UGC NET/JRF EXAM, January-2025 WOMEN’S STUDIES

As per UDISE+ data for 2020-21, the female dropout rate was highest at the secondary level (Classes 9 and 10) in India.

• The dropout rate for girls at this stage was around 15.1%, compared to lower rates at the primary and upper primary levels.

• Major reasons include:

• Early marriage or engagement in domestic responsibilities.
• Safety and mobility issues, especially in rural areas.
• Economic hardship and limited access to secondary schools, particularly for girls.

• Government initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, and scholarship schemes are aimed to address this gap.

ased on NITI Aayog's SDG India Index 2023-24, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) performance scores for the mentioned states are:

A. India - II: 71 India's overall composite score on SDG implementation across all goals is 71 out of 100, indicating a performance level of "Performer".

B. Tamil Nadu -I: 78 Tamil Nadu is one of the top-performing states, especially in health, education, and gender equality, earning a score of 78.

C. Goa - IV: 77 Goa performs strongly on environmental, health, and quality of life indicators with an SDG Index score of 77.

D. Nagaland - III: 63 Nagaland scored 63, categorized under "Aspirant" or "Performer", with challenges in education, infrastructure, and gender equality.

Correct matching is: A-II, B-I, C-IV, D-III.

Here are the correct matches between educational commissions and their key recommendations related to gender and women's education:

A. Calcutta University Commission (1917) - I: Professional and vocational courses should be introduced in universities Suggested reforming Indian higher education by emphasizing scientific, professional, and vocational education, including for women.

B. Hunter Commission (1882) - III: Women Inspectors for girls' schools Recommended the appointment of female inspectors to supervise girls' education in vernacular and secondary schools.

C. Radhakrishnan Commission (1948-49) - II: Same pay for male and female teachers Advocated equal pay for women teachers as part of gender equity in education.

D. Kothari Commission (1964-66) - IV: Training and employing women teachers Focused on removing gender disparities by recruiting and training more women teachers, especially in rural and backward areas.

The post-partum period (the first 42 days after delivery) is the most critical stage for maternal mortality, both in India and globally. According to WHO and India's SRS (Sample Registration System) reports:

• Nearly 60% of maternal deaths occur in the postnatal period.
• Causes include post-partum hemorrhage, infections, sepsis, and lack of access to emergency obstetric care.

This reflects gaps in post-natal care services, despite improved institutional deliveries. Ensuring regular postnatal check-ups is key to reducing Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR).

Chronological matching of key affirmative action reports and policies in India:

A. National Policy for Empowerment of Women - IV: 2001 Launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, this comprehensive policy aims at the advancement, development, and empowerment of women.

B. Towards Equality Report - II: 1974 A landmark report by the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI), it critically analyzed gender inequality in education, employment, and law.

C. Shramshakti Report - III; 1988 A report on women in the informal sector, highlighting their unrecognized and unpaid labor, and recommending social security and legal rights.

D. 73rd Amendment Act I: 1992 Introduced one-third reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions, marking a milestone in political empowerment at the grassroots level. Correct match: A-IV, B-II, C-III, D-I.

Sex-positive feminism is a movement that emerged during the 1980s as a response to what some feminists saw as a repressive attitude toward sexuality within earlier feminist discourse.

It embraces female sexual autonomy, consent, and bodily agency, arguing that women should be free to express their sexuality without shame or stigma.

It supports:

• Sex work decriminalization
• LGBTQ+ rights and fluid gender identities
• Sexual education centered on pleasure and consent

Prominent sex-positive feminists include Gayle Rubin and Carol Queen, who argue that sexual freedom is essential to gender equality.

he Lakhpati Didi Scheme was launched in 2022 under the DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission).

• It aims to empower rural women Self Help Group (SHG) members by helping them become micro-entrepreneurs and earn at least 1 lakh annually.

Key features:

• Each woman is given support to start or expand an enterprise, such as poultry farming, tailoring, handicrafts, food processing, etc.
• Interest-free loans up to 5 lakh are provided through SHGs and government facilitation.

• The initiative aligns with the vision of economic self-reliance and women's inclusion in the productive economy.

Radical feminism sees patriarchy as a fundamental and pervasive system of domination that exists in all institutions, including family, media, religion, and reproductive health.

• Radical feminists argue that male control over women's reproductive choices (e.g., abortion laws, contraception access, forced sterilization, etc.) is a method of systemic oppression.

• Thinkers like Andrea Dworkin, Shulamith Firestone, and Catharine MacKinnon emphasized that the control of female bodies is central to maintaining patriarchy.

• They advocate for reproductive rights, sexual autonomy, and freedom from compulsory heterosexuality.

• Sexist research methodologies are those that privilege male experiences and treat them as universal or normative, leading to biased interpretations and exclusion of female perspectives.

• Androcentrism refers to the tendency to center research questions, frameworks, and outcomes around men's experiences, often ignoring gender-specific realities.

Examples include:

Medical studies that test only male subjects but generalize results to all genders.
Social surveys that fail to include care work or unpaid labour typically done by women.

• Feminist scholars call for gender-aware, intersectional, and inclusive methodologies.

Simone de Beauvoir, in her autobiographical reflections, wrote that Jean-Paul Sartre once said she had "a man's intelligence", and she initially took it as praise.

• Later, she realized that such a compliment implied that intelligence was inherently male, and to be a smart woman was to be an exception.

• This epiphany led her to explore how women are "Othered", and not seen as autonomous beings.

• It inspired her to write "The Second Sex" (1949), a foundational feminist text that analyzed how women are defined in relation to men, rather than as full individuals.

• Her famous line, "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman," critiques how gender is socially constructed, not biologically determined.