Chapter 4:-Growing up as boy and girl
Gender is a social construction through which the social and cultural roles of males and females are defined.
Most of the societies value men and women differently. The role women play and the work they do are usually valued less than the roles men play and the work they do. This clears the fact that men and women do not have the same status.
Gender justice is an important issue to be highlighted.
Samoan Islands
The Samoan islands are one of the large groups of small islands in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. Till the 1920s, children in this island did not go to school. When the babies started walking on own, they were left under the care of their older brothers and sisters. Children as old as five years looked after their younger siblings.
After attaining nine years of age, boys joined the older boys for outdoor activities like fishing and planting coconuts. However, girls continued looking after the younger ones.
When girls became teenagers, i.e., 14 years of age, they were allowed more freedom as they could then go for fishing and plantation activities or help their mothers in cooking, etc.
Madhya Pradesh
In Madhya Pradesh, India, boys and girls had a different outlook. The school for boys was open while the one for girls was closed.
Men and women do equal work, but it is not valued equally.
Valuing Housework
Many women work in offices and many do only household work.
Valuing housework is an important element which needs to be propagated in society.
If we look at the lives of domestic workers, they are involved in activities like sweeping, cleaning, cooking, washing clothes and dishes or looking after children. Most of these are women.
A number of housework actually involves many different tasks. The work requires strenuous and physically demanding situation.
Women’S Work and Equality
Equality is an important principle of our constitution which says that being male or female should not become a reason for discrimination.
While the constitution does not discriminate between male and female, in reality, discrimination still carries on.
Government has introduced measures like Anganwadis or Child Care Centres to improve the status of women in society.
The government has also started creche facilities to help women to take up employment outside the home.
We find distinctions between boys and girls in our societies. This begins at a very young age.
Boys are often taught to be tough and serious while girls are taught to be soft and mild.
Boys are given toys like cars and guns to play with while girls are seen playing with dolls. These toys become a way of telling children what they will have different futures when they become men and women.
Most societies value men and women differently. The roles women play and the work they do are usually valued less than the roles men play and the work they do. This clears the fact that men and women do not have the same status.
If a woman is a housewife, it is often said that she does not work. But the reality is that it is always the woman who bears the main responsibility for housework and caregiving tasks like looking after the family. As she does not earn money by doing these tasks, her work is not recognized.
The term houseworks involves many different tasks which require heavy physical work.
In both rural and urban areas women and girls carry heavy headloads of firewood. Housework also involves washing clothes, cleaning, sweeping and cooking foods, etc. for the family. All these works are very tough, still, women do them every day. They do not complain or show any anguish on their face.
The work of women is time-consuming too. They do not have much time for leisure.
Many women nowadays work both inside and outside the home. This is often referred to as the double burden. Women bear this double burden very skilfully and efficiently.
Equality is an important principle of our constitution which says that being male or female should not become a reason for discrimination. But what we see in reality is that inequality still exists between both the sexes. The government is, therefore, very much keen to take some positive measures to improve the situation.
The government has set up Anganwadis or Child-care Centres in several villages in the country.
The government has also started creche facilities to help women to take up employment outside the home.
Caregiving: Looking after the family with great sincerity.
Devalue: When we do not give due recognition for work, it means we devalue it. In our society, women’s work is easily devalued.
Double-burden: There are several women who work both inside and outside the home. This is known as a double burden.
Identity: It is a sense of awareness of who one is. For example, a person can be a brother, a pilot, an engineer, etc.
Physically demanding: It refers to the household tasks which are very tough and demand great physical strength.
Time-consuming: It refers to the various household tasks which take much time.
Strenuous: Very tough and difficult.
Chapter 5:-Women change the world
Women have been facing inequalities at every step.
By getting an education, women have got opportunities to rise in every field.
Women’s movement has risen to challenge discrimination in all parts of the world.
Fewer Opportunities and Rigid Expectation
A lot of people feel that women are fit only for certain kinds of jobs as a nurse. They are not fit for technical jobs.
In most families, women are taught that after school they have to get married. Laxmi Lakra, however, broke this stereotype image when she became the first woman engine driver of the Northern Railways.
We live in a society full of pressures. If boys do not work hard and get a good salary they are bullied
Learning for Change
Going to school is an important part of life.
Today, it is difficult for us to imagine that school and learning could be seen as out of bounds or not appropriate for some children.
In the past, very few people learnt reading and writing. Most children learnt the work their families or elders did. Even in families where skills like pottery, weaving and craft were taught, the contribution of daughters and women was seen as secondary.
In the nineteenth century, new ideas about learning and education appeared. But there was a lot of opposition to educating girls ever then.
In the 1890s, Ramabai championed the cause of women’s education.
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain learnt English from her elder brother and an elder sister in spite of family opposition and went on to become a famous writer.
Rashsundari Devi of Bengal was the first Indian woman to write an autobiography called ‘Amar Jiban’.
