Shrichakradhar.

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MSWE-002: Women and Child Development

Guess Paper-I

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Q. Write a historical overview of the concept of women and development.
Ans. Since the 1950s, a different approach to women and development has been rooted in changes in
development paradigms and social policies. Problems of women in the “Third World” do not arise from

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lack of integration into the development process, but from being at the bottom of an inherently
hierarchical and contradictory structure of production and accumulation. Mainstream development
approaches between the 1950s and the1970s were based on the predominant belief that modernization,

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industrialization of the agrarian sectors to the industrial sectors would enable the growth of third world

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economies. By the late 60s modernization theory was subject to criticism from many quarters. The
emergence of women in the development movement was in response to the inadequacies of the
modernization approach. Esther Boserup’s seminal work in Africa on Women’s Role in Economic
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Development (1970) was seen as a landmark in the development of the feminist critique of development
policies. New technology actually lowered women's status by reducing their access to productive work
during the colonial period, and afterwards women were increasingly relegated to the subsistence
economy as cash crops and wage jobs were only available to men. Irene Tinker focused upon the
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invisibility of women’s work and the role reinforcement. Barbara Rogers emphasized biases in policy
formulation. In the 1970s other policy approaches - welfare, anti-poverty, equity and efficiency followed.
These approaches placed emphasis on reduction of inequality between men and women, recognizing
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women’s work within the household and outside and on recognizing women’s ‘needs and interests’ .In
the late 70s a thorough examination of the roots of women’s subordination was done, through an analysis
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of global capitalism combined with patriarchy. Concepts of productive labour, unpaid work, sexual
division of labour, role of the household and the gender relations within it. The links between the
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household as an economic unit and the global economy emerged. The third world perspective put fourth
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by DAWN at the Nairobi Conference on women focused upon the debt crisis, expenditure on
militarization, equity in international political and economic systems, redistribution of global resources
between and within societies and self-reliance and empowerment of women. The critiques of the WAD
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approach highlighted that class contradiction was seen as primary, gender as secondary, and the need to
challenge hierarchies within. The shift to an empowerment approach acknowledged differences between
women, construction of identities, and interests, alliance building, long-term structural changes and
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amelioration of inequalities based on class, gender, race focusing on strategic gender interests. The 1980s
saw a critique of the neo-liberal policies. It highlighted that women were seen as a homogeneous
category. Differences between them were being ignored; policy and projects were top-down and women
were seen as passive agents of development. Most literature was seen as ethnocentric, avoiding thorny
issues such as power, how knowledge is constructed within development discourses. Thus, the
conceptual shift from women to gender meant that social construction became central to the discourse.
The concept of gender relations sought to shift attention away from looking at women and men as
isolated categories to looking at social relations through which they were mutually constituted as

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unequal social categories. Gender relations are an aspect of broader social relations and like all others
constituted through the rules, norms, procedures and practices through which resources are allocated;
tasks and responsibilities are assigned; value is given and power is mobilized. Gender analysis and
gender mainstreaming are two linked processes. While gender analysis examines the process and
intervention in and by the organization in terms of their effects on women and men. Gender
mainstreaming strives to achieve gender equality - equity at various levels; equal material welfare;

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equitable access to resources and opportunities; a value system based on the belief in equal participation
in decision making and equal control over resources and benefits. Gender mainstreaming calls for

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feminist actions at different levels and requires commitment, capacities and resources. It has an
organizational policy, programme, human resource, financial and administration dimension. At the
policy level it ensures that the issue of gender equality becomes a visible and central concern in policy
and planning. At the programme level it ensures that the opportunities are created for women's

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leadership and informed participation at all levels. At the organizational level it ensures that space and

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opportunities for learning and growth contributing to organizational goals are created equally for women
and men at all levels. Gender equality cannot come about only through changes in women’s conditionsit
requires transformation of the structures and systems, which lie at the root of women’s subordination
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and gender inequality. It is extremely important to understand that deeply entrenched hierarchies that
dominate most organizations are not restricted to gender hierarchies- they encompass hierarchy of
position, professional qualification, age, class, language, proficiency, years of experience and the
proximity to the power bases within the organization. Compartmentalizing of issues such as women’s
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and men’s issues is counter productive to the process of mainstreaming. The organizational culture
should see all issues as women’s and men’s issues and no issue as only women’s issues. Women must
have a separate space. As far as women are concerned, the recruitment policies must apply qualitative
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indicators. The changes within the organizational context should be seen both in terms of qualitative and
quantitative indicators. Attitudinal changes are at the core of this process and sharing of power and
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resources. The major responsibility for restructuring organizations rests with those who exercise the
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greatest power and control. The organizational restructuring must be based on a broad consensus within
the organization- the decision should be marketed before it is taken, not ‘sold’ afterwards. Since collective
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decision making is a cornerstone of the new and open organization, this must be instituted and agreed to,
at the outset. A team- based approach can be a central strategy since it can lead to the enhancement of
people’s capacities to own and take responsibilities for their own action. Coming to the concept of
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Patriarchy, it is essential to understand that Patriarchy is both an ideology and a structure. It permeates
all aspects of life and proclaims that men are superior to women! Patriarchy differs in different societies,
cultures and communities and is manifested in different forms. At this juncture, it is essential to
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understand the institution of patriarchy. Family is the school of patriarchy. Men are deemed the heads
and thereby control women’s sexuality, labour, mobility etc. Among men and women there is hierarchy,
and the socialization process reproduces the values of patriarchy. All modern religions have been created,
written and institutionalized by men. Religion has presented patriarchy as supernaturally ordained. The
feminine principle of power has been weakened and female goddesses displaced. Women have been
considered inferior, sinful, impure and religious laws have justified violence against deviant women. The
legal system in most countries is patriarchal. Laws pertaining to family marriage and inheritance are

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biased against women. Systems of jurisprudence and justice are also male-dominated. Formal and
institutionalized education has been under the control of men. Male hegemony over creation of
knowledge eclipsed and marginalized women's knowledge and experience, expertise and aspirations.
Media is largely owned and controlled by the upper class, caste men to propagate class and gender
ideology. The portrayal of women is stereotypical and distorted. All political institutions are institutions
dominated by men. Women are underrepresented at all levels except in Scandinavian countries. Though

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in South Asia, there have been many women heads of state, kinship ties were their main planks to power.
The concept of power too is very patriarchal. Moreover, the economy is based on the male construct of

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the work, in which the labour of women is discounted and considered shadow work with no economic
value. Women play a marginal role in the national and global economic systems. They continue to be
mainly in the least skilled and least paid jobs. Elite males dominate national level institutions and the
capitalists of the west control the economies of the least developed countries.

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Q. Explain Violence against Women.
Ans. Violence against women is a means of patriarchal control to subjugate and to keep women
subordinated and in fear. All forms and acts whether verbal, nonverbal, sexual, physical, psychological,
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social, cultural and political which violate women’s and girls’ rights to life, liberty, dignity, equality and
bodily integrity constitute violence against women. This amounts to systematic violation of women’s
human rights. The sites of violence are all pervasive and take place both in the public and private sphere.
Violence against women (VAW) is a major development issue. Women’s organizations have worked
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against gender - based violence through consciousness raising, support to the victim, advocacy with the
state and its machinery and in public advocacy. VAW includes any act of gender - based violence that
results in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts,
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coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life. VAW is a
universal phenomenon but takes different forms in different socio-cultural and religious contexts.
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Although some of its manifestations are culturally specific, VAW cuts across national boundaries,
ideologies, classes, races and ethnic groups. Each society has mechanisms that legitimize, obscure, deny
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and therefore perpetuate violence. Gender violence arises out of unequal power relations between men
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and women. Within the patriarchal context, there has been a tendency to hide domestic violence by
creating a divide between the private and the public. In many countries there is no law against rape
within marriage or against incest. Women have often violated the private domain and are therefore never
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heard. The ideological basis of patriarchy and the myth that women are subservient keeps them in
abusive relationships. VAW results in all types of physical injury. Women also suffer psychological
effects of violence. The repetition of a pattern of aggression can turn women into fearful and confused
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persons, impacting her self-confidence and self-esteem resulting in feelings of helplessness, and even in
her turning the aggression towards herself. The socially constructed dependency of women on men is the
key to understanding women’s vulnerability to violence. Because of women’s sexuality and gender, she is
susceptible to rape, female circumcision, genital mutilation, female infanticide and sex-related crimes.
Some suggest that the notion of violence needs to be expanded; it should also include the entire range of
acts of violence for e.g. heterosexual men or women against homosexual men and women or
transvestites, against people who do not fit a social pattern, mother-in-laws to daughter-in-laws etc.
Women become the instruments through which the social system reproduces itself and through which

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systematic inequality is maintained. There are four major categories of violence: domestic, sexual,
political and state violence. Sites of violence include the family, society/ community, and the state/
political sites. All three constitute a pervasive and interactive system for legitimizing violence and the
locus of acts of violence as well. Women are both subjects and agents. They are not just victims; they are
constantly and actively struggling and negotiating through the process. Strategies against violence
include community mobilization, awareness raising, local Nyaya Panchayats / Shalish (arbitration) and

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advocacy with the state and the state agencies. It includes understanding the nature of violence,
responding to the victims and attacking the roots of violence. All constituencies - the victim, community,

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social and religious institutions, the legal systems, and enforcement agencies have been involved. It also
means challenging the social attitudes and beliefs and renegotiation in the meaning of gender and
sexuality and the balance of power between men and women. Rape laws, for example, are narrowly
defined. It is difficult for rape victims to obtain justice, since the burden of proof rests on the woman.

