Notes

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■✙ ✚✛✜ ✢✣✜✤✥✦✧★ ✩✛✪✢✚✜✣ ✫✜ ✙✦✚✜✬ ✚✛✪✚ ✚✛✜ ✜✭✥★✚✜✙✩✜ ✦✮ ★✦✩✥✪✯ ✬✥✤✜✣★✥✚✰
✬✦✜★ ✙✦✚ ✚✛✣✜✪✚✜✙ ✬✜❡✦✩✣✪✩✰✳ ✲✦✯✥✚✥✩✪✯ ✜✭✢✣✜★★✥✦✙ ✦✮ ★✦✩✥✪✯ ✬✥✮✮✜✣✜✙✩✜★
✥★ ✢✦★★✥✐✯✜ ✪✙✬ ★✦❡✜✚✥❡✜★ ✴✧✥✚✜ ✬✜★✥✣✪✐✯✜ ✥✙ ✪ ✬✜❡✦✩✣✪✚✥✩ ★✰★✚✜❡✳ ■✙
✚✛✥★ ✩✛✪✢✚✜✣ ✫✜ ✪✢✢✯✰ ✚✛✜★✜ ✥✬✜✪★ ✚✦ ✚✛

✦✩✥✪✯ ✬✥✮✮✜✣✜✙✩✜★
✐✪★✜✬ ✦✙ ❜✜✙✬✜✣✷ ✣✜✯✥❜✥✦✙ ✪✙✬ ✩✪★✚✜✳ ■✙ ✜✪✩✛ ✩✪★✜ ✫✜ ✯✦✦✶ ✪✚ ✚✛✜
✙✪✚✧✣✜ ✦✮ ✚✛✥★ ✬✥✤✥★✥✦✙ ✥✙ ■✙✬✥✪ ✪✙✬ ✛✦✫ ✥✚ ❜✜✚★ ✜✭✢✣✜★★✜✬ ✥✙ ✢✦✯✥✚✥✩★✳
✵✜ ✪✯★✦ ✪★✶ ✫✛✜✚✛✜✣ ✬✥✮✮✜✣✜✙✚ ✜✭✢✣✜★★✥✦✙★ ✐✪★✜✬ ✦✙ ✚✛✜★✜ ✬✥✮✮✜✣✜✙✩✜★
✪✣✜ ✛✜✪✯✚✛✰ ✦✣ ✦✚✛✜✣✫✥★✜ ✥✙ ✪ ✬✜❡✦✩✣
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●✠✡☛✠☞ ✌✡☛ ✍✎✏✑✒✑✓✔
Let us begin with gender division. This
is a form of hierarchical social division
seen everywhere, but is rarely recognised
in the study of politics. The gender
division tends to be understood as natural
and unchangeable. However, it is not
based on biology but on social
expectations and stereotypes.
Public/private division
Boys and girls are brought up to believe
that the main responsibility of women is
housework and bringing up children.
This is reflected in a SEXUAL DIVISION OF
LABOUR in most families: women do all
work inside the home such as cooking,
cleaning, washing clothes, tailoring,
looking after children, etc., and men do
all the work outside the home. It is not
that men cannot do housework; they
simply think that it is for women to
attend to these things. When these jobs
are paid for, men are ready to take up
these works. Most tailors or cooks in
hotels are men. Similarly, it is not that
women do not work outside their home.
In villages, women fetch water, collect
fuel and work in the fields. In urban
areas, poor women work as domestic
helper in middle class homes, while
middle class women work in offices. In
fact the majority of women do some
sort of paid work in addition to
domestic labour. But their work is not
valued and does not get recognition.
The result of this division of labour
is that although women constitute half
of the humanity, their role in public life,
especially politics, is minimal in most
societies. Earlier, only men were allowed
to participate in public affairs, vote and
contest for public offices. Gradually the
gender issue was raised in politics.
Women in different parts of the world
organised and agitated for equal rights.
There were agitations in different
countries for the extension of voting
rights to women. These agitations
demanded enhancing the political and
legal status of women and improving
A poster from Bengal affirming women’s
strength.
Sexual division of labour:
A system in which all work
inside the home is either
done by the women of the
family, or organised by
them through the
domestic helpers.
Why not? I f
politics is about
power, then
surely male
dominance in the
household should
be considered
political.
Why are we
discussing things
like household
work in this
textbook on
Political Science?
I s this politics?
© Zuba
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41
their educational and career
opportunities. More radical women’s
movements aimed at equality in personal
and family life as well. These movements
are called FEMINIST movements.
Political expression of gender
division and political mobilisation on this
Discuss all these perceptions of an ideal woman that prevail in our society. Do you
agree with any of these? If not, what is your image of an ideal woman?
Feminist: A woman
or a man who
believes in equal rights
and opportunities for
women and men.
© Zuban
question helped to improve women’s
role in public life. We now find women
working as scientists, doctors, engineers,
lawyers, managers and college and
university teachers which were earlier not
considered suitable for women. In some
parts of the world, for exampl
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Patriarchy: Literally,
rule by father, this
concept is used to refer
to a system that values
men more and gives
them power over
women.
Activities Men Women
Income generating work 6:00 2:40
Household and related work 0:30 5:00
Talking, Gossip 1:25 1:20
No work/ Leisure 3:40 3:50
Sleep, self-care, reading etc. 12:25 11:10
Daily time use (hours: minutes)
Source: Government of India, Time Use Survey, 1998-99.
+A ‘tim e use survey’ was conducted in six states of our country. I t
shows that an average wom an works every day for a little over
seven and half hours while an average m an works for six and a
half hours. Yet the work done by m en is m ore visible because
m ost of their work leads to generation of incom e. Wom en also do
a lot of direct incom e generating work, but the bulk of their work
is household related. This work remains u