Discernment

The discernment processes subject each pole of each hierarchical polarity, and the values, practices and institutions constructed around that those polarities, to serious critical evaluation (Matthaei, Brandt 10).

Many people feel that the violence against women and inequality between genders is the result of misconstrued gender identities. Groups such as Action India are offering classes to boys and girls alike that educate youth on issues such as: Health and reproductive rights, education and equal opportunities, law and discriminatory practices within the family, the growing violence against women, and vocational and livelihood skills. The hope is that if these young people start learning and thinking about these issues in a progressive nurturing environment they will be able to think about and evaluate what it means to them to be a man or women in society and then become the kind of man or women that they wish to be.

In an attempt to even out the inequalities of the caste system in India reservation laws were put into place. Reservation provides a quota system in order to insure a certain number of people from the lower classes are hired in to a variety of jobs. These measures have been met with wide spread protest and complaints. However, the process of enacting and complaining about these measures forces people to think about the class that they were born into, the opportunities they have, and the fairness of both. In the end, it matters less whether someone supports or does not support the reservation laws, the process of forming an opinion leads a person to think about his or her place and the place of others in the structure of society.

SOURCES:

de Zwart, The Logic of Affirmative Action: Caste, Class and Quotas in India, Acta Sociologica 2000; 43; 235

Matthaei, Julie and Barbara Brandt. "The Transformative Moment: Part II." From Richard Westra, ed. The Political Economy of the Present and Possible Global Future(s). (New York: Anthem Press, 2009), 10.

"Youth Programs." Action India. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr 2010. <http://actionindiaworld.org/pages/programs-campaigns/youth-pr