Class 7

Civics
Chapter 7
Understanding Gender: Socio-economic aspects

D- Write short notes on the following

1 In the 19th century, social reformers like
Raja Rammohun Roy, Swami Dayanand
Saraswati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar,
Jyotiba Phule, Rokeya Sakhawat
Hossain and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
worked for the betterment of women’s
lives. Due to their efforts, women were
able to break some of the social barriers,
come out of the confines of their home,
and go to school.
Their efforts led to the abolition of
inhuman practices like sati and the
purdah system and legalised widow
remarriage. Many schools were
established for girls. Once introduced to
education, women went on to take up
higher education as well. The freedom
struggle also saw large-scale participation
of women. Matangini Hazra, Annie
Besant, Sarojini Naidu and Sucheta
Kripalani were some of the important
women leaders.

2 Age-old customs, traditions and beliefs

dominate women’s lives in our society.
Traditionally, the job of a man and
woman can be categorised as ‘working
to earn a living’ and ‘doing all the
household work at home and bear
children’, respectively. To maintain this
categorisation, a set of rules and
regulations have been formulated, with
the aim to confine women in their
homes and deprive them of all
opportunities of education and progress.

3 Today, around the world, women are

stepping out of their homes to earn their
living. They have to balance all the
work in their offices and also the
household responsibilities. This is
referred to as work-life balance. People
are increasingly recognising the amount
of household work done by women. She
is getting house helps, to help her to do
the work. The male members of the
family are also sharing the household
work, so that the burden does not
entirely fall on the women alone.

4- In the formal sector, women enjoy

certain benefits such as medical facilities
including sick leave, maternity benefits
and hospitalisation. Maternity leave is
the leave a woman is entitled to while
having a baby. The Government of India
gives 180 days of maternity leave to its
employees and provides for an
additional two years of paid leave for
childcare purposes. Private offices also
give maternity leaves to the female
employees.

5 The government has also taken many

steps to improve the condition of
women in several ways. The
Constitution of India declares that all
citizens of India, men or women, have
equal rights. There is universal adult
franchise in India, which allows the
adult women and male citizens of the
country to exercise their voting rights.
This is called political equality.

E- Answer the following questions in detail

Ans-1 One of the most important indicators of
change in the position of women in
society is the education of women.
Education of women was traditionally
not allowed in our society. Today,
women are highly educated and highly
qualified professionals. The government
is also taking several measures to
promote the education of girls.
Concession in fees, free textbooks,
uniforms and scholarships, are some of
the measures taken by the government
to encourage education of women. Fifty
per cent seats in the local governments
have been reserved for women.

Ans-2 Gender inequality grows out of many

factors in society. To begin, there are
pressures of tradition and culture. In
many families, the father or any other
male member is considered to be the
head of the family and all the other
members try to look after his needs and
comforts. Women are supposed to do
the housework, even if they go outside
the house to earn a living. A family
willingly spends any amount on a boy’s
education, while a lot of thought is
given before spending on a girl’s
education. In many homes, women do
not have any opinion on household
issues and are often not allowed to
express their opinions.
If gender inequality exists in a family, a
child also learns it as a part of growing
up. To his/ her mind, gender-specific
roles are natural and essential. Social
evils like female foeticide and female
infanticide continue to exist in society.
Gender inequality exists in schools as
well. In many schools, boys are
encouraged to excel in sports, while girls
have the option to take up sewing and
knitting as special subjects. School
textbooks, popular culture, films, songs,
advertisements and so on reinforce these
stereotypes. Even our religious
scriptures, largely written by men,
reinforce traditional gender roles and
gender inequality. All these factors
contribute to making gender inequality a
deep-rooted and complex problem.

Ans-3 In the 1800s, during the Industrial

Revolution, women came out of their
homes to work in factories and began to
earn money. Today, around the world,
women are stepping out of their homes
to earn their living. However, working
women have a very challenging life.
They have to balance all the work in
their offices and also the household
responsibilities. Even though women are
going out to work, the traditional
mindsets and gender roles have not
changed so much and families still
expect women to bear the lion’s share
of housework, cooking and child-rearing.
Thus, it adds to added responsibilities
for them.

Ans-4 The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 was

passed to ensure that employers do not
discriminate on the basis of gender in
matters of wage fixing, transfers,
training, and promotion. It provides for
payment of equal remuneration to men
and women workers, for the same work
or work of similar nature, and for the
prevention of discrimination against
women in matters of employment. In
the formal sector, women enjoy certain
benefits such as medical facilities
including sick leave, maternity benefits
and hospitalisation. Maternity leave is
the leave a woman is entitled to while
having a baby. The Government of India
gives 180 days of maternity leave to its
employees and provides for an
additional two years of paid leave for
childcare purposes. Private offices also
give maternity leaves to the female
employees.

Ans-5 The Constitution of India has many

clauses that give protection and rights to
women, in addition to the right to vote.
The Equal Remunerations Act ensures
that employers do not discriminate on
the basis of gender in matters of wage
fixing, transfers, training, and promotion.
It provides for payment of equal
remuneration to men and women
workers, for the same work or work of
similar nature, and for the prevention of
discrimination against women in matters
of employment. Various laws have been
passed banning evil practices like dowry,
female infanticide and purdah.
Reservations of seats for women at
different levels of government ensures
that they are represented adequately in
our democracy. Laws have been passed
to ensure women inherit an equal share
in their parental and ancestral property.
All these measures should help bring
women to a equal footing and bring
change in society.