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 THE 3Ls OF
EMPOWERMENT
-Christine Lagarde
Previous Year
Questions.
 March 2020
(8 Marks)
Question:29
Marks: 8
Christine Lagarde says, “It’stime to create a world where all woman can
meet their potential without impediment or prejudice and the world will
reap the benefits.” Preoare an essay on the topic ‘Woman empowerment
and Development are intertwined.”
(Hints: represent half the world’s population- percapita income affected-
sensitive to needs- peace loving- good at decision making- consensus
building)
 March 2019
(8 Marks)
Question:20
Marks: 8
Given below is a poster displayed at the Assembly Hall in connection
with the International Women’s Day celebrations conducted by the
Souhrida Club of your school. As the convenor of the programme, you
are asked to give a detailed talk on EMPOWERING
WOMEN_CHALLENGES AHEAD’. Prepare the likely speech taking
hints from the poster.
 SAY 2018
(8 Marks)
Question:14
Marks: 6
Draft a speech to be delivered in the school assembly on the topic
‘Educated women lead the nation to progress and prosperity’, based on
your reading of the speech ‘The 3L’s of Empowerment’.
 March 2017
(2 Marks)
Question: 5-6
Marks: 2
Read the passage and answer the questions:
“It is time to create a world where all women can meet their potential
Is0duT
without impediment or prejudice, and the world will reap the benfits. The
three Ls will help us get there”. Leadership
Labour,
Learning,
a. What are the ‘Three L’s referred to?
b. What does “impediment” mean? obstacle
barrier
 andsome
introEmancipation and empowerment of women is of
●
motions
prime importance
in every society. In our country, we have achieved partial success,
but we still have a long way to go.
●
Economic role of women is the most important challenge.
●
As a consequence, many countries lag in the per capita income. x
-

●
Women are not responsible for this serious problem.
●
They can contribute, but they are blocked from contributing their
true potential. by patriarchal society
●
They are denied equal opportunity.
●
We can solve this problem with 3 Ls.
●
The '3Ls' of women empowerment are Learning, Labour and
Leadership.
①● Learning is the most important one. Education
➢
It is the foundation of all changes.
➢
It empowers women to tap out their inborn talents.
➢
It helps women to break the shackles of exclusion
②● Labour
N➢
Women face many challenges in the workplace.
➢
Low-paying, low-status and low-security are some of them.
➢
We should uphold the basic norms of 'equal pay for equal work'.
➢
Economic independence empowers women.
● Leadership
➢
Women can be good leaders. /
➢
They can make proper decisions based on inclusion and
v
compassion.
➢
Women should be ready to take risks and to dare the
difference.


The entire world can reap the benefit of women
empowerment.
 to hold a
* The all-embracing power of women

family together.

Any Woman
-Katharine Tynan

important)
2
vital)
role played
*
The pivotel
in family.
by women
 Awoman of

I am the pillars of the house; Metaphor

⑧ =
&woman pillarhouse
*
The keystone of the arch am I.↳ inversion ↓
family
Take me away, and roof and wall key =>

stone
Would fall to ruin me utterly.
acompletely
Yopapse
keystone: central part of a system or policy (!ല#$് )
 I am the fire upon the hearth,
-
aumoris comfort the
to family

I am the light of the good sun,

I am the heat that warms the earth,

*
Which else were colder than a stone.
cold-lifelessness, of
lack try
hearth: the floor and surround of a fireplace
(!"രി%&ോട് )
 oflowe
At me the children warm their hands;
woman
light
-

I am their light of love alive. => metaphor

Without me cold the hearthstone stands,
->

Nor could the precious->

children thrive.
prosper

thrive (v): flourish or develop (അഭി*+ി,-.ക)

 an
knot,
I am the twist that holds together
-

aug
Noto ⑦
The children in its sacred ring,
-
add
Their knot of love, from whose close tether
No lost child goes a-wandering.
ma
ron
twist (n): knot from right
deviate path
tether (n): rope
 the family
I am the house from floor to roof,
decorate
-wooden
I deck the walls, the board I spread;
board, protect
I spin the curtains, warp and woof,
And shake the&
down to be their bed.
2) ↓
soft feathers
Imageofthe
warp: the lengthwise threads on a loom (ഊട്)

woof: the crosswise threads on a loom (പാവ്)

bird
down (n): soft feathers of a bird
 in
life
I am their wall against all danger,
Their door against the wind and snow,
obstacles
->

