Page 206 - SST Class 07

fields, schools and offices. Now, her scope has Sati Custom
widened and we can see them as policewomen, This was a dreaded custom.
politicians, astronauts, soldiers, doctors, engineers, In this, a woman was made
drivers, artists, musicians and so on. You cannot
to sit in the burning pyre of
think of a profession where we cannot find women. her dead husband and
However, gender inequality continues.
sacrificed herself. Raja Ram
A female-manager will not be allowed to do night Mohan Roy raised his voice
duty in an office, or a female-soldier will not be against this social evil, so it
sent to the battle field, or a female-executive will has been prohibited. Sati System
not be sent to faraway places. This thinking has
restricted the chances of her promotion and career Quiz Time
prospects. In most of the cases, the female staff is Fill in the blanks :
paid less than the male staff. 1. The _________ custom is one of the social evils
of our society.
CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN
2. The achievements of women are _________ in
Our society has committed crimes against women almost all walks of life.
in many forms. These have degraded her status in 3. A _________ will not be allowed to do night
the society. We shall discuss a few of these crimes :
duty in an office.
Female Infanticide 4. There are many types of _________ in our
There have been many instances when a girl-child society.
is killed soon after her birth. 5. The _________ made between two people only

Female Foeticide because one being a boy and the other a girl, is
called _________ inequality.
When the parents come to know that the child in
womb is a girl, many of them prefer to get it
killed. This is called female foeticide. This job EFFORTS FOR ENDING GENDER INEQUALITY
cannot be done without the complicity of doctors, Many social workers, organisations and
many of whom are women themselves. government have worked to put an end to gender

Child Marriage inequality. These efforts have continued for many
centuries. We can study these efforts under the
When a girl-child is married, it is almost following points :
impossible to think of her education. An
uneducated mother can never give a successful Education for Girls
career to her children. Efforts are being made to send more and more
Dowry Custom girls to school. For this, the government has
provided free education for girls up to class 10th.
The dowry custom is one of the social evils of our
In certain states, the girl education is free up to the
society. Though this is a punishable offence, yet graduation level.
dowry is given and taken with impunity.
Enactments
No Widow Remarriage
Several laws have been passed by which effort has
When a girl-child is married, her husband in most been made to eliminate gender inequality.
of the cases is far older than her. So, there are Foeticide, infanticide and demand for dowry are
equal chances of her getting widow. However, the
punishable offences. The Sati custom has been
society has been averse to the remarriage of a prohibited by law and those who incite a woman
widow.
for it are liable to be punished.
Contemporary Social Science-7
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