UGC NET/JRF EXAM, September-2024 WOMEN’S STUDIES

Capacity building approach shows education as a key strategy to overcome deficits in women's resources and skills.

• It focuses on enhancing women's capabilities through education, training, and skill development.

• This approach recognizes that women may lack access to education and resources due to systemic barriers, and works to remove these barriers by building individual and community-level capacities.

• For example, vocational training programs for women, adult literacy classes, and digital literacy campaigns help women gain economic independence and social mobility.

• UNESCO and other global institutions often emphasize capacity building in gender equality initiatives.

All the listed scales are used in surveys:

• Likert Scale: Measures attitudes by asking respondents to indicate their level of agreement with a statement, usually on a 5 or 7-point scale.

• Guttman Scale: A cumulative scale that assumes a hierarchical order in responses, used to measure intensity of an attitude.

• Bogardus Scale: Measures social distance, typically in relation to ethnic and racial groups.

• Scale of Autonomy: Though less common, it is used in gender studies and developmental psychology to measure decision-making power or self-governance, especially in studies involving women or adolescents.

Hence, all four are legitimate and commonly used in social science surveys.

Matching the offences to their respective IPC sections:

A. Kidnapping for Exporting - III. Section 360 IPC: Section 360 defines kidnapping from India, including cases of taking a person beyond the limits of India.

B. Stalking - I. Section 354(D): This section explicitly deals with stalking as a criminal offence, added in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.

C. Molestation - IV. 354 IPС: Section 354 deals with assault or criminal force used against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty.

D. Selling of Minors for Prostitution - II. Section 372: This section criminalizes the selling of a minor for the purpose of prostitution or illicit intercourse.

Chronological order of the Acts is as follows:

C. Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act - 1986: Enacted to prohibit indecent representation of women through advertisements, publications, writings, paintings, etc.

B. Prohibition of Child Marriage Act - 2006: Replaced the earlier Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 and strengthened laws to prohibit child marriages.

D. Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act - 2012: Designed to protect children from sexual offences with a child-friendly mechanism for reporting and trial.

A. Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013: Came after the 2012 Delhi gang rape case and introduced major amendments including stalking, voyeurism, and enhanced punishments.

Nagalim is not a women's initiative. It is a political concept related to the unification of all Naga-inhabited areas under a single administrative unit, as demanded by some Naga groups like NSCN-IM.

In contrast:

Naga Mothers Association (NMA) is a grassroots women's organization in Nagaland that advocates for peace, women's rights, and social reform.

Meira Paibis are a collective of women activists from Manipur, often referred to as "women torch bearers", known for their role in civil rights and anti-violence movements.

Mahila Samakhya is a government-initiated program started in 1989 for women's empowerment through education, especially in rural areas.

Hence, Nagalim stands out as a political-territorial demand and not a women-specific initiative.

Correct match of feminists with their respective associations:

A. Pandita Ramabai Saraswati - III. Sharada Sadan: She established Sharada Sadan in 1889 in Mumbai as a residential school for widows and destitute women, focusing on their education and rehabilitation.

B. Durgabai Deshmukh - IV. Andhra Mahila Mandal: She was the founder of this organization which aimed at the social, economic, and educational development of women in Andhra Pradesh.

C. Chandraprabha Saikiani - I. Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti: A pioneering social reformer in Assam, she founded this Samiti to promote women's education and upliftment in Assam.

D. Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay - II. Indian National Theatre: She was closely associated with cultural renaissance and contributed to the formation of Indian National Theatre to promote indigenous arts and women's participation in culture.

Economic empowerment of women enhances their family status in multiple ways:

A. It increases their status: Women who earn are more likely to gain respect and recognition in household decisionmaking.

C. It increases their access and control over resources: With their own income or property, women gain economic independence and bargaining power.

D. It improves their decision-making power: Financial contribution allows women to take part in key decisions like education of children, health care, and investments.

B. It has no effect - is incorrect, because multiple studies (e.g., by UN Women and World Bank) show clear positive effects of economic empowerment on women's autonomy and family status.

Matching authors with their books:

A. Mary Daly - III. Beyond God the Father: A foundational feminist theological work that critiques patriarchal structures in religion and advocates for a feminist spirituality.

B. John Stuart Mill - I. The Subjection of Women: A classical liberal text advocating for gender equality and women's rights, published in 1869.

C. Maria Mies IV. Indian Women and Patriarchy: She conducted extensive research on Indian women's labor and exploitation under patriarchal systems.

D. Alison Jaggar - II. Feminist Politics and Human Nature: A key text in feminist philosophy that analyzes feminist theories and their connections to human nature debates.

Gender sensitization training includes:

A. Increasing the number of women in executive roles: Promotes gender equality in leadership and decision-making levels, addressing gender imbalance in organizations.

B. Promoting societal awareness to gender issues and women's rights: Aims to challenge stereotypes and encourage equitable treatment across genders.

C. Establishing quotas for women's representation in media - is not a direct training measure, but a policy-level intervention.

D. Limiting legal frameworks related to gender issues - is incorrect, as gender sensitization supports strengthening legal protections, not limiting them.