Mumbai | Skirt, pants or ‘skorts’: Students of this school can choose their uniform, gender no bar

A male-at-birth child may choose to wear a skirt as his uniform if he so desires, says the Aditya Birla World Academy

Among my fondest memories of school is having the hem of my PE skirt ripped with a blade by the head girl.

I grew up in cosmopolitan Mumbai of the 90s and went to a popular convent that took pride in educating girls from all social, religious and economic backgrounds. Our nuns weren’t so strict about homework, but we were certainly interrogated if spotted talking to a boy. We shared a sports ground with two other schools, one of them an all-boys academy. And the mini PE uniform was our attempt at snagging a boyfriend at 15.

In the coming academic year, a leading Mumbai school, the Aditya Birla World Academy, is introducing gender-neutral uniforms. Children of any birth gender will be able to choose from trousers, skirts or ‘skorts’ (a bad marriage between skirts and shorts) as their uniform. For example, a male-at-birth child may choose to wear a skirt as his uniform if he so desires.

In an email to parents, principal Radhika Sinha says the school aims to prioritise comfort and freedom of expression. This step is toward breaking stereotypes about gendered clothing, and ensuring an environment of inclusivity. The email says the school hopes to “reduce the gender differentiation in uniforms so that students of various genders, gender non-conforming, or questioning gender can feel safe discovering and expressing themselves at school”.

Gender-neutral uniforms have existed in schools aiming to be seen as liberal for a few years now. The skirt is entirely done away with here, and the girls wear trousers like the boys. This move has been welcomed by many who see it as an effort to remove gender stereotypes. It is also meant to encourage more girls to take up sports. Ironically, some parents were buoyed by this so their girls didn’t have to expose their legs. Uniforms were meant to take away social barriers, so why should they allow for gender barriers? But the trousers-for-all is problematic, as it considers the male dress code as the default.

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