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Rape has been seen as an individual problem and not a social phenomenon. In India a rape takes place

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every 54 minutes, eve-teasing every 51 minutes, molestation once in every 26 minutes, a vicious act of
violence every 33 minutes and a dowry death every 1000 minutes. A survey for National Commission for
Women found out that 84.97 % of the working women in the organized sector were unaware of the
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Supreme Court ruling of August 13, 1997 on sexual harassment at workplaces. Throughout the world
women have usually fewer rights and a lower social status as compared to men. The traditional role of
wife and mother dominates and the majority of women’s lives center around their households. Hence,
women the world over are demanding equality and justice because of the widespread discrimination
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they face in all walks of life.

Q. Explain Role of the Commission on the Status of Women.

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Ans. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Commission was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II)
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of 21 June 1946 with the aim to prepare recommendations and reports to the Council on promoting
women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. It is dedicated exclusively to
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gender equality and advancement of women. Every year it evaluates progress on gender equality,
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identifies challenges, sets global standards and formulates concrete policies in this regard. The
Commission also makes recommendations on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field
of women's rights. The fifty-second session of the CSW took place in 2008 in which the Commission
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deliberated on “Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women”. The Commission
recognizes the importance of gender mainstreaming as a tool for achieving gender equality and, to that
end, the need to promote the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the design, implementation,
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monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and social spheres. It
aims to strengthen the capabilities of the United Nations system in the area of gender equality. United
Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW)
Following the recommendations of the First World Conference on Women for the creation of a research
and training institute dedicated to the advancement of women, the ECOSOC created the United Nations
International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women in 1976. In collaboration
with governments, civil society and the United Nations System, UN-INSTRAW has carried out research
and training activities on different topics at the national, regional and international levels. The Institute

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highlights gender perspectives as an essential element in the analysis and implementation of programmes
and projects aimed at achieving peace, sustainable development and good governance. It has developed
conceptual frameworks and methodologies for measuring and valuing women’s household production,
for looking at women’s access to credit and water in Africa, Asia and Latin America; and for monitoring
governance and women's political participation at local, national, regional and international levels. Many
of the studies conducted by UN-INSTRAW have highlighted the gendered effects of globalization in

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processes such as migration, the impact of structural adjustment policies on women’s access to work,
health and education, and violence against women as an obstacle to development and the achievement of

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international commitments. UN-INSTRAW’s work has also focused on human rights, gender based
violence and the role of women in conflict-resolution and peace processes through different research and
training projects. Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and
Advancement of Women (OSAGI) The Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender

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Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) was created on 1 March 1997. The Office’s main objective is

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to promote and strengthen the effective implementation of the Millennium Declaration, the Beijing
Declaration and the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) held in
Beijing in 1995 and the Outcome Document of the special session of the General Assembly on Beijing+5.
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OSAGI does this through provision of oversight and policy guidance to the Division for the
Advancement of Women, ECOSOC, the Commission on the Status of Women, the CEDAW Committee
regarding women’s rights, gender analysis, advisory services and outreach. It ensures mainstreaming of a
gender perspective in the work of programmes and activities of intergovernmental forums, entities of the
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United Nations system, other intergovernmental bodies and Member States. OSAGI is responsible for
development of an intergovernmental agenda and framework for “women, peace and security”;
development of strategies and policies for the achievement of gender balance within the Secretariat and
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the UN system and increased efficiency and effectiveness of inter-agency collaboration related to gender
equality.
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Q. Explain International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966.

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Ans. This Covenant has implications for child rights. Article 10 (1) states that family is ‘the natural and
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fundamental group unit of society’ and ‘the widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded
to the family’ since it is responsible for the care and education of dependent children. (2) Special
protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after childbirth. During
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such period working mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social security
benefits. (3) Special measures of protection and assistance should be taken on behalf of all children and
young persons without any discrimination for reasons of parentage or other conditions. Children and
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young persons should be protected from economic and social exploitation. Their employment in work
harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to hamper their normal development
should be punishable by law. States should also set age limits below which the paid employment of child
labour should be prohibited and punishable by law. Article 12 [2(a)] observes that the State should ensure
provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant mortality and for the healthy development
of the child. According to Article 13(1) the States should recognize the right of everyone to education.
Education directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, shall
strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Education shall enable all persons to

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participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all
nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the
maintenance of peace.

Q. Explain United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Ans. UNICEF, created by the United Nations in 1946, was formerly known as United Nations

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International Children’s Emergency Fund. It came into existence to provide aid to children in countries,
particularly in Europe and Asia, ravaged by the Second World War. In 1953, this agency became United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with the aim of improving the state of the world’s children. UNICEF

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advocates for the protection of children's rights, helps meet their basic needs and expands opportunities
for them to reach their full potential. It is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives
to establish children’s rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour

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towards children. UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal

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development imperatives that are integral to human progress. It mobilizes political will and material
resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a “first call for children” and to
build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families.
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UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children - victims of
war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation and those with disabilities. It
responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In coordination with United Nations partners
and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF makes its unique facilities for rapid response available to its
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partners to relieve the suffering of children. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and
the countries in greatest need have priority. UNICEF aims to promote the equal rights of women and
girls and to support their full participation in the political, social, and economic development of their
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communities. UNICEF works towards the attainment of the sustainable human development goals
adopted by the world community and the realization of the vision of peace and social progress enshrined
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in the Charter of the United Nations. UNICEF was created to overcome the obstacles that poverty,
violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. Advocating measures to give children the
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best start in life, it believes that proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a
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person’s future.
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MSWE-002: Women and Child Development

Guess Paper-II

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Q. Explain Meaning of ‘Empowerment’.
Ans. Power is ‘the ability to control people or things-right or authority of a person or group to do
something’, according to the Oxford Dictionary (2000), and empowerment is ‘to give somebody the

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power or authority to do something; to authorize; to give somebody more control over their own life or
the situation they are in’. It gives a sense of control to women over their own lives whereby they are able
to weigh choices, make decisions and act accordingly. However, distinctions of caste/ class/ ethnicity

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constrain them from getting access to resources. Panda (2007) states that empowerment as a term is being

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used since the 17th century and it is now being treated as an enabling factor unlike earlier when it meant
‘to invest with power and authority’. In the year 1611, women got the right to vote in the American State
of Massachusetts. Another significant event was on March 8, 1857 women workers of garments and
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tailoring factories of America went on strike demanding fixed hours and equal remuneration. This
struggle continued until their voices were heard. That is why we celebrate March 8 as International
Women’s Day every year. In the 1970s the concept of empowerment grew out of the relationship between
feminism and popular education in Latin America. The United Nations declared the year 1975 as the
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International Women’s Year and decade 1975-1985 as Women’s Decade (Naqvi 2008: 27). Later,
empowerment got linked with Paulo Freire’s idea of conscientization and Gramsci’s conception of
democratic and participatory institutions. In India, in the 1980s empowerment began to be used for
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women’s development and for analysis of women’s subjugation in society. Thus, empowerment
emphasizes the need to be conscious of one’s position in society and to change it by fighting for one’s
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rights. As Albert Camus said “Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me, I may not
follow. Just walk beside me and be a friend”. In the Programme of Action 1992, women’s empowerment
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is considered primary for social change. Giving importance to ‘collective reflection’ and ‘decision-
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making’, it enlists parameters of empowerment, which are as follows-building a positive self-image and
self-confidence; developing ability to think critically; building up group cohesion and fostering decision-
making and action; ensuring equal participation in the process of bringing about social change;
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encouraging group action in order to bring about change in the society; providing the wherewithal for
economic independence.
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Q. Explain the prevalence of child marriage in India.

Ans. Child marriage still exists in our society. Women in the age group 18-29 years were asked about
their age at marriage in National Family Health Survey (NFHS3). Though we have the Child Marriage
Restraint Act, 1929 which prohibits marriage of girls below 18 years, yet the majority (53.4 per cent) of
rural women (in the age-group 18-29 years) in India were married before they turned 18. In the following
states, the percentages are much higher than the national level: Jharkhand 70 per cent, Bihar 69 per cent,
Rajasthan 67 per cent, Andhra Pradesh 63 per cent, West Bengal 62 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 60 per cent
and Uttar Pradesh 59 per cent. In the BIMARU (the demographically sick states of Bihar, Madhya

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Pradesh¸ Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) states, the figures are high. Unlike this, the comparable figure for
rural Kerala is 20 per cent and in Himachal Pradesh only 14 per cent. In Manipur it is 16 per cent and in
Jammu and Kashmir 19 per cent. With regard to urban areas, the overall figure for women married before
they turned 18 is 30 per cent, compared to 38 per cent in Bihar, 36 per cent in Rajasthan, 33 per cent in
Jharkhand, 32 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and 33 per cent in West Bengal. In urban Andhra Pradesh, it is 43
per cent. Thus, Andhra Pradesh has a high incidence of child marriages in both rural and urban areas. In

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the urban areas of Jammu and Kashmir only 9 per cent girls were married before they turned 18, in
Kerala 12 per cent, in Himachal Pradesh 14 per cent and in Uttaranchal 17 per cent. This shows that in the

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hilly states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, girls are not married off early.
However, coastal Kerala has the best performance (Bose 2007).

