Here is the class notes from Class 7 NCERT Civics – Chapter 5: Women Change the World

 

Introduction

  • Women have always played an important role in society.
  • Over time, they have fought for equality, education, and opportunities.
  • Despite progress, gender inequality still exists in many forms.

 Stereotypes About Women

  • Stereotypes: Fixed ideas about what women can or cannot do.
  • Common stereotype: “Women are good at household work, not suitable for technical jobs.”
  • These stereotypes limit women’s opportunities.

 Learning for Change

  • In earlier times, many girls were not allowed to go to school.
  • Lack of education kept them from getting good jobs.
  • Over time, reformers and women’s movements helped bring change.

Example:

  • Ramabai
    • She never went to school but learnt to read and write from her parents.
    • She was given the title ‘Pandita’ because she could read and write Sanskrit, a remarkable achievement as women then were not allowed such knowledge.
    • She went on to set up a Mission in Khedgaon near Pune in 1898, where widows and poor women were encouraged not only to become literate but to be independent.
  • Rashsundari Devi
    • She was born in West Bengal, some 200 years ago.
    • She taught herself to read and write in secret using her son’s textbooks and religious books.
    • At the age of 60, she wrote her autobiography in Bangla.
    • Her book titled Amar Jiban is the first known autobiography written by an Indian woman.
    • Through her own writing she also gave the world an opportunity to read about women’s lives in those days.
    • Rashsundari Devi wrote about her everyday life experiences in details.
    • There were days when she did not have a moment’s rest, no time even to sit down and eat.
  • Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain
    • Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was born into a rich family who owned a lot of land.
    • Though she knew how to read and write Urdu, she was stopped from learning Bangla and English.
    • In those days, English was seen as a language that would expose girls to new ideas, which people thought were not correct for them
    • She wrote a remarkable story titled Sultana’s Dream in 1905 when she was merely 25 years old.
    • This story imagined a woman called Sultana who reaches a place called Ladyland.
    • Ladyland is a place where women had the freedom to study, work, and create inventions like controlling rain from the clouds and flying air cars.
    • Advocated girls’ education; started a school for girls.

Schooling and Education Today

  • According to the 1961 census, about 40 per cent of all boys and men were literate compared to just 15 per cent of all girls and women.
  • In the most recent census of 2001, these figures have grown to 76 per cent for boys and men, and 54 per cent for girls and women.
  • This means that the proportion of both men and women who are now able to read
  • Now ,more girls are attending school, but still many drop out due to:
    • Poverty
    • Household responsibilities
    • Early marriage
    • Lack of transport or nearby schools

 Struggles for Equality

  • Women have formed organizations and movements to fight for:
    • Equal pay
    • Equal opportunities
    • Legal rights
  • Laws have been passed to protect women’s rights.

Women’s movement

  • Different strategies have been used to spread awareness, fight discrimination and seek justice. Here are some glimpses of this struggle.
  • Campaign
    • Campaigns to fight discrimination and violence against women are an important part of the women’s movement.
    •  Campaigns have also led to new laws being passed.
  • Raising Awareness
    • An important part of the women’s movements’ work is to raise public awareness on women’s rights issues.
    • Their message has been spread through street plays, songs and public meetings.
  • Protesting
    • The women’s movement raises its voice when violations violations against women take place.
    • for example, when a law or policy acts against their interests.
    • Public rallies and demonstrations are a very powerful way of drawing attention to injustices
  • Showing Solidarity
    • The women’s movement is also about showing solidarity with other women and causes

On 8 March, International Women’s Day, women all over the world come together to celebrate and renew their struggles.

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