sure, these things add up to the mind set and become one of the reason for domestic violence.in future
She added that we are trying to reach out to school kids - like we are visiting school to teach them about respectful relationship.
They need to understand that each and every individual is different but skilled at different level or different gender.
There is no question of being superior to other on gender base.
Muketesh says that she believes everyone should be promoting a message of gender equality to children. She adds that Parents, schools everyone has a major role to play
