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

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes equity and inclusion in education, aiming to eliminate disparities, especially for marginalized and disadvantaged groups, including girls and women.

It seeks to ensure equal educational opportunities for all genders through:

• Gender Inclusion Fund
• Promotion of girl child education
• Increased female participation in STEM fields
• Safe and inclusive school infrastructure

The policy promotes gender sensitivity, curriculum reform, and capacity building for teachers to foster gender-equitable learning environments.

Ayushman Bharat is a flagship health scheme launched in 2018, based on the principle of providing comprehensive and universal healthcare. It comprises two inter-related components:

A. Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs): To provide comprehensive primary health care including maternal and child health, NCDs, and diagnostics.

B. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY): Offers financial protection up to 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

Options (C) and (D) are unrelated to Ayushman Bharat and pertain to other rural development and livelihood initiatives.

Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) refers to the proportion of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) or their partners who are using, or whose partners are using, any form of contraception.

It is a key indicator of reproductive health, often used in demographic and health surveys.

CPR helps assess family planning program effectiveness and influences population growth trends and maternal and child health outcomes.

It includes methods like pills, condoms, IUDs, sterilization, and natural methods.

Correct matching of authors with their notable feminist works: A. Susan Brownmiller - II. Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape:

A landmark feminist text that analyzes rape as a tool of patriarchal control, published in 1975.

B. Juliet Mitchell I. Women's Estate: This book provides a Marxist and psychoanalytic interpretation of women's oppression and analyzes the women's liberation movement.

C. Marge Piercy - IV. Woman on the Edge of Time: A feminist science fiction novel that explores issues of gender roles, mental health, and societal norms.

D. Simone de Beauvoir - III. The Ethics of Ambiguity: While best known for The Second Sex, in this book she elaborates on existentialist ethics, emphasizing freedom, choice, and responsibility in context of gender.

The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 primarily deals with:

• Mid-day Meal Scheme - free meals to school children.
• Public Distribution System (PDS) - subsidized food grains to eligible households.
• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) - supplementary nutrition to children and pregnant/lactating mothers.
• However, National Nutrition Supplementation Programme is not directly covered under NFSA.

It may relate to schemes like POSHAN Abhiyaan, which operate independently of NFSA, focusing more broadly on malnutrition and health promotion. Therefore, this is not a core component of the NFSA.

• The 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women, recognized entrepreneurship as a vital tool for achieving economic empowerment of women.

• Economic empowerment refers to women's ability to access and control economic resources, including income, assets, and employment opportunities.

• The document emphasized the need for governments and institutions to support women entrepreneurs through access to credit, training, and market opportunities, thereby enhancing their autonomy and agency.

Correct matching of Acts with their years of establishment:

A. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act - II. 2005: This comprehensive legislation provides civil remedies and protection to women from domestic abuse, including physical, emotional, sexual, and economic violence.

B. The Dowry Prohibition Act - III. 1961: Enacted to prohibit the giving or taking of dowry, this law criminalizes the practice and aims to curb dowry-related violence.

C. The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act - I. 1986: This act prohibits indecent portrayal of women in media and advertisements, aiming to protect their dignity.

D. The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act - IV. 1987: This law was passed to prevent the practice of Sati after the infamous Roop Kanwar case, criminalizing both the act and its glorification.

• Feminists began to use Narratology-the study of narrative and narrative structure-in the 1970s as a method to analyze how stories and language reflect and reproduce gendered power relations.

• They examined literature, media, and personal narratives to highlight the absence or marginalization of women's voices and how narratives often privilege male perspectives.

• Scholars like Hélène Cixous and Julia Kristeva played key roles in incorporating literary theory into feminist critique, using narratology to challenge dominant patriarchal narratives.

Women often face barriers in vocational training and workplace environments, such as:

• Gender bias in skill programs
• Lack of safe and inclusive training centers
• Inadequate mentorship or financial support

These barriers directly affect their productivity, meaning their output, efficiency, and potential in contributing to the economy is hindered.

Productive engagement requires equal access to quality training, fair workplace policies, and supportive infrastructure, which many women are deprived of, especially in rural and informal sectors.

Ascending order of feminist scholars based on their contributions in India:

A. Veena Majumdar: One of the earliest pioneers of feminist research in India, instrumental in drafting the 1974 Towards Equality Report.

D. Samita Sen: Known for her work on women's labour history, particularly in colonial Bengal.

B. Flavia Agnes: A legal scholar and women's rights lawyer, active in feminist legal reform and advocacy since the 1990s.

C. Sharmila Rege: A later scholar, she contributed significantly to Dalit feminist thought and critique of mainstream feminism, emphasizing intersectionality and caste-gender relations. Thus, the correct chronological contribution order is: Veena Majumdar, Samita Sen, Flavia Agnes, Sharmila Rege.