Courses For Gender Studies In India

Are you someone who is concerned as well as passionate about gender-specific issues in the society? Are you keen or willing to explore the various facets of gender or discrimination on the basis of gender? Most importantly, are you planning to pursue a course/career in gender studies in India?

If yes, are you trying to figure out ways to build a career by pursuing gender studies? Are you seeking any information that may be relevant to you? In case your response is Yes! to each of these questions, then this article could help you with many aspects related to gender studies within India.

What Is Gender Studies?

First and foremost, let us understand what gender studies is all about. Well, to start with, gender studies is an academic discipline exclusively devoted to the identity and representation specific to the gender of a person. It may be majorly classified into three categories, namely studies related to women, men and LGBTs (queer or sexual diversity or lesbian gay bisexual transgender).

Furthermore, gender studies helps evaluate the gender or sexuality in various fields such as political science, languages, history, geography, media, sociology, medicine, law, etc. It also studies how the gender and sexuality may be influenced or divided as per other factors such as race, nationality, location, ethnicity, disability or class.

History Of Gender Studies

The movement of Women's Liberation in the 60s to 70s era, promoted the equality in the contributions of both women and men which also measured and recognised their attributes. This led to a major surge in women-oriented studies or programs. Soon after this, a need for introducing and promoting men's studies was realised. After a decade or so in the 80s and 90s era, a study in the field of sexuality was propagated by various scholars. This was mainly due to the gradual but steady growth of interest in lesbian and gay rights.

Various universities in India who provide courses for gender studies:

MA In Women's Studies

Alagappa University, Bangalore

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

Ambition Point Academy, Kolkata

Andhra University, Visakhapatnam

Bangalore University, Bangalore

Bharathiar University, Coimbatore

Delhi Degree College, New Delhi

Gauhati University, Guwahati

Goa University, Taleigão

Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

Jain University, Bangalore (they provide gender studies too)

Karnataka State Women's University, Vijayapura

Mysore University, Mysore

Patna University, Patna

Panjab University, Chandigarh

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

University of Calicut, Malappuram

University of Lucknow, Lucknow

Utkal University, Bhubaneswar

MA In Gender Studies

Madras University, Chennai

Mumbai University, Mumbai

Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod

Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Allahabad

Postgraduate Diploma In Women's Studies

Andhra University, Visakhapatnam

Delhi Degree College, New Delhi

Dibrugarh University, Assam

Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University, Andhra Pradesh

Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

Kannada University, Hampi

Karnataka State Women's University, Vijayapura

Rajarajan Academy, Chennai

Patna University, Patna

Sophia College for Women, Mumbai

Tezpur University, Assam

MPhil In Women's Studies

Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad

Gulbarga University, Gulbarga

Pondicherry University, Puducherry

Mother Teresa Women's University, Kodaikanal

PhD In Women's Studies

Dibrugarh University, Assam

Gauhati University, Guwahati

Goa University, Taleigão

Gulbarga University, Gulbarga

Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

Karnataka State Women's University, Vijayapura

Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad

Mother Teresa Women's University, Kodaikanal

Panjab University, Punjab

Pondicherry University, Puducherry

Punjabi University, Punjab

Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune

Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam - Women's University, Tirupati

BA In Women's Studies

Field Marshal KM Cariappa College- FMKMCC, Karnataka

IIS University, Rajasthan

Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Chandigarh

Diploma In Women's Empowerment And Development

Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

School of Social Work Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore

Sri Durga Malleswara Siddhartha Mahila Kalasala, Vijayawada

Certificate Course In Women's Studies

Panjab University, Chandigarh

Tamilnadu Theological Seminary - TTS, Madurai

University of Madras, Chennai

Benefits Of Taking Up Gender Studies

The very foundation of gender studies is the vast study of topics related to gender, sexuality, community, race, societal challenges, discrimination, challenges, history, etc. It could further provide you a wonderful platform for extended studies in the field of education, law, counselling, teaching, banking, business, medicine, nursing, etc. It may also be most helpful in learning and implementing new strategies in the further course of study that you may plan to go for.

Most Popular Books On Gender Studies

Apart from taking up a formal education in general studies, another way to gain knowledge about the subject is by means of reading books on it. Some of the most famous books on gender studies are mentioned below. These books could help comprehend the gender-specific (mostly women-oriented) issues in India on a deeper level, by taking you through the multiple realities that offer a clear picture of the complexities involved:

Seeing Like a Feminist - By Nivedita Menon

My Friend, My Enemy - By Ismat Chughtai

Why Loiter? - By Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan, and Shilpa Ranade

My Story - By Kamala Das

A Life Less Ordinary - By Baby Halder

Writing Caste/Writing Gender - By Shantabai Dani, Mukta Sarvagod, Shantabai Kamble, Baby Kamble, Kumud Pawade, Urmila Pawar, Janabai Girhe, Vimal More

Fragrance of Peace - By Irom Sharmila

Dangerous Sex, Invisible Labour - By Prabha Kotiswaran

Me Hijra, Me Laxmi - By Laxmi Narayan Tripathi

In a nutshell, you could opt for certificate and diploma courses or bachelor's and master's degrees as offered by universities in India in the field of gender studies. In current times, most companies realise and acknowledge the relevance of women and gender-specific issues.

A formal education in this field could be a boon on your resume, since you could stand out as an individual with better understanding of gender-oriented challenges and the various ways to tackle them. Additionally, you could opt for government jobs or the civil services.