Class 7

JAC Board Class 7th Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 4 Growing up as Boys and Girls

JAC Class 7th Civics Growing up as Boys and Girls InText Questions and Answers

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Question 1.
In what ways do the experiences of Samoan children and teenagers differ from your own experiences of growing up? Is there anything in this experience that you wish was part of your growing up?
Answer:
The experiences of Samoan children and teenagers differ from us is that they did not go to school. They used to do household work and looked after there siblings who were younger to them. Another major activity of the Samoan children were fishing. We cannot think our life without school as a child. We go to school daily and learn many new things from our parents and. teachers. We don’t have much free time as we have to do homework after the school is over. We play in the evening after finishing our school work.

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Question 2.
Make a drawing of a street or a park in your neighbourhood. Show the different kinds of activities young boys and girls may be engaged in. You could do this individually or in groups.
Answer:
Students need to do it own their own.

Question 3.
Are there as many girls as boys in your drawing? Most probably you would have drawn fewer girls. Can you think of reasons why there are fewer women and girls in your neighbourhood streets, parks and markets in the late evenings or at night?
Answer:
Students need to do it own their own.

Question 4.
Are girls and boys doing different activities? Can you think of reasons why this might be so? What would happen if you replaced the girls with the boys and vice-versa?
Answer:
Students need to do it own their own.

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Question 5.
Were Harmeet and Shonali correct in saying that Harmeet’s mother did not ‘ work?
Answer:
No, they were not at all correct in saying that Harmeet’s mother did not work. Harmeet’s mother did a lot of work at home and her work was not paid. Hence, they thought that their mother is not working.

Question 6.
What do you think would happen if your mother or those involved in doing the work at home went on a strike for a day?

Answer:
My daily activities and routine will be disturbed. Instead of going to school, I will have to do all household works such as have to prepare lunch, clean the house, etc. Even my father will face the problem as without my mother’s assistance, he can’t do anything.

Question 7.
Why do you think that men and boys generally do not do housework? Do you think they should?
Answer:
Men and boys generally do not do housework because

• they think that they are meant for outdoor work while females are meant for indoor works,
• they sometimes also feel that it will be against the norms of the society if they get themselves involved in the household works.

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Question 8.
What are the total number of work hours spent by women in Haryana and Tamil Nadu each week?

State	Haryana	Tamil
Women Paid (work hours per week)	23	Nadu
Women Unpaid (housework hours per week)	30	19
Women (Total)	7	35
Men Paid (work hours per week)	38	?
Men unpaid (house work hours per week)	2	40
Men (Total)	?	4

Answer:
The total number of work hours spent by women in Haryana for each week is 53 hours and in Tamil Nadu, it is 54 horns.

Question 9.
How does this compare with the total number of work hours spent by men?
Answer:
In contrast to this, the total number of work hours spent by men is 40 hours in Haryana and 44 hours in Tamil Nadu.

JAC Class 7th Civics Growing up as Boys and Girls Textbook Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Are the statements given below are true or false. Support your answer with the use of an example
(a) All societies do not think similarly about the roles that boys and girls play.
(b) Our society does not make distinctions between boys and girls when they are growing up.
(c) Women who stay at home do not work.
(d) The work that women do is less valued than that of men.
Answer:
(a) True, in most of the societies, the boy’s work is given more importance than the girl’s work.

(b) False, in most of the societies, there is a discrimination among the boys and the girls. Even while at their . growing age, boys are given cars to . play and girls are given dolls. Boys are taught to be tough and serious while girls are taught to be soft and mild.

(c) False, women who stay at home do many household works. They cook food, clean the house, wash the clothes, take* care of the children and old people etc which are very strenuous.

(d) True, most of the women do all household works and care giving tasks which are in continuation and don’t get leave even. Yet, the work that women do are not recognized as work. It is presumed that it is something which comes naturally to women. Hence, they are not to be paid and the work that women do are less valued than that of men.

Question 2.
Housework is invisible and unpaid work. Housework is physically demanding. Housework is time consuming. Write in your own words what is meant by the terms ‘invisible’, ‘physically demanding’, and ‘time consuming’? Give one example of each based on the household tasks undertaken by women in your home.
Answer:
Invisible:
The work that is not seen with our eyes. As for example the women does the housework and care-giving task means looking after the children and old people, if. any member is sick than the women has to take care of that person. Apart from this they have to do other works such as cooking, washing, cleaning, etc., which are not recognized and remains invisible.

Physically demanding:
It means very tough and difficult work. As for example inside the home, women do many types of work which require physical strength as well. Fetching water from far-off places and carrying it on their head, head loads of firewood, washing clothes of every member of the house, etc., are very difficult and tough. Still without any complaints, women do it everyday.