Thou whom a woman laid in a manger,

Take me not till the children grow!
11

thou (pronoun): you

prayer
to
manger (n): !"#$ൊ&ി Jesul

requestingfor her are

longevity
 Critical
Appreciation
‘Any Woman’ is a thought-provoking poem written by Katharine
Tynan. It presents the all-embracing power of a woman to hold a
family together. The speaker of the poem is a woman. She
speaks the pivotal role played by women in families. It also deals
with the different tasks and roles that a woman plays at home.
Woman forms the pillars of the family. She is the key-stone of
the arch. If she is removed, the family will surely collapse. She is
the roof and walls. She protects the children from all dangers.
She is the door which protects the children from wind and snow.
Like the sun which warms the earth, she is the fire upon the
hearth and the light of the children’s love. The children warm
their hands at her. Without her warmth, the home would be
colder than a stone, and the children cannot grow. She is the sacred
ring that holds the house together. No child can wander away from
the magical knot of her love. She is the whole house from floor to
roof. She is like a mother bird that spreads its soft feather to be their
bed. In the last two lines she prays to ‘the one who was laid in the
manger by a woman’ to give her life till her children have grown up.
This is an allusion to Jesus Christ who was born in a manger.
Steady rhythm makes the poem perfect. It is simple in form
composing of six ‘four-line stanzas’. Even an ordinary reader can
understand the idea presented. Except in the first stanza the rhyme
scheme is abab. ‘Metaphor’ is the dominant figure of speech
used in this poem. Examples are: ‘I am the pillars of the
house’, ‘I am the fire upon the hearth’, etc. Another
prominent figure of speech used is ‘alliteration’. Examples are;
‘light of love alive’, ‘twist that holds together’, and ‘warp and
woof’.These figures of speech make the poem extremely
beautiful.
The poet wants the reader to realize that woman who protects the
family must be protected against all discrimination in the society.
As a whole the poem is an excellent work.
Previous Year
Questions.
 March 2022

=> Awoman

tether
=>
March 2022
 SAY 2022

y0u
=

Thou =

=> Metaphor

=> Jesus Christ

 March 2021

woman: five upon the hearth

a
stone
than
->
=
A
woman

=
metaphordes
#

⑳
marks
2
 March 2021

(general question]
 Review

●
'Matchbox' is a short story written by the famous
Bengali writer Ashapurna Debi. She compares
women to matchboxes. Matchboxes contain
enough gun powder to make a hundred Lankas
burn. But like women they sit around meekly in
the kitchen, doing nothing.
↳ The didn't utalize
their true potential
●
Ajit and Nomita live in a joint family in
which there are 26 members. Nomita
finds a twisted and crumpled letter from
her husband's pocket. It was written by
her mother and was addressed to her.
●
It was evident from the post mark that
the letter had come at least 3 days ago.
Ajit must have opened and read it. She
felt humiliated.
●
The letter had nothing special other than
 the usual miseries and complaints from her mother.
She needed some money.
●
Nomita now suspects that Ajit has the habit of
opening and reading her letters before passing it to
her. Nomita shouted at her husband and asked him
why he had hidden the letter.
●
Ajit claimed that there was nothing wrong in
reading his wife's letters. Both of them quarrelled
with each other. Ajit insulted her by telling that she
was of low birth. Nomita was suddenly humiliated
and frustrated.
●
She grabbed a match box, lighted it and set fire to
her sari.
●
Ajit promptly put out the fire. But he could see the
fire of anger on her face.
●
Suddenly she heard the sound of Rini, her niece.
She reminded Nomita that the washer-man was
waiting for her, for a long time.
●
Nomita picked up the dirty clothes and started
sorting them. She went downstairs and tried to
have a natural look on her face.
●
The eldest sister- in law noticed the burned sari
of Nomita and asked her how it had happened.
 ●
She replied that it had happened while lifting a hot pot of
water, off the stove. Then she started peeling potatoes,
pretending that nothing had happened.
●
In front of the society Ajit was a generous man and Nomita
was a queen.
/The author compares women to matchboxes, They have
●