Q. Elaborate Sex Ratio.

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Ans. Sex ratio is said to be the most visible indicator (though not a complete indicator) of women’s status

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in society. India’s sex ratio is 933 while in China it is 944, Bangladesh 953 and Pakistan 938 per thousand
males (Census 2001). Dreze and Sen (2002) state that the low female-male ratio in India is not due to
hidden female infanticide which the death statistics are unable to capture. In fact, anthropological
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evidence suggests that female infanticide usually happens quite immediately after birth. Most of the
female mortality happens during childhood after the age of one, when inequality is visible in the first
year of birth. The all-India level neo-natal and infant mortality rates are the same for males and females. It
is among the older children that significant anti-female bias in mortality exists. The neglect of females in
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age group beyond that of a year happens in intra-household dimensions and is mainly due to son-
preference. The practices that cause female infanticide have become a part and parcel of society and are
not always drastic so as to cause girl child killing through asphyxiation, drowning and poisoning. Gender
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inequality includes sex differentials in mortality and also in natality. The mere wish to have sons has got
transformed into reality by the help of modern techniques which can detect the sex of the foetus and
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abort, if it is a female. In the 0-6 age group the female-male ratio of the population has fallen from 945
girls per thousand boys in 1991 to 927 girls per thousand boys in 2001. States like Kerala have marked an
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increase from 958 to 963 along with the North-Eastern states of Sikkim (from 965 to 986), Mizoram (from
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969 to 971), Tripura (from 967 to 975) and Union Territory of Lakshadweep (from 941 to 974). However,
as expected, the female-male ratio in the 0-6 age group has reduced sharply in Punjab (from 875 in 1991 to
793 in 2001), Haryana (from 879 to 820), Gujarat (from 928 to 878), and Maharashtra (946 to 917) which are
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the rich states. The existing evidence suggests that there is a fall in female births compared to male births
due to sexselective abortion. Indian laws ban Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques test except when it is a by-
product of a medical investigation. However, the implementation of this law is not so effective. Dreze
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and Sen (2002) argue that women's agency plays an important role in reducing sex differential in fertility
and mortality rates. But it cannot on its own reduce sex differentials at birth and also abortion of female
foetuses. According to them, apart from the freedom and power to act what is also important is the
power to reassess and question existing norms and values which require critical agency of women.

Q. Discuss the concepts of status and role with reference to women.

Ans. It is important to understand the concept of status with reference to women in India, before we
discuss different aspects of their status in society. According to the Committee on the Status of Women in

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India (CSWI) (1974), status denotes position in a social system or sub-system distinct from or related to
other positions through its allotted rights and obligations. It does not suggest rank or hierarchy but
position in relation to others with respect to rights and obligations. A status position in a structure
connotes superiority and inferiority (that is with regard to power, privileges, advantages and
disadvantages). Thus status is linked with comparison and grading. The status position is defined in
terms of a role. Role suggests expectation and obligation associated with a status position within a group

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or social situation. Each individual in society occupies many statuses and thus plays various roles. Thus,
around each status position there is a role-set. It is important to distinguish between ideal role behaviour,

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expected role behaviour and actual role behaviour. With change, these three aspects of roles are also
affected. As individuals play multiple roles, the way role is perceived also changes. Changes in actual
role behaviour affect expected role behaviour which in turn changes ideal role behaviour. There are
expectations of others and conflict between various roles that an individual has to perform. This applies

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to women in India especially. The institutionalized inequalities need to be seen when comparing women

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with men since the differences in their status shape inter-personal relations in society. Ascriptive status
with regard to gender exists universally. There are also differences with regard to the achievement status
that women acquire. A woman possesses multiple statuses and plays many roles like in the kinship
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system, family system and the larger social system. Her status is based on the composite status resulting
from the coming together of different statuses. How conscious she is of her status is also to be seen. It
would be important to analyze the roles that she plays, in order to assess the status of a woman (CSWI
1974). The structure of patriarchy leads to discriminatory practices against women in society. Patriarchy
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or pitrasatta, pidarshahi, and pitratontro as it is called in Hindi, Urdu and Bangla refers to male
domination and also the power relationships by which men control/dominate women and thus as a
system, patriarchy subjugates women in many ways. Earlier patriarchy suggested “a male-dominated
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family - a large household of the patriarch which included women, junior men, children, slaves and
domestic servants all within the rule of the dominant male” (Bhasin 2005). Such a patriarchal system
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persists through practices of gender inequality. A ‘plural view of gender inequality’ can help us assess
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women's position in society, states Amartya Sen (2001). He enlists seven types of gender inequality. These
are mortality inequality, natality inequality, basic facility inequality, special opportunity inequality,
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professional inequality, ownership inequality and household inequality. Mortality inequality exists in a
society with gender bias in nutrition and health care which causes high mortality rates among women
and a predominance of men in the overall population. Natality inequality is taking place since couples
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want a baby boy and not a girl and for this they take help of modern methods to diagnose the sex of the
foetus and abort the female foetus. This is ‘high-tech sexism’. Basic facility inequality happens when
gender bias takes on different forms to give a lesser status to women rather than being visible only in
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demographic aspects. Women/girls often do not have equal access to schooling opportunities and other
inputs through which they can showcase their talents. Special opportunity inequality is when arenas of
professions, training and education demarcate what is to be done by men from that by women leaving
women disadvantaged. Professional inequality is faced by women and they are on unequal terms
compared to men with regard to employment and promotion in occupation. Ownership inequality has
continued for years since the UN statistics shows “women do more than 60 percent of the hours of work
done in the world, but they get 10 percent of the world’s income and own one percent of the world’s

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property” (Bhasin 2005: 9). Lastly, household inequality depicts gender inequality in the family or the
household. The family may assign household work and childcare to women to their disadvantage. It is
generally assumed that men work outside while women can work outside only if they are able to manage
household chores alongside. This is seen as division of labour and can be referred to as ‘accumulation of
labour’ for women. This shows not only unequal gender relations in the family but also inequalities in
employment outside.

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Q. Define street children. Explain the problems faced by children living on the street.
Ans. One of the major consequences of the process of urbanization and industrialization is growing

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population of urban poor in the cities which do not have access to the basic amenities of life. They are
constantly involved in the struggle for survival. These are the people who migrate from the rural areas in
large numbers and settle down in slums, shanty towns, or squat wherever there is vacant land available.

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Some of them cannot even get this and lead a life on city streets, pavements, public places, parks, etc.

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looking daily for a place to spend the night. A more serious and vulnerable group of the urban poor that
is growing rapidly in the big cities is the street children and working children, with a home or without a
home. Many of them may be just runaways, as a result of broken homes, lured by city life and have no
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other alternative than to stay on the streets temporarily (Vanitha, 2009). The phenomenon of “street
children” is universal. With increasing awareness among governmental and international agencies,
“street children” are seen as a vulnerable group worthy of special interest, attention and intervention. The
term “Street Children” may suggest children such as those popularly known as ‘rag pickers’ in India,
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‘parking boys’ in Kenya, ‘Peggy boys’ in the Philippines, ‘pivetes’ in Brazil, ‘pajaro frutero’ in Peru and
‘homeless youth’ or ‘runaways’ in some developed countries (Agrawal, 1999).
A street child is one who
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• Lives on the streets, waste land, or public space most of the time,
• Works in the streets on jobs of low status and low income,
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• Lives in the exposed conditions of the street,

Has no or little parental supervision or other social protection,
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• Has either continuous, intermittent or no family contact at all,

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• Is vulnerable to the hazards of urbanization and urban living conditions.

The main problems that street children have to face come under three main categories:
Physical Problems
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Lack of Adequate Nutrition: Even though many street children get some amount of food to eat, they do
not get nutritious or balanced diets which manifests itself in the form of anemia, vitamin deficiencies and
other forms of malnutrition. The children who choose the streets as their home face the most acute
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problems related to shelter. They are vulnerable to all ranges of adverse conditions. These children do not
suffer merely from physical homelessness, but also from a psychological homelessness since they have
‘nowhere to belong’. The homes they leave behind no longer remain their havens while the streets
provide no comfort. Street children continuously face physical and mental strain. All street children
suffer from severe malnutrition and various kinds of deficiencies. The consumption of tobacco, alcohol or
drugs retards their growth at an early age. Due to exposure to dust and other pollutant, they suffer from
bronchitis, asthma and even severe tuberculosis. Because of the unhygienic conditions in which they live,
they are prone to skin diseases such as scabies, ulcers and rashes. They also encounter sexual and

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reproductive health problems such as STDs, HIV / AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, etc.
The lack of opportunity to ever visit a doctor further compounds all these health problems.
Psychological Problems: The past plays a crucial role in predisposing street children to become more
vulnerable to emotional, social, and psychological disorders in the future. Those situations and events
that lead children to take to the streets may have an on-going impact on their well-being and may deprive
them of emotional, economic, and other kinds of support for many successive years. Street children

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frequently move from place to place. Though in a majority of instances they do this by choice, at other
times, they are forced to keep moving in order to hide from the police, welfare authorities, and gangsters.

