Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Q1 The role of women since independence has not been confined to issues of women alone, rather they have played an important role in the issues related to peasants, tribals, farmers, trade unions and environment. Discuss. (15 marks)

Q2.It has been pointed in the recent times, while the proportional share of nuclear households has dipped in urban areas it has risen in rural areas. Analyse the reasons behind this trend. (10 marks)

Q3) While on one hand urbanisation is creating potential for social integration and economic opportunity, on other hand, it is also leading to segregation and exclusion on the basis of socio-economic status. Examine the paradox in the context of Indian cities. What steps can be taken to make urban space really inclusive? (15 marks)

Q4. the relegation of women to private sphere of life is main cause behind the gender inequality and exploitation in India. Discuss. ( 10 marks)

sustainable growth.

Q5)Growing ‘informalization of the labour market’ is perceived as a barrier to releasing the economic potential and as well the hindrance to longrun economic development and poverty reduction. Discuss (1o marks)

Conclusion:?

Q.6) Efforts to combat violence against women have undergone extensivechanges over the years. In light of the statement discuss the role played by SHGs in combating the same. (15 marks)

A self-help group is a small informal association of people created at the grass root level to get economic benefits on the basis of mutual help, solidarity and joint responsibility. Violence against women is an extreme manifestation of gender

inequality in society and a serious violation of fundamental human rights. It occurs throughout the lifecycle from pre-birth (foeticide), infancy (infanticide), childhood (child marriage), adolescence (rape), adulthood (dowry deaths and marital rape) to old age. To combat violence against women, India had been adopting a prohibitive approach (enactment of laws such as Dowry ProhibitionAct, 1961) for combating violence against women. However, the upcoming of SHGs has shifted the focus from social prohibition to collective empowerment of women.

ROLE OF SHGS:Institutionalisation It serves as an organisational instrument for the economic empowerment of womenwhich enable them to counter the incidences of domestic violence.Civic Awareness Increase in awareness of basic rights and enables them to access legal recourse. They can do mouth publicity of governmental activities that are focussing on improving the conditions of women in distress. Increase in self-confidence and enhanced social status changes the perspective of the society for women.Freedom from Economic Distress Economic empowerment and freedom from exploitation of money lenders, landlords etc. Enhanced decision making powers in the household affairs.Political Empowerment Active participation in other organizations and political bodies like Panchayats. Improved political consciousness and improved awareness about electoral process,societal analysis and gender issues.Easy Access to Dispute Settlement Collective-based dispute resolution mechanisms:o The Nari Adalats (women courts) in various States,o Women’s Resource Centres (Rajasthan),o Shalishi (West Bengal), ando Mahila Panchayats (Delhi)

HOW SHGS CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN COUNTERING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN? SHGs must become enabling spaces where wider economic and social concerns ofwomen are stated as priorities. Freedom from violence must be stated as a necessary component of empowerment. It takes time for most women to recognise that violence is unacceptable. To enable them to understand this, there must be investment in specific training, and gender analysis processes. SHGs are mostly seen as administrative entities. Their social role can be enhanced to tackle the widespread problem of violence against women.

Along with regular efforts and incorporation SHGs government should focus on area specific strategies to tackle the menace of violence against women.

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Q7)Women constitutes almost fifty percent of the population in India,however, their social, economic and political well-being is not similar to theirmale counterpart. In this context, examine the role played by women’sorganisation in improving women’s condition. (15 marks)

The well-being of woman during contemporary times is not in line with the socio- economic and political progress achieved by men. Their social condition is reflected in day-to-day incidence of violence, harassment at workplace, rapes, honour killing and cases of molestation. Social backwardness of women is nothing but manifestation of patriarchal mindset of Indian society. Women’s political representation is also very less. There are fewer than 12% of total MP’s in LokSabha. In panchayats, though their representation is constitutionally ensured but decisionmaking is still done by their husbands, popularly known as Sarpanch Pati. Economically, women are not paid equally compare to their male counter parts. With respect to property rights, women are not given property rights similar to men, hence they remain dependent on men financially.

ROLE PLAYED BY WOMEN’S ORGANISATION:Women's Organisations emerged in India as a result of the spread of education. There was an improved level of communication among women which made them aware of the different problems that they faced and their rights in society. This awareness led to the upsurge of women's organisations that fought for women's causes.

PRE-INDEPENDENCE PERIOD:1. An exclusive feature of the Indian women's movement is that early efforts at women's liberation were made by men. Social reformers such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Swami Dayanand Saraswati challenged the conventional subservience of women, stimulated widow remarriage and supported female education.2. Mahila mandals organised by Hindu reformist organisations such as the Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj encouraged women to go out of the boundaries of their homes and interact with other members of society.

3. Pandita Ramabai with the help of Justice Ranade established the Arya Mahila Samaj in 1882. She envisioned creating a support network for newly educated women through weekly lectures and lessons at homes, where women could learn and gain confidence through interactions.4. These initiatives greatly influenced the social status of women and encouraged women to come outside their families and local committee.5. However, the limitation of these kinds of movements was that it was exclusive in character. The reforms were planned for restricted upper caste women and did not take up the cause of the huge masses of poor and working class women.6. Also, male‐guided organisations still perceived the household as the woman's first priority and did not make efforts to employ education as an instrument to improve their contribution in society.7. During independence struggle, organisations such as Bharat Mahila Parishad (1904), Women’s Indian Association (1917) and All India Women’s Conference (1927) took up issues like women’s education, abolition of evil social customs (purdah, child marriage), equality of rights and opportunities and women’s suffrage.

POST-INDEPENDENCE PERIOD:1. Many women's organizations such as National Federation of Indian Women (1954), the Samajwadi Mahila Sabha (1559) were formed to work for supporting the cause of Indian women.2. During this period, the Indian women got an opportunity to participate inconfrontational politics.3. In Gujarat, first attempt at a women's trade union was made with the establishment of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) at the initiative of Ela Bhat in 1972. Major objective was to improve the condition of poor women who worked in the unorganized sector by providing training, technical aids and collective bargaining. Based on Gandhian ideals, SEWA has been a remarkable success.4. The Nav Nirman movement, initially a student's movement in Gujarat against rising prices, black marketing and dishonesty launched in 1974 was soon joined by huge number of middle class women. Their method of protest reached from mass hunger strike, mock funerals and prabhat pheris.5. The 1970s and 1980s observed the development of numerous women's groups that took up issues such as dowry deaths, bride burning, rape, and sati and focused on violence against women. They questioned the patriarchal assumptions underlying

Women's role in the family and society based on the biological sex differences implying a "natural" separation of human activities by gender differentials.The women's movement has a long way to go in its struggle for bringing about new values, a new ethics and a new democratic affiliation. Even though the efforts made by women activists and concerned organization were slow in getting a real break-through, despite the conservative outlook of their counterparts, they contributed in creating a focussed awareness among middleclass and upper middle-class women at large. In present time, there is need to club all the women movements, which is

being run at different levels, in one movement so that women’s demand is heard and effective and efficient outcome is ensured.

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