the potential within them to burn many things. But they

never try to burn away the mask of men's2 high
mindedness I and[large-heartedness.
I They don't burn even
their own colourful shells. Man knows that this is a
weakness of woman. So she is treated carelessly by man.
Character Sketch of
Nomita
 NOMITA
●
The character Nomita appears in the story 'Matchbox', written by
Ashapurna Debi.
●
She is the daughter of a poor widow. She is married to Ajit, a
member of a rich joint family, in which there are 26 members.
●
She is strong minded and has self respect.
●
When Nomita finds a crumpled letter in Ajit's pocket, she feels
humiliated. She bursts with anger.
●
She also feels that he is vulgar when she learns that her husband
has opened and read her letter without giving it to her.
●
She wants her privacy to be respected.
●
She feels ashamed that her mother is always begging for money. She
believes that it is an insult to her and it will affect her dignity in the
family. But she secretly helps her mother. Her kind-heartedness is
displayed here.
●
When her husband used wounding words , she frightens him by setting
herself on fire.
●
She is a simple woman with a turbulent character. That may be the reason
for her sudden impulsive behaviour.
Very soon she leaves all her anger and pretends to be happy by smiling in
front of the family members.
Previous Year
Questions.
Do you think that the character in Ashapurna Debi's
story 'Matchbox' acts impulsively without thinking
about the consequences? Or is she a brave woman
who questions her husband's selfish ways? Prepare a
character-sketch of Nomita.

-March 2016 (Q 14)

-March 2022 (Q 22)
The story 'Matchbox' begins like this: "I
always compare ⑨ &
women to matchboxes".
What qualities of a woman are highlighted by
& Attempt
Ashapurna Debi in this comparison?
the answer in a paragraph.
marks
-SAY 2018 (Q 9) G
Sample Answer
The author Ashapurna Debi has compared women to
matchboxes, because both contain enough gun powder to make
a hundred Lankas burn. Both sit in the kitchen, not being aware
of their power. Women are meek and innocent, but if they
understand their potentialities, they can work wonders. They
can burn the masks of men, but they don't do so as they are not
conscious of their potential. In this story, when Nomita comes
to know that her mother's letter was not given to her, she bursts
out. But she never tries to burn the mask of Ajit before the
society, because he is a man of generosity and large
heartedness.
"Stop it! What a common vulgar man you
are!" Nomita tells. Do you agree with
Nomita's statement? Write down your
impressions on the character of Ajit, based on
your reading of the story 'Matchbox'.

-SAY 2019 (Q 8) =
-March 2021 (Q 21)
Sample Answer

I agree with Nomita's statement. We live in an age in

which man and woman share equal status. Ajit has no
right to open the letter addressed to his wife. After reading
the letter, he kept it in his pocket for two or three days.
This was not the first time that he does so. Very often he
doesn't even give the letter to her. This is not a good habit.
He may have even a doubt that her previous lovers were
writing those letters. This is really a vulgar feature of
Ajit's character. Even after learning many times that the
letters were from her mother, he doesn't stop opening
them. This is something detestable.
In the story 'Matchbox', Nomita's mother
keeps on writing letters to her, complaining
about her hardships and misfortunes. What is
your view of the character of Nomita's
mother? Answer in a paragraph.

-March 2021 (Q 13)

⑥
Sample Answer

CHARACTER OF NOMITA'S MOTHER Nomita's mother

appears in the story 'Matchbox', written by Ashapurna Debi.
She has only one child named Nomita. She managed to find a
high class suitor for her daughter. After Nomita's marriage,
mother kept on writing letters to her, complaining about her
hardships and misfortunes. In the letters she asked for money
from Nomita, for her daily needs. Although Nomita did not like
to give money, she did not tell her mother about it. Mother was
also unaware of Nomita's dislike. She was such a miserable
character that in each letter, she had to ask her daughter for
money, and give a reason why she wanted the money.