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This ambiguous lifestyle results in problems of social isolation and loneliness and leads to difficulties in
developing emotional attachments to other human beings. Many street children resort to substance abuse
(such as alcohol and drugs) in an attempt to escape from the overwhelming pressure of their traumatic
past and their daily problems. Substance abuse can lead to medical problems due to overdoses, an

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increase in the probability of accidents, violence and unprotected sex. The children who leave home and

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begin to live, the streets soon realize that the values their family taught them (such as honesty, integrity,
etc.) are not conducive to their survival on the streets. At times they are forced to steal food and money
because they have none of their own. They have to swallow their pride in order to beg for food or money.
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They learn to let go of their shame when they have no clothes or when they have only an undergarment
to wear.
Social Problems: Sociocultural, the street children lack opportunities for healthy recreation and lack
social acceptance. They frequently go hungry, wear torn, tattered and dirty clothes or sometimes, no
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clothes at all. They have no permanent place to stay, no educational facilities, no facilities for hygiene and
in brief, no facilities at all. They are exploited and abused, their basic needs of security and happiness are
not met. Children on the street have to work to survive. Frequently, they are forced to work for 10-12
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hours a day for very meagre payment or in exchange for just one square meal a day. They are also abused
and harassed - either physically or sexually by persons in authority. Besides the police, the street children
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are frequently taken advantage of by the underworld gangsters or by older street boys who bully them
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and use them to achieve their own ends. If the children do not oblige, they are threatened, beaten and
sometimes, in extreme cases, may even be killed. The general misconception is that street children are
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addicts, uncontrollable and violent, have no emotions or moral values who are out to cause trouble. As a
result of these misconceptions, people tend to be unsympathetic and indifferent to the actual plight of
street children. This lack of social acceptance is what pushes them away from mainstream society and
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forces them to survive on the fringes of the social system.

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MSWE-002: Women and Child Development

Guess Paper-III

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Q. Examine the effectiveness of the programmes for the welfare and development of the girl child.
Ans. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan with Special Focus on the Girl Child: The scheme of Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan (SSA) was started in the year 2001-02 with the objective of universalization of elementary

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education. It is an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children
including the girl child, through provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode.
Reaching out to the girl child is central to the efforts to universalize elementary education. Sarva Shiksha

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Abhiyan, or ‘Education for All’ programme, recognizes that ensuring girl’s education requires changes

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not only in the education system but also in societal norms and attitudes. A two-pronged gender strategy
has, therefore, been adopted to make the education system responsive to the needs of girls through
targeted interventions which serve as a pull factor to enhance access and retention of girls in schools and
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on the other hand, to generate a community demand for girls’ education through training and
mobilization. Education of girls has been a high priority with the Government of India. The targeted
provision for girls under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan includes free textbooks to all girls upto class VIII,
separate toilets for girls, back-to-school camps for out-of-school girls, bridge courses for older girls,
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recruitment of 50 percent women teachers, early childhood care and education centres in/near schools/
convergence with ICDS programme etc., teachers' sensitization programmes to promote equitable
learning opportunities, gender-sensitive teaching-learning materials including textbooks, intensive
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community mobilization efforts, ‘innovation fund’ per district for need-based interventions for ensuring
girls’ attendance and retention. Through the SSA, efforts are being made to generate a community
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demand for girls’ education and enabling conditions for people’s and women’s participation, to create the
push factors necessary to guarantee girls education. Motivation and mobilization of parents and the
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community at large; enhancing the role of women and mothers in school-related activities and
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participation in school committees; and strengthening the linkages between the school, teachers and
communities are some of the ways in which the enabling conditions are being created. In addition, to
target pockets where girls education is lagging behind, the Government of India has launched two
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focused interventions for girls - the National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level
(NPEGEL) and the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) to reach out to girls from marginalized
social groups in over 3,000 educationally backward blocks in the country where the female rural literacy
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is below the national average and the gender gap in literacy is above the national average.
National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL): Government of India has
declared its commitment to achieve Universalization of Elementary Education by 2010. This entails a
special thrust on girls’ education as well as greater rigour in planning, targeting and actually
implementing the interventions designed. Statistics reveal that despite the efforts that have been made,
gender disparities persist in enrollment of girls, especially in rural areas and among disadvantaged
groups. The disparity is more acute in the enrollment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,
especially at upper primary level. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has limited financial provisions for girls’

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education in the form of free textbooks and innovations at district levels. So, the National Programme for
Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) has been formulated for providing additional support
for education of underprivileged/disadvantaged girls at elementary level. The target group includes out
of school girls, drop out girls, overage girls who have not completed elementary education, working girls,
girls from marginalized social groups, girls with low attendance and with low levels of achievement, and
girls rescued from work, trafficked children, daughters of sex workers, displaced girls including girls in

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disturbed areas and urban settings. NPEGEL is a part of SSA and will be implemented under its umbrella
but as a distinct and separate gender component plan of SSA.

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The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) scheme has since 1st April, 2007 got merged with the SSA
programme as a separate component. It was launched by the Government of India in August, 2004 for
setting up residential schools at upper primary level for girls belonging predominantly to the SC, ST,
OBC and minorities in difficult areas. The KGBV ran as a separate scheme but in harmony with SSA,

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NPEGEL and Mahila Samakhya (MS) in the initial years.

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Janshala: The Government of India collaborated with UN agencies like ILO, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA
to provide support for Universalization of Elementary Education and started the Janshala. It is a
community-based education programme to make primary education accessible to girls. This Block-based
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programme started in blocks selected on the basis of female literacy, child labour, scheduled caste and
scheduled tribe population. Now, it is operational in 139 blocks in nine states of Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh. It
also covers cities of Hyderabad, Puri, Cuttack, Jodhpur, Lucknow and Bhillai. It caters to 110 lakh
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children (2007: 11): Nutrition Approved for Adolescent Girls: The Government of India is continuing
with the Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) in the year 2007-08 on a pilot project basis.
The project is being implemented in 51 identified districts i.e. in two backward districts each in major
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states, identified on the basis of ranking developed by Rural Development Division of the Planning
Commission and in the most populous district excluding the capital district each, in smaller states/ UTs.
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Undernourished adolescent girls in the age group 11-19 years with body weight less than 30 kg in the age
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group of 11 to 15 years and below 35 kg in the age group of 15-19 years are covered under this scheme.
Free foodgrain at the rate of 6 kg per beneficiary per month, is provided to these undernourished
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adolescent girls. The programme has been operationalized through the administrative set up of ICDS at
the state, district, block and anganwadi centre level. The success of the intervention depends on effective
linkages with the Public Distribution System (PDS) and effective synergy and convergence with health
hr

services (DWCD 2007- 08).

Conditional Cash Transfer for Girl Child with Insurance Cover: The Ministry of Women and Child
Development has launched a new Pilot Scheme “Conditional Cash Transfer for Girl Child with Insurance
S

Cover (CCT)” wherein cash transfers will be made to the family of the girl child (preferably the mother)
on fulfilling certain specific conditionalities (Birth registration, immunization, school enrollment and
retention, delay in marriage of the girl child till age of 18 years). In addition, an insurance coverage to the
tune of Rs 1 lakh would be taken for the girl child born on and after a cut-off date proposed. The central
tenet of CCT is the linking of cash to behaviour by providing money to poor families contingent upon
certain verifiable actions.

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Awareness Generation on Female Foeticide: In order to combat female foeticide, a massive nationwide
sensitization and advocacy campaign with specific focus on the importance of the girl child is being
undertaken. As this requires multi-sectoral approach, MWCD has taken the lead in collaborating with
Ministries such as Ministry of Defence (NCC, Army Wives Association etc), Ministry of Youth and Sports
(NYKS and NSS), Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Health and International Organizations to
draw up a Plan of Action. The grassroot functionaries such as Anganwadi Workers (AWW), Auxiliary

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Nurse and Mid Wife (ANM), ASHA Worker, Panchayati Raj Institutions have been advised and
sensitized to keep track of pregnant mothers and take note of female births and tracking the progress of

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girl child. (MWCD 2007-08)
Adolescent Girl Scheme: ICDS, with its opportunities for early childhood development, seeks to reduce
both socio-economic and gender inequalities. In order to better address concerns for women and the girl
child, it was necessary to design interventions for adolescent girls. This is aimed at breaking the inter-

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generational life cycle of nutritional disadvantage, and providing a supportive environment for self-

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development. For the first time in India, a special intervention has been devised for adolescent girls,
using the ICDS infrastructure. This intervention focuses on school drop-outs, girls in the age group of 11-
18 years, with a view to meet their needs of self-development, nutrition, health, education, literacy,
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recreation and skill formation. Special emphasis is also placed on reducing nutritional anaemia among
this group. This scheme has been sanctioned in 507 blocks covering all States and UTs. “State parties
recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. State parties shall ensure, to the maximum extent
possible, the survival and development of the child” (Article 6 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the
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Child). Government of India acceded to this convention in December 1992.