Time-consuming:
It means various household work are time taking process. As for example from early morning, women starts their daily routine and it goes till late night. During this time, they are busy in doing different works and fulfilling everyone’s wishes. They also help there children to complete their homeworks and studies which is also very time consuming.

Question 3.
Make a list of toys and games that boys typically play and another for girls. If there is a difference between the two lists, can you think of some reasons why this is so? Does this have any relationship to the roles children have to play as adults?
Answer:
List of toys and games that

Boy	Girl
Cars, trucks, buses, guns, sword, lions, tigers, horses, cricket, football, kabaddi, etc.	Dolls, Barbie, houses, kitchen set, hide and seek,pittho, etc.

Some of the games are also played by the boys. But, from the above list we can say that there is a difference between the toys with which the boys play and with which the girls play.

Reason:
Our society make a clear distinction between boys and girls from very early age. Boys are taught to be rough and tough and girls to soft and mild. Boys are expected to work in which they can show there manly features and girls to remain in their limits with feminine virtues. Later these factors affect a lot when they grow up as man and woman. It even affects their studies and career as well.

Question 4:
If you have someone working as a domestic help in your house or locality talk to her and find out a little bit more about her life  Who are her family members? Where is her home? How many hours does she work? How much does she get paid? Write a small story based on these details.
Answer:
Jyotsna has been working in our house from many years as a domestic help. She is from Bihar. She lives in Delhi with her family comprising of her husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother- in-law and her two kids. She works in six houses and comes very early in the morning. After completing the morning work in our society, she goes back to her home and then do her own household works and take care of her two kids as they are small.

In the evening, she again comes and the rest of her work in the society. She does her work skillfully and efficiently. She is very polite and hardworking. Due to this reason, she has developed good relations with all her owners where she works. In total, she earn about ? 14#00/- . Everyone helps her when she is in need of anything like doctors, medicines, clothing, etc. Her husband works as a mechanic who also earns well. Hence, Jyotsna leads a happy life with her family.

JAC Class 7thCivics Growing up as Boys and Girls Important Questions and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1.
The different roles assigned to the boys and girls lead to
(a) It makes them rude.
(b) It prepares them for the future roles as men and women
(c) It prepares them to be scared and afraid
(d) It makes them dull.
Answer:
(b) It prepares them for the future roles as men and women

Question 2.
In the Samoan island, the most important activity for the young people was
(a) fishing
(b) cultivation
(c) hunting
(d) studying
Answer:
(a) fishing

Question 3.
In the Samoan island, the boys joined the older boys as they attain the age of around 9 years for fishing and other activities. The girls at this age were
(a) going to the forest and hunt wild animals
(b) not doing anything
(c) going for fishing and earn money by selling them
(d) looking after small children and do work for the adults till they were the teenagers
Answer:
(d) looking after small children and do work for the adults till they were the teenagers

Question 4.
After the age of fourteen years, the girls were free to do
(a) Ashing trips
(b) learning weaving baskets
(c) plantations
(d) all of the above
Answer:
(d) all of the above

Question 5.
In Madhya Pradesh, the girl’s school were different from the boy’s school. The difference was
(a) girl’s school had shops near the playground
(b) girls school had big trees around  the playground
(c) girl’s school had a central courtyard where they played in total isolation and safety from the outside world
(d) None of the above
Answer:
(c) girl’s school had a central courtyard where they played in total isolation and safety from the outside world

Question 6.
To play, boys are given cars, bikes and girls the dolls. This shows that
(a) different toys give them variety to play
(b) it becomes a way of telling children that they will have different futures as when they grow up
(c) this tells nothing
(d) None of the above
Answer:
(b) it becomes a way of telling children that they will have different futures as when they grow up

Question 7.
The child care centres in many villages are known as
(a) Anganwadis
(b) Naari Sudhar Samiti
(c) Bal ashrams
(d) Dharamshalas
Answer:
(a) Anganwadis

Question 8.
The work of men and women are
(a) equally valued
(b) women’s work is more valued than the men’s work
(c) not equally valued
(d) all of the above
Answer:
(c) not equally valued

Question 9.
The girls and boys go to separate school in Madhya Pradesh from
(a) class III onwards
(b) class IV onwards
(c) class V onwards
(d) class VI onwards
Answer:
(d) class VI onwards

Question 10.
Melani was a
(a) factory worker .
(b) domestic worker
(c) shopkepeer
(d) teacher
Answer:
(b) domestic worker

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Why domestic worker’s wages are very low?
Answer:
Domestic worker’s wages are very low because there work are less valued as much as other works are valued.

Question 2.
Why do girls like to go to school in group?
Answer:
Girls like to go to school in groups because of fears of being teased or attacked.

Question 3.
What do we teach boys and girls from a very tender age?
Answer:
We teach boys to be tough and girls to talk softly.