Schooling and Education Today
Today both boys and girls attend school in large numbers.
The difference in Their Education Still Remains
Today education is the right of both boys and girls, despite that only 50 % of the girls receive an education.
India has a census every 10 years which counts the population of the country. This information is used to measure things like literacy, sex-ratio, etc.
A huge number of SC and ST children leave school at an early age. The 2014 census even shows that Muslim girls are less likely than Dalit girls to complete primary school.
Many reasons like non-availability of teachers and schools, lack of transport, cost of education, indifferent attitude of teachers and parents are responsible for the negligence of education.
Women’s Movement
Women have individually and collectively struggled to bring about changes. This is called the Women’s Movement.
Different strategies have been used to spread awareness, fight discrimination and seek justice.
These movements are related to campaigning, raising awareness, protesting and showing solidarity.
Men and women in society are looked upon as playing specific gender roles.
Women have been facing inequalities at every step since time immemorial. No doubt, their position and status have been improved with the change of time, still, they lag behind men in almost every field.
In this male-dominated society, they fail to avail equal privileges and opportunities.
It has also been seen that some occupations are considered to be more suitable for men than for women. It means women are good at only certain jobs.
Many people believe that women make better nurses because they are more patient and gentle. It is also believed that women do not bear technical mind and therefore they are not capable of dealing with technical things. Thus, they have been stereotyped as good nurses, good teachers, etc. They are never seen as army officers, pilots, railway engine drivers, etc.
A majority of Indians believe in these stereotypes. It is, therefore, girls do not get the same support that boys do to study and train to become doctors and engineers.
Today’s women have become very aware. They are determined to break these stereotypes by excelling them in fields which were considered male preserves till now. We have now women pilots, engineers, police officers, scientists etc. We can mention here the name of Laxmi Lakra who by becoming an engine driver, showed the world that women can do everything.
Children especially boys are under great pressure. They are pressurised to think about getting a job that will pay a good salary.
It is a matter of great anxiety for the parents if their son shows his inclination towards studying subjects other than science or maths.
In our present social set-up parents have developed a false belief that only science and maths are meaningful subjects. Only these subjects can make their son’s future secured. These notions have no base. They must be eliminated from our mind. Subjects like history, political science, etc. are also job oriented.
One positive change that is visible today is that more and more children have started going to school. In the past, the skill of reading and writing was known to only a few. Most children learnt the work their families or elders did.
But girls faced the even worse situation. In communities that taught sons to read and write, daughters were not allowed to learn the alphabet.
Slowly and steadily there came more and more positive changes. The communities that never learnt reading and writing started sending their children to school. In the beginning, there was a lot of opposition jp educating girls. But there were also women and men who made efforts to open schools for girls.
Women struggled to learn to read and write. Here, the experience of Rashsundari Devi (1800-1890) is worth mentioning. She was a housewife from a rich landlord’s family. At that time, it was believed that if a woman learnt to read and write, she would become a widow. Despite this, she taught herself how to read and write in secret, after her marriage. She wrote her autobiography in Bangla which titled Amar Jaban,
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was another example who did a lot for women’s education. She knew how to read and write Urdu, but she was stopped from learning Bangla and English. In those days only boys were taught English. However, she learnt to read and write Bangla and English. Afterwards, she became a writer and wrote a remarkable story titled Sultana’s Dream in 1905. She did a lot to help other girls go to school and to build their own dreams. In 1910, she started a school for girls in Kolkata which is still functioning well.
No doubt more and more girls have started attending school, still they lag behind boys. As per the most recent census of 2001, 76% of boys and men are literate but the figure is comparatively very low in case of girls. Only 54% of girls and women are literate in India. Thus, the percentage of the male group is higher than the female group.
Girls who are from Dalit and Adivasi backgrounds are less likely to remain in school. One of the many reasons is that several families are too poor and unable to bear the cost of educating all their children. Boys easily get preference in such circumstances.
The position and status of women have undoubtedly improved a lot which is due to the collective efforts of the women of the country. Women’s Movement also gets the support of men. They used different strategies to spread awareness, fight discrimination and seek justice. For example, they organise campaigns to fight discrimination and violence against women. They also protest when violations against women take place. Women’s Movement also shows solidarity with other women and causes.
Stereotype: the Fixed image of a person and a community. Stereotypes prevent us from looking at people as unique individuals.
Discrimination: Treating people unequally.
Violation: When someone forcefully breaks the law or a rule or openly shows disrespect, we often say that he/she has committed a violation.
Sexual Harassment: Physical or verbal behaviour that is of a sexual nature and against a woman’s wishes.
Protest: To raise voice against the wrong action or decision.
Scheduled Caste (SC): It is the official term used for Dalit class of people.
Scheduled Tribe (ST): It is the official term used for Adivasi class of people.