Q. Define Adolescence. Explain the changes that occur during puberty.

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Ans. Adolescence can be defined as the state between attainments of puberty until maturity. The period
between 10 to 20 years of age is called adolescence according to WHO. There is no fixed period since
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there are both biological and cultural variations. Often the ages between 10-13 years are referred to as the
pre-adolescence years. The word is derived from the Latin word adolescere, which means to grow.
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Adolescence is a time of moving from the immaturity of childhood into the maturity of adulthood. There
is no single event or boundary line that denotes the end of childhood or the beginning of adolescence.
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Rather, experts think of the passage from childhood into and through adolescence as composed of a set of
transitions that unfold gradually and that touch upon many aspects of the individual's behaviour,
hr

development, and relationships. These transitions are biological, cognitive, social, and emotional.
Adolescence emerged as a concept in the 1890s, when psychologists began investigating the abilities,
behaviours, problems, and attitudes of young people between the onset of puberty and marriage. G.
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Stanley Hall, a pioneer in the study of children and their learning processes, is credited with giving
adolescence its first full definition in his text Adolescence: Its Psychology and Its Relations to Physiology,
Anthropology, Sociology, Sex, Crime, Religion and Education, published in 1904. Hall thought that the
stresses and misbehaviour of young people were normal to their particular time of life, because he
believed human development recapitulated that of human society. For Hall, just as the human race had
evolved from “savagery” to “civilization,” so too did each individual develop from a primitive to an
advanced condition. Adolescence corresponded to, or recapitulated, the period of pre-history when
upheaval characterized society and logical thinking began to replace instinct. Hall identified adolescence

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as a period of emotional upheaval, inconsistent behaviour, and vulnerability to deviant and criminal
activity caused by psychosexual conflicts. Few societies agree on the boundaries of adolescence because
most societies define adolescence in terms of both age and life circumstance, and thus, the meaning of the
terms adolescent, youth, and young person vary across countries. At the beginning of the twenty-first
century, multiple models of American adolescence brought into question whether or not the historical
concept had as much uniformity as some twentieth-century experts implied it had. Certainly almost all

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adolescents, regardless of race or class, undergo similar biological changes, though characteristics may
vary. But the social and psychological parameters appeared to have become increasingly complex and

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diverse. Although the most common images of adolescents set them inside the youth-oriented consumer
culture of clothes, music, and movies, the darker side of growing up had captured increasing attention.
Poverty, sexual abuse, substance abuse, learning disabilities, depression, eating disorders, and violence
had come to characterize youthful experiences as much as the qualities of fun-and freedom-seeking

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depicted by the media and marketers. Popular theory still accepted that almost all adolescents confront

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similar psychological challenges of stress and anxiety, but the processes involved in growing up display
complexities that confound attempts to characterize them. The trend of young people assuming adult
sexual, family, social, and economic behaviour and their attendant problems blurred many of the
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qualities that previously gave adolescence its distinctiveness. Adolescence is the time between the
beginning of sexual maturation (puberty) and adulthood. It is a time of psychological maturation, during
which a person becomes “adult-like” in behaviour. The adolescent experiences not only physical growth
and change but also emotional, cognitive, social, and mental change and growth. The physical changes of
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puberty are triggered by hormones, chemical substances in the body that act on specific organs and
tissues. In boys a major change occurring during puberty is the increased production of testosterone, a
male sex hormone, while girls experience increased production of the female hormone oestrogen. In both
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sexes, a rise in growth hormone produces the adolescent growth spurt, the pronounced increase in height
and weight that marks the first half of puberty. Perhaps the most dramatic changes of puberty involve
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sexuality. Internally, through the development of primary sexual characteristics, adolescents become
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capable of sexual reproduction. Externally, as secondary sexual characteristics appear, girls and boys
begin to look like mature women and men. In boys primary and secondary sexual characteristics usually
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emerge in a predictable order, with rapid growth of the testes and scrotum, accompanied by the
appearance of pubic hair. About a year later, when the growth spurt begins, the penis also grows larger,
and pubic hair becomes coarser, thicker, and darker. Later still comes the growth of facial and body hair,
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and a gradual lowering of the voice. Around mid-adolescence internal changes begin making a boy
capable of producing and ejaculating sperm. In girls, sexual characteristics develop in a less regular
sequence. Usually, the first sign of puberty is a slight elevation of the breasts, but sometimes this is
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preceded by the appearance of pubic hair. Pubic hair changes from sparse and downy to denser and
coarser. Concurrent with these changes is further breast development. In teenage girls, internal sexual
changes include maturation of the uterus, vagina, and other parts of the reproductive system. Menarche,
the first menstrual period, happens relatively late in puberty. Regular ovulation and the ability to carry a
baby to full term usually follow menarche by several years. A second element of the passage through
adolescence is a cognitive transition. Compared to children, adolescents think in ways that are more
advanced, more efficient, and generally more complex. This is evident in five distinct areas of cognition.

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First, during adolescence individuals become better able than children to think about what is possible,
instead of limiting their thought to what is real. Whereas children’s thinking is oriented to the here and
now (i.e., to things and events that they can observe directly), adolescents are able to consider what they
observe against a backdrop of what is possible-they can think hypothetically. Second, during the passage
into adolescence, individuals become better able to think about abstract ideas. The adolescent’s greater
facility with abstract thinking also permits the application of advanced reasoning and logical processes to

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social and ideological matters. This is clearly seen in the adolescent’s increased facility and interest in
thinking about interpersonal relationships, politics, philosophy, religion, and morality-topics that involve

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such abstract concepts as friendship, faith, democracy, fairness, and honesty Third, during adolescence
individuals begin thinking more often about the process of thinking itself, or metacognition. As a result,
adolescents may display increased introspection and self-consciousness. Although improvements in
metacognitive abilities provide important intellectual advantages, one potentially negative by product of

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these advances is the tendency for adolescents to develop a sort of egocentrism, or intense preoccupation

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with the self. Acute adolescent egocentrism sometimes leads adolescents to believe that others are
constantly watching and evaluating them. Psychologists refer to this as the imaginary audience. A fourth
change in cognition is that thinking tends to become multidimensional, rather than limited to a single
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issue. Whereas children tend to think about things one aspect at a time, adolescents describe themselves
and others in more differentiated and complicated terms and find it easier to look at problems from
multiple perspectives. Being able to understand that people’s personalities are not one-sided, or that
social situations can have different interpretations, depending on one's point of view, permits the
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adolescent to have far more sophisticated and complicated relationships with other people. Finally,
adolescents are more likely than children to see things as relative, rather than absolute. They are more
likely to question others’ assertions and less likely to accept “facts” as absolute truths. This increase in
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relativism can be particularly exasperating to parents, who may feel that their adolescent children
question everything just for the sake of argument. Adolescence is also a period of emotional transition,
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marked by changes in the way individuals view themselves and in their capacity to function
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independently. As adolescents mature intellectually and undergo cognitive changes, they come to
perceive themselves in more sophisticated and differentiated ways. Compared with children, who tend to
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describe themselves in relatively simple, concrete terms, adolescents are more likely to employ complex,
abstract, and psychological self-characterizations. As individuals’ self-conceptions become more abstract
and as they become more able to see themselves in psychological terms, they become more interested in
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understanding their own personalities and why they behave the way they do. For most adolescents,
establishing a sense of autonomy, or independence, is as important a part of the emotional transition out
of childhood as is establishing a sense of identity. During adolescence, there is a movement away from
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the dependency typical of childhood toward the autonomy typical of adulthood. Being independent,
however, means more than merely feeling independent. It also means being able to make decisions and to
select a sensible course of action. This is an especially important capability in contemporary society,
where many adolescents are forced to become independent decision makers at an early age. In general,
researchers find that decision-making abilities improve over the course of the adolescent years, with
gains continuing well into the later years of high school. Susceptibility to the influence of parents and
peers changes during adolescence. In general, during childhood, boys and girls are highly oriented

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toward their parents and less so toward their peers; peer pressure during the early elementary school
years is not especially strong. As they approach adolescence, however, children become somewhat less
oriented toward their parents and more oriented toward their peers, and peer pressure begins to escalate.
During early adolescence, conformity to parents continues to decline and conformity to peers and peer
pressure continues to rise. It is not until middle adolescence that genuine behavioural independence
emerges, when conformity to parents as well as peers declines. One of the most noteworthy aspects of the

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social transition into adolescence is the increase in the amount of time individuals spend with their peers.
Although relations with age-mates exist well before adolescence, during the teenage years they change in

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significance and structure. During adolescence, peer groups function much more often without adult
supervision than they do during childhood, and more often involve friends of the opposite sex. The
importance of peers during early adolescence coincides with changes in individuals' needs for intimacy.
As children begin to share secrets with their friends, loyalty and commitment develop. During

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adolescence, the search for intimacy intensifies, and self-disclosure between best friends becomes an

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important pastime. Teenagers, especially girls, spend a good deal of time discussing their innermost
thoughts and feelings, trying to understand one another. The discovery that they tend to think and feel
the same as someone else becomes another important basis of friendship. One of the most important
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social transitions that take place in adolescence concerns the emergence of sexual and romantic
relationships. Most adolescents’ first experience with sex falls into the category of “autoerotic behaviour,”
sexual behaviour that is experienced alone. The most common autoerotic activities reported by
adolescents are erotic fantasies and masturbation.
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Q. What do you understand by Millennium Development Goals? Discuss the progress made so far in
achieving the goals.
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Ans. The UN Millennium Declaration was adopted in September 2000 at the Millennium Summit, the
largest gathering of world leaders in history, committing their nations to a new global partnership to
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reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of time-bound targets, with a deadline of 2015, that have
become known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (UN Millennium Project 2002-2006). The
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eight Millennium Development Goals are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal
ic

primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve
maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS; malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability and
develop a global partnership for development (UNMDGs 2008). The third goal that aims to eliminate
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gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education
no later than 2015 is to be assessed on the basis of indicators like ratio of girls to boys in primary,
secondary and tertiary education, share of women in wage employment and in the non-agricultural
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sector, proportion of seats held by women in national parliament (UN-mdgmonitor 2008). Of the 113
countries that failed to achieve gender parity in primary and secondary school enrolment by the target
date of 2005, only 18 are likely to achieve the goal by 2015. Girls account for 55 per cent of the out-of
school population. Since 2000, the proportion of seats for women in parliaments only increased from 13.5
to 17.9 per cent. Women occupy at least 30 per cent of parliamentary seats in 20 countries, although none
of these countries are in Asia (MDGs Factsheet 2008). The Progress of the World's Women (POWW)
2008/2009 report states that four new targets were added to the MDGs in 2007, three of them bringing a
sharper focus on gender equality. The targets are to achieve full and productive employment and decent