Question 4.
Do you think Harmeet and Shonali was correct in saying that Harmeet’s mother did not work?
Answer:
No, Harmeet and Shonali were not correct in saying that Harmeet’s mother did not work.

Question 5.
What do you mean by the term Double-burden?
Answer:
The term Double-burden means a double load. This term is generally used to describe the women’s work situation. It has emerged from a recognition that women make great effort both inside the home means household works and outside as well.

Question 6.
What do you mean by the term Identity?
Answer:
I dentity is a sense of self-awareness of who one is. Generally, a person can have several identities. As for example, a person can be a girl, a sister and a musician.

Question 7.
What do you mean by the term Care-giving?
Answer:
Care-giving refers to a series of tasks related to looking after and nurturing. Besides physical tasks, they also involve in a strong emotional and sentimental aspect.

Question 8.
Name some of the social reformers who work in- the field of gender equality and empowerment of women.
Answer:
The social reformers who work in the field of gender equality and empowerment of women are:

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What measures to be taken to avoid gender discrimination?
Answer:
The measures to be taken to avoid gender discrimination are

• awareness program on gender equality should be carried out.
• the government should make out the reasons and find the solutions.
• it has to be dealt with thorough actions not just at the individual level or by the family but by the community and the government as well.

Question 2.
Do you think .that men and boys generally do not do housework? Why?
Answer:
Men and boys generally do not do housework because it is assumed that this is something that comes naturally to women. Thus, across the world, the main responsibility for housework and care-giving tasks lies with women.

Question 3.
‘The work women do is strenuous and physically demanding.’ Why?
Answer:
Tasks like washing clothes, cleaning, sweeping and picking up loads require bending, lifting and carrying. Many household chores such as cooking, involve standing for long hours in front of hot stoves. Hence, the work women do is strenuous and physically demanding.

Question 4.
What do you mean by the term De-valued?
Answer:
A person feels de-valued when someone is not given due recognition for a task or job they have done. As for example, if a boy has put in a lot of effort into making a special birthday gift for his friend and this friend does not say anything about this, then the boy may feel de-valued.

Question 5.
Why Harmeet think that her mother did not work?
Answer:
The main responsibility for housework and care-giving tasks such as looking after the family,especially children, the elderly and sick members, lies with women. The work that women do within the home is not recognised as work, ft is also assumed that this is something that comes naturally to women. Hence, does not have to be paid for. And that is why Harmeet thinks that her mother did not work.

Question 6. What role was assigned to young boys and girls in the Samoan Islands?
Answer:
Roles assigned to young boys and girls in the Samoan Islands are:

• Both boys and girls have to look after their younger siblings.
• But by the time a boy attains the age of about nine years, he joined the older boys in learning outdoor jobs such as fishing and planting coconuts.
• After the age of fourteen or so girls also went on fishing trips, worked in the plantations and leamt how to weave baskets.
• Boys were supposed to do most of the work in cooking while girls helped with the preparations in special cooking houses.

Question 7.
Explain the initiatives taken by the gover’nment to promote equality between the male or female.
Answer:
Government recognises that burden of child-care and housework falls on women and girls. This naturally has an impact on whether girls can attend school or not. It determines whether women can work outside the house and what kind of jobs and careers they can have. The government has set up anganwadis or child-care centres in several villages in the country. The government has passed laws that make it mandatory for organisations that have more than 30 women employees to provide creche facilities. The provision of creches helps many women to take up employment outside the home. It also makes it possible for more girls to attend schools.

Question 8.
List any three major points of discrimination against girls and women in India.
Answer:
Three major points of discrimination against girls and women in India are:

• Girls and women receive less health care facilities than men.
• Women’s work is less valued though they work hard in society.
• In rural regions, girls are given less education as compared to boys. They are forced to stay at home and help in household works.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Growing up in Samoa was different from other societies in the 1920s. How?
Answer:
Growing up in Samoa was different from other societies in the 1920s as:

• In the 1920s, according to research reports on Samoan society, children did not go to school.
• They leamt many things, such as how to take care of children or do household work from older children and from adults.

Fishing was a very important activity on the islands. Young people learnt to undertake long fishing expeditions. But they learnt these things at different points in their childhood. Both boys and girls looked after their younger siblings. But, by the time a boy attains the age of about nine years, he joined the older boys in learning outdoor jobs such as fishing and planting coconuts.

Girls had to continue looking after small children or do works for adults till they were teenagers. But once they became teenagers they had much more freedom. After the age of fourteen or so, girls also went on fishing trips, worked in the plantations and leamt how to weave baskets. Boys were supposed to do most of the work in cooking while girls helped with the preparations and it was done in special cooking-houses.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Solutions