Very Short Answer Type Question
1. What was a very important activity on the Samoan islands in the 1920s?
Answer: Fishing was a very important activity on the Samoan islands in the 1920s.
2. How was the girls’ school in Madhya Pradesh in the 1960s designed differently from the boys’ school?
Answer: Girls’ school had a central courtyard where girls played in total seclusion and safety from the outside world. The boys school had no such courtyard.
3. As these girls walked on the streets, they looked so purposejul’. What does the word ‘purposeful’ refer to?
Answer: Their only intention was to get home safe and as soon as possible.
4. Why do we give boys and girls different toys to play with? [V. Imp.]
Answer: We want to tell them that they will have different futures when they become men and women.
5. What do we teach boys and girls in their early childhood? [Imp.]
Answer: We teach boys that they need to be tough and masculine. On the contrary we , teach girls that they need to be soft and mild.
6. Why are the wages of domestic workers usually low? [V. Imp.]
Answer: It is because the work that domestic workers do, does not have much value.
7. What is the daily schedule of a domestic worker?
Answer: A domestic worker’s day usually begins at five in the morning and ends at twelve in the night.
8. How are domestic workers treated by their employers? [V. Imp.]
Answer: Domestic workers are often not treated well by their employers. Despite the hard work they do, their employers often do not show them much respect.
9. What do you mean by the term ‘double burden’? [Imp.]
Answer: Several women today work both inside and outside the home. This is often referred to as ‘double burden’.
10. Housework commonly involves many different tasks. Name some of them.
Answer: Washing clothes, cleaning, sweeping, cooking etc.
11. Why do girls like to go to school together in groups?
Answer: Girls like to go to school together in groups because in group they feel secured.
12: What is care giving task?
Answer: Care giving task includes looking after and taking proper and good care of, children, elderly and sick people in a family. It also includes taking care of other family members.
13: Who is domestic helper?
Answer: Domestic helpers do house hold works like sweeping, cleaning, washing clothes, washing dishes, looking after young children or elderly.
14: Define the term-“Double burden of women’s work” with an example.
Answer: Many women work both inside and outside the home, this is referred as double burden of women’s work
Short Answer Type Questions
1: How a boy’s school differ from a girl’s school?
Answer: In a boys school generally there is no courtyard, and they play in playground attached to the school. While in a girl’s school there is a central courtyard where girls used to play. In a boy’s school most of the teachers are male while in a girl’s school most of the teachers are females.
2: Why we should value housework?
Answer: House work is very important. It is equally valuable as other outside works, but this kind of work is often invisible and is not paid. Thus we should value household work.
3. What did boys do every evening, once the school was over?
Answer: Every evening, once the school was over, boys watched as hundreds of school girls crowded the narrow streets. The girls walked on the streets in groups and their only intention was to get straight home. On the contrary the boys used the streets as a place to stand around idling, to play, to try out tricks with their bicycles. They never reached home in time.
4. Why does our society devalue the work women do inside the home? [V. Imp.]
Answer: Women discharge a lot of responsibilities inside their home. They look after the family, especially children, the elderly and sick members. They manage the entire activities so efficiently. They cook food by standing for hours in front of hot stoves, wash clothes, maintain cleanliness, etc. In rural areas women and girls carry heavy headloads of firewood. These works are not considered as real works in our families and societies. The work that women do within the home is not recognised as work. It is assumed that this is something that comes naturally to women. Due to this fact, it does not have to be paid for. Our society devalues such work.
5. Our constitution does not discriminate between male and female. But inequality between the sexes exists. What does the government do to remedy the situation? [Imp.]
Answer: The government recognises that burden of childcare and housework falls on women and girls. This naturally has an impact on whether girls can attend school. It determines whether women can work outside the house and what kind of jobs and careers they can have. The government has set up Anganwadis or childcare centres in several villages in the country. It has passed laws that make it mandatory for organisations that have more than 30 women employees to provide creche facilities. The provision of creches helps many women to take up employment outside the home. Girls have also been benefited through this provision. More and more girls now have started attending schools.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. Give an account of growing up in Samoa in the 1920s.
Answer: A research took place on Samoan society in 1920s. According to the reports of the research, Samoan children did not go to school. They engaged themselves in many different activities. They learnt from their elders how to take care of children or do housework. Fishing was an important activity on the Samoan islands. Young people learnt to undertake long fishing expeditions.
Both boys and girls used to look after their younger siblings. But, by the time a boy was about nine years old, he joined the older boys in to learn outdoor jobs like fishing and planting coconuts. Girls had to continue looking after small children or do errands for adults till they were teenagers. They enjoyed much freedom during teenage. After the age of fourteen or so, girls also went on fishing trips, worked in the plantations, learnt how to weave baskets. Boys had to do most of the work associated with cooking. After they prepared the meal, girls helped them.
2. Write a brief note on the lives of domestic workers with an example. [V. Imp.]
Answer: The lives of domestic workers are full of hardships. They do a lot of work in then- employer’s house. They sweep and clean, wash clothes and dishes, cook different varieties of food, look after young children or the elderly. Their day usually begins at five in the early morning and ends at twelve in the night. During this span they do not sit even for a while. Most domestic workers are women. Sometimes, even young boys and girls are employed to do all these works. Despite the hard work they do, their employers often do not show them much respect. They are often scolded by them even at a minor mistake. So far their wages are concerned, they are veiy low. The reason behind this is that domestic work does not have much value.
Melani is a domestic worker who leads a very hard life inspite of her hard labour. Her employer is not at all sympathetic to her. She shouts at her every now and then. She does not give her sufficient food to eat. Even during severe winters she does not allow her to wear chappals in the house. Melani feels very humiliated. As she has no other option, she has to bear all the hardships. But she, like her employer, also wishes to be respected.