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work for all, including women and young people; achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive
health; achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it; reduce
biodiversity loss, achieving by 2010 a significant reduction in the rate of loss (POWW 2008). Under MDG
1 that is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, a new target added in 2007 addresses productive
employment and decent work for all, including women and young people. This focus on female
productive employment acknowledges the contribution of female employment to poverty and hunger

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reduction at the household level. The connection between poverty and employment is particularly
relevant when considering those in vulnerable employment, defined as self-employed workers or those

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contributing to family work with little or no pay. These informal work arrangements usually lack social
protection, and pay is usually too low to generate savings. Vulnerable employment has decreased
globally by three percentage points since 1997. But about 1.5 billion people are still in this category and
the share is larger for women at 51.7 per cent. This discrepancy is worse in some regions: Eight out of ten

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women workers are in vulnerable employment in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. For MDG 2 to

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universalize Elementary education there can be an increase in enrolment of girls only when national
governments are keen to invest in women’s rights and girls’ rights. The gender gap in enrolment has
shrunk in most regions, and the gender gap in literacy is also narrowing. Still, much remains to be done
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in relation to girls’ education to ensure that girls finish primary and secondary school, to eliminate
violence against girls in school, and to bring more non-enrolled girls into school. Of the estimated 72
million primary-age children that were not in school in 2005, 57 per cent were girls, and this may be an
underestimate. MDG 3 to promote gender equality and empower women is central to the achievement of
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all the other MDGs, yet it has only one target, educational parity. While there is a commitment to track,
there are no targets for women’s share of wage employment and women’s share of representative seats in
public decision making. At the current rate of increase, few countries will reach a critical mass of 30 per
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cent by 2015. As of June 2008, women’s share of seats in national parliaments (lower or single house) was
only 18.4 per cent-that is, one out of every 5 parliamentarians is a woman. At the present rate, it will take
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another 40 years for developing countries to reach the parity zone between 40 and 60 per cent. Research
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shows that quotas and reservations play a positive role in accelerating the rate at which women move
into public decision-making. Gender equality in primary and secondary education is a goal within reach
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by 2015. Parity in primary schooling has already been reached in Latin America and the Caribbean, East
Asia and the Pacific and CEE/CIS. Parity will be more challenging but is achievable in secondary and
higher education, where the positive impact of female education has been widely demonstrated. Tertiary
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education - essential for women’s leadership roles in politics, the economy, and administration - presents
a different picture, with ratios of 0.6 and 0.7 in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, respectively. Under
MDG 4 to reduce child mortality, we realize that the mortality of girl children is a good indicator of
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gender equality and women’s rights. Not only are the causes of child mortality (disease, malnutrition)
linked to women’s health and education, but if girls do not survive at equivalent or higher rates than
boys, this can be a sign of specific gender-based discrimination. Child mortality has decreased globally
from 106 per 1,000 live births to 83 in 2005. The mortality rate must drop to 31 per 1,000 live births by
2015. There are significant regional variations in infant and child mortality rates particularly from a
gender perspective. In South Asia and in East Asia and the Pacific, more girls die before their fifth
birthday than do boys. There has been little deviation from this gender gap since 1990. According to

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Action Aid, various factors are behind the missing millions of girls and women, including sex-selective
pregnancy termination, as well as neglect and discriminatory access to food and medicine. Women’s
education levels - especially secondary and higher - significantly affect child survival and well-being.
There is a link between under-five mortality and immunization coverage for measles and women’s
education. The fifth goal to improve maternal health is of significance for women. The Safe Motherhood
Initiative which is a global campaign to reduce maternal mortality was launched in February, 1987 to

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raise awareness about the numbers of women dying each year from complications of pregnancy and
childbirth, and to challenge the world to act. Later, the inclusion of this goal as one of the MDGs was an

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achievement for women’s cause. Globally, over half a million women every year die during pregnancy or
childbirth, and over 90 per cent of these largely preventable deaths occur in developing countries. There
has been a decrease of less than 7 per cent in maternal deaths between 1990 and 2005. This translates into
a decrease in the global maternal mortality ratio from 430 (deaths per 100,000 live births) in 1990 to 400 in

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2005. According to the recent estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), this rate (roughly less

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than 0.4 per cent per year at the global level) falls far short of the 5.5 per cent annual reduction in
maternal deaths required to achieve the global target. There are striking regional differences in maternal
mortality ratios, which are disproportionately high in sub-Saharan Africa at around 920 (deaths per
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100,000 live births) in 2005, down only slightly from 1990. On average one in 22 women dies in this region
from pregnancy- related causes. High maternal mortality ratios are also prevalent in South Asia, but an
important decrease has occurred in this region, from 650 (deaths per 100,000 live births) in 1990 to 500 in
2005. Currently, one in 59 women in the region faces a risk of dying from maternal causes during her
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lifetime. By contrast, developed regions have a lifetime risk of maternal death of one in 8,000 women. For
Goal 6 to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other such diseases, efforts are in full-swing. Recent estimates
show that there has been a steady increase in the number of HIV-positive women and men. Among all
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adults living with HIV/AIDS, the share of women living with HIV has increased from 45 per cent in 1990
to 50 per cent in 2007. Goal 7 to ensure environment sustainability is also being followed. The United
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Nations Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Principle 20
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states that women have a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full
participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development. Data is scarce on the impact of
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environmental degradation and climate change on poor women, but as women often ensure household
food security and do the bulk of water and household fuel collection, their time burdens will increase if
drought, floods, erratic rainfall, and deforestation undermine the supply and quality of natural resources.
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Women and children are usually in charge of fetching and carrying water, an activity that is among the
most time- and energy-consuming of household tasks, especially in rural areas. It is estimated that
women and children in Africa alone spend 40 billion hours every year fetching and carrying water-a
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figure equivalent to a year’s labour for the entire workforce of France. MDG 8 to develop global
partnership for development is integral to development. With uneven progress of the gender equality
dimensions of all of the MDGs save education, and significant regional disparities, the message for
developing country governments and international aid institutions is clear: investment in gender equality
and women’s empowerment is vital for improving economic, social and political conditions in
developing countries within the framework of sustainable development.

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Q. Answer the following in about 150 words each:

(a) What are the inter-linkages between gender and health issues in India?
Ans. Indian women have high mortality rates, particularly during childhood and in their reproductive
years. The health of Indian women is intrinsically linked to their status in society. The women of India are
victims of prejudice from birth itself. They are not breastfed for long. For want of a son the women wants
to get pregnant as soon as possible which decreases the caring period for the girl child whereas the male

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members get adequate care and nutrition. There is a strong son preference in India, as sons are expected
to care for parents as they age. This son preference, along with high dowry costs for daughters,

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sometimes results in the mistreatment of daughters. Only a very limited number of Indian women have
the opportunity to choose whether or when to have a child. Women, particularly women in rural areas,
do not have access to safe and self-controlled methods of contraception. The public health system
emphasizes permanent methods like sterilization, or longterm methods like IUDs that do not need

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follow-up and are thus felt to be more ‘fool-proof’ than other spacing methods. In fact, sterilization

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accounts for more than 75% of total contraception, with female sterilization accounting for almost 95% of
all sterilizations (Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, 2001). In changing society,
women have to play multiple roles from child bearing and rearing, income earning to active partnership
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in development and governance. In India, mortality rate among females is greater than males at all stages
especially in the age group 15-35 years. Generally in India, women are the one who eat last and least in
the whole family. So they eat whatever is left after men folk are satiated. As a result most of the times
their food intake does not contain the nutritive value required in maintaining a healthy body. This
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nutritional deficiency has two major consequences for women. First they become anaemic and second
they never achieve their full growth, which leads to an unending cycle of poor growth as malnourished
women cannot give birth to a healthy baby. Malnutrition results in poor health of women. Women are
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not given the right to free movement. This means that they cannot go anywhere on their own and they
have to take the permission of male members of the family or have to take them along. This results in a
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decrease in women's visits to the doctor and she could not pay attention to her health as a result. Women.
h

(b) How can a social worker intervene in problems faced by children in schools?
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Ans. School social work helps children who have difficulties making a satisfactory school adjustment.
These difficulties may be expressed as truancy, failure in school subjects, and timid, fearful, withdrawn,
or over-aggressive behaviour. Other indications may be stealing, using narcotics, fighting, sullenness,
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inability to get along with other children or to accept the authority of the teacher, or demands for special
attention. The maladjusted child is often a serious handicap to other children in the class. The social
worker usually observes the child in class first and then discusses his or her problems with the teacher
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and principal. The social worker also consults school records, the school nurse, the attendance or truant
officer, and above all, the child. Sometimes a discussion with the child changes his or her attitude. The
school social worker, in most instances, contacts the parents after the interview with the child in order to
ask for the parent’s help in improving the child's adjustment in school. The school social worker
interprets the methods and philosophy of the school to the parents, which helps the school to establish
constructive parent-school relationships. He or she interprets the school programme to parent-teacher
associations, civic groups, and the community and participants in faculty meetings, school committees,
and group projects. The school social worker seeks to maintain an independent role, so that the child does

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not identify the social worker fully with school authority. The school social worker’s functions vary in
different communities. Whether he or she should also serve as a truant or attendance officer is
questionable, but the execution of the compulsory school attendance laws is not limited to legal means. It
is also debatable how much school social workers, teachers, and school counsellors may effectively
prevent the development of mental disorders. Practical experience has shown that the school social
worker is frequently successful in solving behaviour problems and disciplinary questions. Sometimes he

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or she is able, through the use of other community resources, group work agencies, and family welfare
services, to improve the conditions in the family that caused the child's failure or maladjustment in

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school. The school social worker should have professional training in social work and an understanding
of the educational process. He or she should be able to work with children and adults and to operate in a
team relationship with the school faculty. He or she also needs a sense of humour, imagination,
flexibility, and a good knowledge of community resources.

