Women Change the World

Q1: How do you think stereotypes, about

what women can or cannot do, affect
women’s right to equality?

Ans:
Stereotypes about what women can or
cannot do affects women’s right to equality
because they are termed weak and
incapable of doing strong work. It is because
of this reason that women are called inferior
to men. They are paid less salaries / wages
than their man counterparts.
 List one reason why learning the alphabet was
Q2:

so important to women like Rashsundari Devi,

Ramabai and Rokeya
Ans. Learning the alphabet was so
important to women like Rashsundari
Devi, Ramabai and Rokeya because
after learning alphabet they could
achieve their goals and fulfill their
dreams and contribute the society.
Rashsundari Devi: Wrote “Amar
Jiban”, first autobiography written by
an Indian woman.
Q3: “Poor girls drop out of school because they
are not interested in getting an education”.
Read the last paragraph on page-62 and
explain why this statement is not true.
Ans: The statement in question is not true
because of the following reasons:
There is no facility in rural areas especially in
Adiwasi areas.
Not even any proper school nearby their
villages.
No teacher in the schools.
No school nearby their homes.
Q4: Can you describe two methods of struggle
that the women’s movement used to raise
issues? If you had to organize a struggle
against stereotypes, about what women can or
cannot do, what method would you employ
from the ones that you have read about? Why
would you choose this particular method?
Ans:
The two methods of struggle that women’s
movement used to raise issues are –
Raising awareness through street plays,
songs and public meetings.
 Q1. Fill in the blanks.
i. In most families, once girls finish school,
they are encouraged by their families to see
marriage as their main aim in life.
ii. Ramabai was given the title ‘Pandita’.
Iii. Women wrote stories, letters and
autobiographies describing their own
experiences of inequality.
iv.Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain wrote a
remarkable story titled Sultana’s Dream in
1905.
  Q2. True/False

i. Laxmi Lakra is from a poor tribal family in Madhya

Pradesh. False
ii. Many women and men made efforts to open
schools for girls. True
iii. In 1910, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain started a
school for girls in Kolkata, and to this day, the school
is still functioning. True
iv. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was born into a poor
family who owned no land.
False
Q3. Who wrote Amar Jiban?
Ans. Rashsundari Devi wrote Amar Jiban.
Q4. Why was Satyarani's daughter
murdered?
Ans. Satyarani's daughter was murdered for
dowry.
Q5. Who was Satyarani?
Ans. Satyarani was an active member of the
anti-dowry movement.
Q6. When is International Women's Day
celebrated?
Ans. On 8 March, International Women’s Day is
celebrated.
Q7. What agricultural work women do?
Ans. Their work includes planting, weeding,
harvesting and threshing.
Q8. What percentage of women in India engaged
in agricultural work?
Ans. 83.6 per cent of working women in India is
engaged in agricultural work.
Q9. What are the various means of raising
awareness among the people?
Ans. Message can be spread through street
plays, songs and public meetings.
Q10. How did Laxmi Lakra break the
stereotype that only men could be engine
drivers?
Ans. She became the first woman engine
driver for Northern Railways.
Q11.Which is the first known autobiography
written by an Indian woman?
Q12. What led some women to question the
situation of women in society?
Ans. Learning to read and write led some
women to question the situation of women in
society.
Q13. Who is Laxmi Lakra?
Ans. Laxmi Lakra is a young tribal woman
from Jharkhand who has become the first
woman train driver with Northern Railway.
Q14. What do women do on international
women's day?
Q15. Why it is believed that women make better
nurses?
Ans. People believe that women make better
nurses because they are more patient and gentle.
This is linked to women’s roles within the family.
Q16. How did Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain learn to
read and write Bangla and English?
Ans. Rokeya learnt to read and write Bangla and
English with the support of her elder brother and an
elder sister.
Q17. “When we think of a farmer we only think of a
man.” Explain why?