Autobiography: Autobiography is the life sketch of the writer himself.
Manuscript: The script written in the writer’s own handwriting.
Census: Census is held every 10 years. It counts the whole population of the country. It also gathers information about the people living in India—their age, schooling, what work they do, and so on.
Chapter 6 :-Understanding media
Media refers to all means of communication, everything ranging from a phone call to the evening news on TV can be called media. TV, radio, and newspapers are forms of media. Since they reach millions of people across the world they are called mass media.
Media is the plural form of the word ‘medium’ and it describes the various ways through which we communicate in society.
Media and Technology
Life without media is difficult. Cable TV and the Internet are recent phenomena.
Both print media and electronic media have played an important role in social change.
Changing technology or machines help media to reach more people.
Television has enabled us to think of ourselves as members of the global people.
It is the responsibility of the media to present a fair and balanced report.
Media is far from being independent. This is because of the control of the government over media called censoring and because big business houses control the media.
An independent media means that no one should control and influence its coverage and news.
Media and Money
The different technologies that mass media use are expensive.
In a news studio, it is not only the newsreader who needs to be paid but also a number of other people who help put the broadcast together.
A lot of money is spent on getting the latest technology. To meet this cost, it needs money.
Media thus has come to be owned by big corporate.
Media, therefore, uses advertising as a tool to raise revenue.
Media and Democracy
Media plays a very important role in providing news and discussing events taking place in the country and the world.
New stories of media inform people about important events in the country.
Some important ways by which people can take about important events in the country are organizing public protests, starting a signature campaign, etc.
Setting Agendas
The media also plays an important role in deciding which stories to focus on.
By focusing on particular issues, it influences and shapes our thoughts. It is said the media sets the agenda for people.
Very recently, the media reported alarming levels of pesticides in cold drinks. This report led to safety standards being set for colas.
Media plays a very important role in our lives as it tells us about working of the government.
Freedom of expression should be given to media to report events independently.
Media is the plural form of the word ‘Medium’. It describes the various ways through which we communicate in society.
Media refers to all means of communication, everything ranging from a phone call to the evening news on television.
Television, radio, and newspapers are called mass media because they reach millions of people at the same time.
Cable television and the widespread use of the Internet is a recent phenomenon.
The technology that mass media uses keeps changing.
Newspapers and magazines come under print media while television and radio come under electronic media.
Changing technology, or machines and making technology more modern, helps media to reach more and more people. It also improves the quality of sound and the images. It also changes the ways in which we think about our lives.
Television plays a major role in our life. We cannot think of life without TV. It gives us news and entertainment and many other things.
Mass media uses expensive technologies. A TV studio needs lights, cameras, sound recorders, transmission satellites, etc. All these cost a huge amount of money.
Mass media also spends a lot of money on getting the latest technology.
Most television channels and newspapers become a part of big business houses in order to fulfill their requirement of money.
Mass media earns money by advertising different things such as surf, chocolates, etc.
Media plays a significant role in democracy. It provides news and discusses events that take place in the country and the world. It is on the basis of this information we come to know how the government works.
The information that the media provides should be balanced. A balanced report is one that discusses all points of view of a particular story and then leaves it to the readers to make up their minds.
Independent media can write a balanced report. Hence, it is necessary for the media to be independence.
But the reality is that media is far from independent.
There are two reasons behind it. The first is the control that the government has on the media. Where the government prevents either a news item or scenes from a movie, or a lyric of a song from being shared with the larger public, this is known as censorship. During the Emergency period (1975-77) the government censored the media.
While the government does continue to censor films, it does not really censor the media’s coverage of news.
Despite the absence of censorship by the government, most newspapers do not provide a balanced report.
It has been found out by the persons who research media that business houses control media. It means that the media is not independent.
Media sets the agenda. It means media has to decide what stories to focus on and therefore, decides on what is newsworthy.
Media should focus on issues that are significant in our lives. But very often it fails to do so. Cricket, fashion shows are very popular with the media.
Local media deals with small issues that involve ordinary people and their daily lives. Khabar Lahriya, a fortnightly newspaper, is run by eight Dalit women in Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh. It is written in the local language, Bundeli.
Media: The word ‘media’ refers to all means of communication, everything ranging from a phone call to the news on television.
Public protest: When people collectively state their opposition to some issue by organizing a rally, starting a signature campaign, etc., it is known as a public protest.
Balanced report: A balanced report is one that discusses all points of view of a particular story and then leaves it to the leaders to make up their minds.
Censorship: The government has the power to disallow media from publishing or showing certain stories. This means that the government can censor the media.
Broadcast: A TV or radio programme that is widely transmitted.
Setting Agenda: One of the important functions of media is that it decides what stories should be focused on and thus decides on what is newsworthy. This is often said that the media sets the agenda.
Local Media: It deals with small issues that involve ordinary people and their daily lives. It publishes news of local importance.