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(c) Discuss the impact of natural disasters on children.
Ans. Natural disasters disrupt everything that makes up society-family and community life, livelihoods,
and even belief systems. When a natural disaster strikes, children are the worst affected in many ways.
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They are exposed to traumatic scenes of devastation, both at home and outside. Many lose parents and
siblings; others suffer serious injuries and loss of limbs. Losing their homes, schools and friends, often in
a matter of seconds, leaves them traumatized, for life. Caring for children is a big responsibility under
“normal” conditions. However, when something out of our control happens, such as a nature- or
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weather-related disaster, caring for children becomes an even greater responsibility. Severe weather and
related emergencies are scary as they happen suddenly with little time to react. They often leave behind a
great deal of destruction to land, homes, and people’s lives. For those who survive a disaster, life may
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never be the same. The impact of disasters can be long-lasting-months or years. While there is nothing
that can be done to stop mother nature, there are ways to prepare ahead of time. The Indian sub-
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continent is one of the major arenas of disasters-both natural and man-made. Its unique geo-climatic
conditions and diverse natural features make this region among the most vulnerable to many types of
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natural disasters, particularly drought, floods, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides. India is also
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becoming increasingly vulnerable to man- made disasters or policy disasters, i.e. disasters induced as a
result of irrational policies such as large-scale displacement of people due to development projects, etc.
These could be referred to as ‘man - made’ disasters. The frequency of all categories of disasters-
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epidemics, road accidents, drought, industrial accidents and floods is escalating, resulting in a multi-fold
increase in injuries, disabilities, disease, destitution, and death. Natural disasters of various kinds result
in a broad spectrum of health hazards. Water - borne diseases (including diarrhoea and dysentery),
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vector -borne diseases (including malaria), hepatitis, respiratory infections, snake bite infections, and
conjunctivitis are very common in disaster - hit areas. Improper nutrition in the wake of a disaster leads
to malnutrition. Micronutrient deficiencies are common which contribute to lowering of immunity and
resistance to infections. During earthquakes, fractures account for a majority of all physical trauma cases.
Lacerations are common in cyclones. A very high proportion of survivors, including children, is left
disabled. Children are often the most affected and the inaccessible and disrupted services make the
situation of children even more precarious. In the aftermath of disaster, vaccination and immunization
often get disrupted. Children’s injuries go untreated for months. Those suffering from viral and other

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fevers also receive no medical help for days together. Despite a long history of natural disasters,
diarrhoeal diseases continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children. The trauma
faced by the children after a natural disaster is multi-dimensional. A disaster for a child implies sudden
encounters with death and destruction, threats to one’s own life or the lives of loved ones, and the shock
of wide-scaled deaths. Adults tend to overlook the trauma a child can suffer as a consequence of a natural
disaster, because children often lack the ability to verbalize their experiences and feelings. Children’s

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outward behaviour in the aftermath of a disaster may not reflect their inner emotional turmoil. Some may
exhibit the range of maladaptive responses, including fearfulness, sleeplessness, sadness and aggression.

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Some exhibit regressive behaviour and become clingy and whiny, while others report nightmares,
changes in appetite, withdrawal from activities, lack of concentration or refusal to attend school, and
academic decline. Life for children may not return to normal quickly after a disaster. There are changes in
living conditions that disrupt day-to-day activities. This can lead to strained and tense relationships

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within family and between friends. This disruption in relationships, roles, and routines can make life

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unfamiliar or unpredictable, which can be unsettling and sometimes frightening for children. With
progressive economic deterioration, children are increasingly expected to bring in some income to
contribute to the family's day-to-day expenses and survival. Children are always vulnerable; but their
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vulnerability is heightened whenever disaster strikes. This is particularly true in the Indian context,
where there already exists acute poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and gender insensitivity. In the
aftermath of a disaster, children exhibit various types of maladaptive behaviour patterns, and there is a
marked increase in the prevalence of juvenile delinquency even in children below 10 years of age.
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Children orphaned or separated from their families are “cannon fodder” for child traffickers. Many child
victims of disasters end up being sold into prostitution or are traded by adults who take advantage of
their vulnerability. Middlemen and pimps visit disaster struck areas to procure children with the
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intention of selling them into prostitution or bondage. With schools destroyed, study materials gone and
teachers missing, thousands of children set out to work. Their work brings much needed income to their
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impoverished households. Unfortunately, the long-term impact of temporary disruptions in schooling are
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seldom acknowledged by policy makers. The fact is that by the time the educational system is brought
back on track, many children may have dropped out permanently, or drifted into vagrancy, prostitution,
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wage labour and begging.

(d) Highlight the problems faced by rag pickers.

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Ans. Most of the rag-pickers are extremely poor, illiterate, and belong to rural immigrant families. Many
commence their profession at the young age of five to eight years. Most of them never attend any school
or have any formal education. Most of their families are in need of extra incomes from these young
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children. As earning members of the family they do not heed much to the advice of family elders.
Normally children work in one shift only but some of the children are collecting rags two to three times
in a day. Those who are involved in collection of empty bottles work late in the night. Rag picking is
probably one of the most dangerous and dehumanizing of activities. Child ragpickers are working in
filthy environments, under extreme weather conditions and have to search through hazardous waste
without gloves or shoes. They often eat the filthy food remnants they find in the garbage bins or in the
dumping ground. The children run the risk to come upon needles, syringes, used condoms, saline bottles,
soiled gloves and other hospital wastes as well as harmful plastic and iron items. Often these rag pickers

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go down drains and nallahs in search of the precious wastes and are subjected to chemical poisons and
infections. Rag pickers tend to suffer from many diseases, such as respiratory problems, worms, anaemia,
fever and other problems which include cuts, rashes and dog bite. Because of malnutrition they suffer
from retarded growth and anaemia. The rag pickers are very susceptible to diseases like tuberculosis and
cancer due to their exposure to hazardous materials. They commence chewing and smoking tobacco quite
early in life and soon they become addicted to alcoholic beverages and then they switch to hard liquors.

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They even do not refrain from taking the drugs. A large majority of the child ragpickers are out of school
children, despite the presence of schools in their neighbourhood. Most of the children are withdrawn

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from school at an early age. The boys often work in their parents' business while the girls are made to
take up the household responsibility. Several Indian states are enforcing anti-begging laws and hence the
traditional beggars have opted for “rag-picking”. In 2001, waste-picking was included among the
hazardous occupations banned under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. But apart

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from this very brief mention, rag picking is ignored in legislation regarding child labour. Contrary to

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most child labourers, ragpickers are self-employed or working with their parents and therefore not
answerable to any employer.

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(e) Comment on role of social worker in residential care.
Ans. In social work there is strong emphasis towards treating the cause of the illness. In the fulfilment of
the task of residential care certain elements are basic and obvious: the growing child needs food, clothing
and shelter. During the nineteenth century, it was recognized that the child also needed education if in
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due course he/she was to hold his/her place in society. For all the changes in thought that time has
brought, these five elements provision of food, clothing, shelter, education, and moral training – remain
the responsibility of the homes. Recently the task of trying to deal with children’s emotions has been
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added to these five elements. The recognition that the nurture of the child’s emotional wellbeing is the
“sixth element” of residential care has undoubtedly led to a revolution and has made the task of the
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residential worker more skilful, more demanding, and less easy to define. The alternative to placement in
a foster home is a placement in some form of residential establishments. In ideal conditions the latter
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mode of placement might have advantages: carefully selected, skilled, trained professional staff operating
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with small groups of children would be able to give warmth, the opportunity for identification and that
degree of detachment and interpretative skill which the child deprived of his own home seems to need.
But in the present times the conditions are far from ideal. Briefly, there is a gross insufficiency of people
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of the right temperament and calibre entering the profession of residential child care and remaining in it.
For child placed in residential care the group may be too big; it may be understaffed; identification with
the permanent member of staff may be difficult to achieve. However we know that there are children
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who are better placed in residential establishments because placement in foster homes can only add to
their problems. It is no use to foster children whose parents are unable to accept the fostering at any level,
and who may be able to resume care of them later. Individual remand homes cater to either boys or girls;
only rarely are they for both. The population is mainly delinquent comprising children who are waiting
for a form of supervision, a court reappearance or placements in long-term residential establishment. It is
very important for the staff to be able to live and work in harmony to create a happy and lively
atmosphere for the child to grow up in.

