Hyderabad: “In 2026, are we still reducing daughters to cooking while sons plan their future?” asked an Intermediate second-year student from Hyderabad in a letter to chief minister A Revanth Reddy, expressing disappointment over ‘gender stereotypes’ in exam question papers.In her letter to the CM, Mahima Keerthana Sirangi, an MPC student at Govt Junior College in Kachiguda, raised objection to a question in the English language paper in the recently held Intermediate Public Examination (IPE). She pointed out that it carried a dialogue-writing section with two options: one depicting a conversation between a mother and daughter about learning cooking, and another between a father and son discussing the boy’s future plans.Terming the question as reinforcement of outdated gender roles, Mahima highlighted her personal experience noting she grew up seeing both her parents cook. This shaped her belief that cooking is a basic life skill for everyone, irrespective of gender. She added that while she enjoys cooking, her own achievements extend far beyond it. A state champion in the Under-19 rifle shooting competition (2023), she is also a national-level shooter and has secured admission to NALSAR, a premier law university.Stressing the role of education in shaping societal values, she said such questions risk embedding stereotypes in young minds. “We speak of empowerment but ignore content that validates gender bias,” she wrote, urging authorities to revise textbooks and examination patterns.
