On Sunday, November 13, Kerala State General Education Minister, V Sivankutty, said that the Kerala government will create awareness among school students against body shaming and will consider making it part of the education curriculum. Body shaming was a heinous act and there are many who have lost their sanity, being victims of it, he added, as stated in a report by PTI.
It all started when the minister came across a post on Facebook where someone commented on a boy's Facebook photo asking him to reduce his tummy. Getting back to that person, the minister said, “I had replied saying that body shaming is a heinous act. No matter what the explanation is, body shaming phrases are the worst. It is said as though in a loving manner. This happens in our society on many levels. There are many among us who have lost our sanity, being victims of body shaming."
Talking about body shaming, the minister shared one of his experiences. He shared that one of his friend’s brothers, a school student, had to face discrimination due to his colour. The boy later complained to the teachers, after which, the other students turned against him. The minister said that the boy had to change schools and suffered a lot of trauma.
Stressing the need to stop body shaming, the minister said, “I repeat, we should end body shaming. Let’s be modern people." Further, he highlighted the need to include body shaming in the education curriculum. “Let’s discuss how such awareness can be made a part of the education curriculum. Simultaneously, let’s discuss how to deal with such situations during teachers’ training programmes,” the minister said.
To help the boy, the minister, in his Facebook post, said that he will talk to the boy who faced discrimination and will ask his family to give him confidence. He underlined that "it’s not one’s colour or wealth that matters but ideals like the goodness of heart.”