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Q. Write short notes on the following in about 100 words each:

(a) Feminism and empowerment of women
(b) Globalization
(c) Gender Main Streaming
(d) UNIFEM
(e) Child Ragpickers

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(f) Infant and Child Mortality Rate
(g) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

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(h) Parenting Styles
Ans.
(a) Feminism and empowerment of women: In societies around the world, “female-gendered”
status is viewed as inferior and subordinate to “male-gendered” status (Bunch, 1991). Societies

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have modelled their gender-role expectations on these assumptions of the “natural order” of

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humankind. The historic subordination, silencing, and imposing of the inferiority of women is
not simply a feature of society but a condition of society (Cook, 1995). Legal precepts traditionally
exclude women from centres of male-gendered power, including legislatures, military
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institutions, religious orders, universities, medicine and law. In the social work profession too,
although women constitute the majority of social workers, men hold the vast majority of
leadership positions in teaching social work (Bricker-Jenkins, Hooyman, and Gottlieb, 1991).
Women in most of the countries are subjected to discriminatory restrictions, deprived of their
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fundamental freedom regarding voting, marriage, travel, property ownerships and inheritance,
custody of children and citizenship. Besides there is ex-based discrimination in access to
education, employment, health care, financial services, etc. Violence against women takes many
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forms but is universal. The UN Development Programmes, Annual Human Development Report
(1998) commented that “in no society are women secure or treated as equal to men. Personal
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insecurity shadows them from cradle to grave. From childhood through adulthood they are
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abused because of their gender. “Despite the productive contributions in the life and wealth of
the nation, they are subjected to discrimination in every walk of life; she is relegated to the level
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of ‘passive’ participants rather than the ‘active’ one in all activities (UN Documents, 1991). Today
women comprise 66 per cent of the world’s illiterates and 70 per cent of the world’s poor
(Rachana, 2000). Deep rooted socio-religious traditions have further created bottlenecks in their
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progress to a great extent. Indrani Mirajkar (1994) has defined human rights for women as “the
collective rights of women to be seen and accepted as persons with the capacity to act and
dedicate and act on her own behalf and to have equal access to resources and equitable social,
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economic and political support to develop her full potential, exercise her right as a full human
being and to support the development of others.” Feminism focuses on recognition of
discrimination against women and unequal treatment in social, cultural, religious, political and
economic institutions. The present day struggle is to achieve equality, equity, dignity and
freedom of choice; to be able to control our bodies and lives. It challenges the very notion of
femininity and masculinity seen as mutually exclusive and biologically determined categories. It
is an ideology that envisions not only a change in men- women relations but all relationships of

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dominance and subordination. Therefore, it sees all issues as women’s issues (and men’s issues)
and refutes ghettoization of women’s issues. Empowerment is a concept that has become popular
in recent times to describe an enabling process for the socially marginalized persons and groups
to gain advantage and opportunities otherwise not available to them. The following discussion
focuses on the necessary dimensions to facilitate meaningful women's empowerment. These
dimensions ultimately correlate with the key factors in social development.

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(b) Globalization: Globalization or globalisation is the process of interaction and integration among
people, companies, and governments worldwide. As a complex and multifaceted phenomenon,

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globalization is considered by some as a form of capitalist expansion which entails the integration
of local and national economies into a global, unregulated market economy. Globalization has
grown due to advances in transportation and communication technology. With the increased
global interactions comes the growth of international trade, ideas, and culture. Globalization is

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primarily an economic process of interaction and integration that's associated with social and

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cultural aspects. However, conflicts and diplomacy are also large parts of the history of
globalization, and modern globalization.
Economically, globalization involves goods, services, the economic resources of capital,
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technology, and data. Also, the expansions of global markets liberalize the economic activities of
the exchange of goods and funds. Removal of cross-border trade barriers has made formation of
global markets more feasible. The steam locomotive, steamship, jet engine, and container ships
are some of the advances in the means of transport while the rise of the telegraph and its modern
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offspring, the Internet and mobile phones show development in telecommunications

infrastructure. All of these improvements have been major factors in globalization and have
generated further interdependence of economic and cultural activities around the globe.
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(c) Gender Main Streaming: Gender mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the
different implications for people of different genders of any planned policy action, including
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legislation and programmes, in all areas and levels. Mainstreaming essentially offers a pluralistic
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approach that values the diversity among people of different genders.

The concept of gender mainstreaming was first proposed at the 1985 Third World Conference on
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Women in Nairobi, Kenya. The idea has been pushed in the United Nations development
community. The idea was formally featured in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women
in Beijing, China, and was cited in the document that resulted from the conference, the Beijing
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Platform for Action.

(d) UNIFEM: UNIFEM is the women’s fund at the United Nations. Established in 1976, it provides
financial and technical assistance to innovative approaches aimed at fostering women’s
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empowerment and gender equality. UNIFEM also helps make the voices of women heard at the
United Nations by highlighting critical issues and advocating for the implementation of existing
commitments made to women. Placing the advancement of women’s human rights at the centre
of all of its efforts, UNIFEM focuses its activities on four strategic areas-reducing feminized
poverty, ending violence against women, reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and
girls, and achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war.
To pursue these goals, UNIFEM is active in all regions and at different levels. It works with

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countries to formulate and implement laws and policies to eliminate gender discrimination and
promote gender equality in such areas as land and inheritance rights, decent work for women
and ending violence against women. UNIFEM also aims to transform institutions to make them
more accountable to gender equality and women’s rights, to strengthen the capacity and voice of
women’s rights advocates, and to change harmful and discriminatory practices in society. Two
international agreements that frame UNIFEM’s work are the Beijing Platform for Action resulting

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from the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 and CEDAW. The spirit of these
agreements has been affirmed by the Millennium Declaration and the eight Millennium

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Development Goals for 2015. In addition, Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and
security (2000) is a crucial reference for UNIFEM’s work in support of women in conflict and
post-conflict situations. This resolution mandated the Secretary-General to carry out a study on
the impact of armed conflict on women and girls, the role of women in peace-building and the

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gender dimensions of peace processes and conflict resolution.

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(e) Child Ragpickers: Many children begin working as ragpickers at a young age even before they
are five years old. The majority of the ragpickers are between 8 and 10 years of age. Most of them
never attend school and do not have any formal education. Their families are generally in need of
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extra incomes which they earn through their children. There are two categories of child
ragpickers: Street pickers mostly boys, are extremely mobile and therefore it is difficult to gain
access to them. What they usually need is a shelter or reintegration with their families. In most
cases, the children work for a middleman who takes the major share of the sales and pays only a
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small amount to the children. On the other hand, the Dump pickers often live with their families,
in a relatively more stable environment. They usually work with their parents in or around the
dumping ground
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(f) Infant and Child Mortality Rate: Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of
1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of
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children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five mortality rate, which is
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referred to as the child mortality rate, is also an important statistic, considering the infant
mortality rate focuses only on children under one year of age. Premature birth is the biggest
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contributor to the IMR. Other leading causes of infant mortality are birth asphyxia, pneumonia,
congenital malformations, term birth complications such as abnormal presentation of the foetus
umbilical cord prolapse, or prolonged labor, neonatal infection, diarrhoea, malaria, measles and
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malnutrition.
(g) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: SSA is an effort to universalize elementary education by community-
ownership of the school system. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all
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over the country. This programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving
human capabilities to all children, through provision of community owned quality education in a
mission mode. The programme aim is to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all
children in the 6 to 14 age group by 2010. Another goal is to bridge social, regional and gender
gaps, with the active participation of the community in the management of schools.

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(h) Parenting Styles: Intergenerational patterns of parenting also affect the family environment.
Parenting styles are passed on from parents to children, who then adopt the same style of
parenting with their own children (Lyons & Zeanalt, 1993). Needless to say, parents who abuse
their children are often those who were once party to child abuse and were often abused as
children themselves. Hence, it becomes imperative that we adopt neutral strategies to parenting
as the child advances from late childhood, through puberty into adolescence. Baumrind (1989)

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concluded that the type of parenting practiced influenced the adolescent’s behaviours. Baumrind
(1989) identified three types of parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, and laissezfaire.’

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Authoritative parenting, is that parenting style whereby there is warmth and affection coupled
with demands being made on the child. Such parenting leads to psychologically healthy
adolescents. Authoritative parents expect adolescents to be independent, yet still place limits and
controls on their behaviours. Authoritative parenting is found to influence positively the

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adolescent’s development of social competence-particularly self-reliance and social responsibility.

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On the other hand, authoritarian parenting is characterized by being excessively demanding,
restrictive and punitive, while showing low levels of warmth. This type of parenting is associated
with anxiety concerning social comparison, ineffective social interactions, and inability to relate
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to others in group activities. ‘Laissez-faire’ parenting suggests an excessive indulgence or
detachment; apparently Baumrind identifies two types-permissive indifferent and permissive
indulgent. Permissive indifferent parents are uninvolved in their child’s life; they are neglectful
and unresponsive. This type of parenting is associated with a relative absence of self-control on
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the part of the adolescent. Permissive – indulgent parents are warm, accepting, and responsive
but rarely demanding. Such parents are actively involved in the adolescent’s life but rarely
enforce rules and allow the child excessive freedom. As a consequence, such adolescents are not
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sensitive and often do not abide by rules. Similarly, adolescents who are brought up by parents
who are indifferent or uninvolved are found to be at greatest risk for psychological and social
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problems (Baumrind, 1989).

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