Civics

Growing Up As Boys and Girls

Question:

Are the statements given below true or false? Support your answer with the use of an example :
(a) All societies do not think similarly about the roles that boys and girls play.
(b) Our society does not make distinctions between boys and girls when they are growing up.
(c) Women who stay at home do not work.
(d) The work that women do is less valued than that of men.

Answer:

(a) It is a true statement. In most societies, the work boys do is given more importance than the work girls do.
(b) It is a false statement. Our society makes distinctions between boys and girls even while they are in growing phase. From the very early age, boys are taught to be tough and serious, while girls are taught to be mild and soft. Boys are given toys like cars, guns to play with while girls are given dolls.
(c) It is a false statement. Women who stay at home, do a lot of household chores.
They cook food, wash clothes, sweep floor, and numerous other works; some of which are very strenuous.
(d) It is true statement. Women do a lot of work. The main responsibility for housework and care-giving tasks lies with women. Yet, the work that they do with the home is not recognised as work. It is assumed that this is something that comes naturally to women. It, therefore, does not have to be paid for. This is the main reason why our society devalues women's work.

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Growing Up As Boys and Girls

Q 1.

Why do girls like to go to school together in groups?

Q 2.

Why do we give boys and girls different toys to play with? [V. Imp.]

Q 3.

What do you mean by the term double burden'?  [Imp.]

Q 4.

How are domestic workers treated by their employers?  [V. Imp.]

Q 5.

What do we teach boys and girls in their early childhood? [Imp.]

Q 6.

As these girls walked on the streets, they looked so purposejul'. What does the word purposeful' refer to?

Q 7.

Why does our society devalue the work women do inside the home? [V. Imp.]

Q 8.

Housework is invisible and unpaid work.
Housework is physically demanding.
Housework is time consuming.
Write in your own words what is meant by the terms nvisible', physically demanding' and ‘time consuming'? Give one example of each based on the household tasks undertaken by women in your home.

Q 9.

Make a list of toys and games that boys typically play and another for girls. If there is a difference between the two lists, can you think of some reasons why this is so? Does this have any relationship to the roles children have to play as adults?

Q 10.

Why are the wages of domestic workers usually low? [V. Imp.]

Q 11.

What did boys do every evening, once the school was over?

Q 12.

If you have someone working as a domestic help in your house or locality talk to her and find out a little bit more about her life – Who are her family members? Where is her home? How many hours does she work? How much does she get paid? Write a small story based on these details.

Q 13.

Why did Harmeet develop a notion that her mother did not work?

Q 14.

What is the daily schedule of a domestic worker?

Q 15.

Housework commonly involves many different tasks. Name some of them.

Q 16.

How was the girls’ school in Madhya Pradesh in the 1960s designed differently from the boys' school?

Q 17.

Are the statements given below true or false? Support your answer with the use of an example :
(a) All societies do not think similarly about the roles that boys and girls play.
(b) Our society does not make distinctions between boys and girls when they are growing up.
(c) Women who stay at home do not work.
(d) The work that women do is less valued than that of men.

Q 18.

Write a brief note on the lives of domestic workers with an example.  [V. Imp.]

Q 19.

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.]

Q 20.

What was a very important activity on the Samoan islands in the 1920s?

Q 21.

Give an account of growing up in Samoa in the 1920s.