"Though women in post-Independent India have excelled in various fields, the social attitude towards women and feminist movement…

"Though women in post-Independent India have excelled in various fields, the social attitude towards women and feminist movement has been patriarchal." Apart from women education and women empowerment schemes, what interventions can help change this milieu? (Answer in 250 words) 15 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

"यद्यपि स्वातंत्र्योत्तर भारत में महिलाओं ने विभिन्न क्षेत्रों में उत्कृष्टता हासिल की है, इसके बावजूद महिलाओं और नारीवादी आंदोलन के प्रति सामाजिक दृष्टिकोण पितृसत्तात्मक रहा है।" महिला शिक्षा और महिला सशक्तिकरण की योजनाओं के अतिरिक्त कौन-से हस्तक्षेप इस परिवेश के परिवर्तन में सहायक हो सकते हैं? (उत्तर 250 शब्दों में दीजिए)

The question as printed in the 2021 General Studies paper

Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2021 General Studies questions

Model answer

Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 250-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.

(a) Legal-institutional interventions: Enforce the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 through dedicated fast-track courts. Make recurring gender-sensitisation training mandatory for judiciary, police and administrators to reduce bias in grievance redressal. Implement the 33% reservation under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 once delimitation is complete.

(b) Socio-cultural interventions: Mobilise community networks and faith leaders against regressive customs, building on campaigns like Bell Bajao, which urged men to intervene against domestic violence. Run male-allyship programmes in schools and workplaces. Strengthen media self-regulation through CBFC guidelines and ASCI codes to curb misogyny and victim-blaming.

(c) Economic measures: Recognise and measure unpaid care work in national accounts, link cash transfers to gender-equitable household milestones, and make Section 149 of the Companies Act (women directors) meaningful rather than tokenistic.

(d) Technological measures: Scale helplines such as Uttar Pradesh's Women Power Line 1090 with digital grievance tracking, and use digitised, tamper-proof land records to prevent customary denial of inheritance to daughters and widows.

Together these shift the burden from patronising welfare to systemic accountability, giving effect to Articles 14 and 15.

How this answer will be evaluated

Framework: GS2 Social Justice / Gender

What earns full marks: Comprehensive, specific interventions with examples and legal references.

Evaluation rubric

Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.

The answer Interventions to change patriarchal social attitudes beyond education and empowerment schemes. 15 marks · 250 words

suggest— the problem in one line → implementable measures → who acts → conclusion
Must cover
- Interventions targeting social norms and cultural practices
- Role of media, literature, and public discourse
- Involvement of men and boys in gender equality
- Legal and institutional mechanisms for social change
Loses marks
- Focusing only on education and empowerment schemes
- Lack of specific, implementable interventions
- Ignoring the role of men and boys in changing attitudes
Earns more
- Specific examples of successful interventions
- Reference to constitutional provisions on gender equality
- Mention of grassroots movements and community engagement
- Discussion of workplace policies and corporate responsibility
Extra mark
- Citing specific Supreme Court judgments on gender equality
- Referencing 2nd ARC or Law Commission recommendations

What "Suggest" is asking you to do

Propose measures that attach to the causes the question has just had you identify. Each should name who acts, on what, and why it would work; a measure with no actor behind it is a wish rather than a suggestion.

Structure that answers it

The problem in one line → measure 1 with the cause it addresses → measure 2 → measure 3 → how it would be implemented and what it requires

Where marks are lost

Prescriptions that would fit any question on any subject — awareness campaigns, capacity building, better coordination. The examiner checks whether each measure is traceable to a cause the answer itself named.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

Practice this exact question

Write your answer and it is marked point by point against the model answer above — what you covered, what you missed, what you got wrong.

Evaluate my answer →

Model answer

How this answer will be evaluated

Evaluation rubric

Must cover

Loses marks

Earns more

Extra mark

Structure that answers it

Where marks are lost

Practice this exact question

More from General Studies 2021 GS Paper II