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

The Skill India Mission, particularly through schemes like PMKVY, Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (DISHA), and Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA), aims to bridge the digital gender divide.

It does this by:

• Providing digital literacy courses for women in rural and semi-urban areas.
• Creating women-only digital training centers in many locations.
• Promoting female participation in digital skilling programs, including coding, data entry, and digital marketing.

These efforts aim to ensure that women are not left behind in the digital economy.

The Janasankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK), or National Population Stabilization Fund, launched strategies to promote population stabilization in India:

A. Prerna Strategy: Incentivizes delaying marriage and childbirth by rewarding couples who marry after 21 (women) and 25 (men), and have children after 2 years.

B. Santushti Strategy: Encourages private sector participation in family planning services, aiming at sterilization targets and contraceptive distribution.

C. National Helpline (1800-11-6555): JSK launched this toll-free helpline to spread awareness about reproductive health, family planning, and contraception.

D. Sahmati Strategy - NOT PART of JSK strategies: No such strategy has been documented under JSK's initiatives. Correct group: A, B, C only.

Chronological order of important Acts related to women's rights and health in India:

B. Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971: Legalized abortion under specific conditions to reduce maternal mortality from unsafe abortions.

C. Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act - 1994 (Amended in 2003): Enacted to prohibit sex selection and misuse of ultrasound technologies leading to female foeticide.

D. Surrogacy (Regulation) Act - 2021: Regulates altruistic surrogacy in India and prohibits commercial surrogacy, protecting surrogate mothers and intended parents.

A. Women's Reservation Act - 2023: Passed to reserve 33% seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, to be implemented after delimitation. Correct chronological order: B → C → D → А.

Microcredit helps women in Self-Help Groups (SHGs) through:

B. Offering small loans to invest in incomegenerating activities: Microcredit provides collateral-free, lowinterest loans that empower women to engage in entrepreneurial ventures, such as tailoring, farming, dairy, or small retail, increasing their economic independence.

D. Promoting access to group-based savings programs: SHGs operate on the principle of mutual savings and lending. Women regularly save small amounts, which are pooled and then lent to members for personal or business use, promoting financial discipline, trust, and support networks.

Options A and C are incorrect because microcredit encourages, not restricts, women's participation in economic activities and promotes financial independence, not discourages it.

Postmodern feminism critiques earlier feminist theories, especially liberal and radical feminism, for presenting a single, universal experience of 'womanhood', often based on the Western, white, middle-class perspective.

• Postmodern feminists argue that this ignores intersecting identities such as race, class, sexuality, caste, religion, and nationality.

• Thinkers like Judith Butler and Donna Haraway emphasized the fluidity of gender and identity, rejecting fixed categories.

• This school of thought promotes plurality, diversity, and contextual understanding of gendered experiences.

The "Nari Niketans" were established in 1976 by the Social Welfare Department of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.

These institutions provide shelter to deserted, destitute, and widowed women who have no means of livelihood.

Services include:

• Food, clothing, and shelter
• Vocational training
• Basic healthcare and legal aid

These centers aim to rehabilitate women by enabling them to become self-reliant and reintegrate into society.

Matching the thinkers with their fields of work:

A. Catherine MacKinnon - II: Pornography: A radical feminist, MacKinnon is known for her critique of pornography as a form of sexual subordination of women, arguing that it reinforces patriarchal domination.

B. Barbara K. Rothman - IV: Reproductive Technologies: Rothman is a sociologist and feminist who examined how reproductive technologies, including surrogacy and IVF, affect women's autonomy and control over their bodies.

C. Naila Kabeer - I: Women's Empowerment: An economist and social researcher, Kabeer is known for her work on gender equality, poverty, and development, especially focusing on women's agency and empowerment in South Asia.

D. Andrea O'Reilly - III: Motherhood: A leading scholar in motherhood studies, O'Reilly has explored the cultural, political, and personal dimensions of mothering, advocating for maternal empowerment and feminist mothering.

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

During colonial rule, although Hindu personal laws considered women as legal entities in certain aspects, multiple inequalities prevailed:

A. Women were denied access to ancestral property: Under Mitakshara Hindu law, daughters had limited or no coparcenary rights, and property rights were primarily reserved for male heirs.

B. Economic inequality remained significant: Even educated or elite women had limited financial independence. The laws did not ensure equal inheritance, employment rights, or wage parity.

C. Status inequality persisted: Women were considered dependents, first of their father, then husband, and finally son. Their legal identity and rights were mediated through male guardians.

D. Women were not excluded from Stridhan; in fact, Stridhan was recognized as property exclusively owned by a woman, given at the time of marriage or later. Therefore, D is incorrect.

Correct answer: A, B, C only.