NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Civics Chapter 4 Growing Up as Boys and Girls

1. Are the statements given alongside 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 a distinction 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

Solution: (a) True. More importance is given to the work done by boys instead of the ones done by girls.

(b) False. Right from the outset of their growing phase, our society makes it a point to distinguish between boys and girls. From an early age, boys are taught to be tough and serious while girls are taught to be coy and soft. Toys like guns and cars are given for boys to play, while girls will be given dolls.

(c) False. A woman who stays at home does housework. A lot of it. They wash clothes, sweep, clean, cook food, and keep the entire house in order.

(d) True. Even though women do a lot of work, their work is undervalued. Part of the reason is that, because there is no monetary value attached to it, there is a social conditioning that household work comes naturally to women and that it is expected of them.

NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Civics Chapter 3 How the State Government Works

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.

Solution:

1. ‘Invisible’ means the work which is not seen from the eyes, for example, the amount of time and labour that goes into preparing food.
2. ‘Physically demanding’ means we have to do hard manual labour to complete a task. It is tiring and the hard work depends on one’s health, like fetching water or firewood in rural areas.
3. ‘Time-consuming’ means the work which needs considerable time to be completed.
   • The care of the house and keeping a watch on the activities of domestic help are invisible.
   • Washing of clothes is physically demanding.
   • Cooking food and cleaning the house is time-consuming.

3. Make a list of toys and games that boys typically play with 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?

Solution: List of toys and games that boys play with:

• Cars
• Guns
• Action figures
• Sports items like football, volleyball, cricket, basketball, etc.

List of toys and games girls play with:

• Dolls
• Cooking items
• Dollhouses
• Fashion Toys

It is clear from the list above that society makes a distinction between boys and girls, apparent right from their growing phase itself. Boys are taught to be tough and strong, which highlights their manly features but girls are expected to remain in the confines of their ‘feminine’ virtues. In the end, it pushes home the message that they have specific roles to play when they grow up into adult men and women. Later in life, this may even have adverse effects when it comes to choosing careers.

4. If you know 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.

Solution: Shanthi has been working in my house for several years as a domestic help. She hails from a village on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. She lives here in Bangalore with her husband and a daughter in her early twenties, who is currently pursuing a B Com from a reputed institute.

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She comes at around 7:30 in the morning and finishes her work by 6:00 in the evening. She does her work with diligence and skill, never even once making a fuss or complaining about the work she does.

She gets Rs 5000/- per month with all other amenities like food, clothing, etc. Her husband is involved in making wax mannequins for clothing stores which also earns him a decent amount every day. Still, Shanthi is leading a tough life working more than 10 hours daily at our home, then doing her household chores and looking after her family members.