Test: Gender, Religion & Caste - 2 - UPSC MCQ

The unequal division of labor, where women are often responsible for household tasks, contributes to limited participation in public life and politics for women due to factors like lower literacy rates and fewer opportunities for higher education.

• Option A: The Equal Remuneration Act of 1976 ensures equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender. It does not ensure higher pay for men. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
• Option B: Feminist movements aim for equality in various aspects of life, including personal and family life. Therefore, this option is correctly matched.
• Option C: In patriarchal societies, women typically face significant disadvantages, discrimination, and oppression, leading to lower participation in public life. Hence, this option is incorrect.
• Option D: Sweden is known for its high participation of women in public life. Therefore, the statement that Sweden has low participation of women in public life is incorrect.

Thus, the correctly matched pair is:

Option B: (b) Feminist movements - Aim for equality in personal and family life

Communalism poses a significant challenge to democracy in India by creating divisions along religious lines, potentially leading to conflicts and undermining the country's unity and secular fabric.

• Option A: Gender Division - Panchayati Raj reservations - This pair is incorrectly matched. While gender division does involve issues like representation in government, the Panchayati Raj system specifically reserves seats for women, not addressing gender division directly.
• Option B: Religion - Hindu majority in Northern Ireland - This pair is incorrectly matched. Northern Ireland is known for its division between Catholics and Protestants, not Hindus.
• Option C: Communalism - Equal citizenship for all religions - This pair is incorrectly matched. Communalism often involves the belief that followers of different religions cannot have equal citizenship within the same nation.
• Option D: Caste System - Prohibition of untouchability - This pair is correctly matched. The Indian Constitution specifically outlaws untouchability as part of its efforts to address and dismantle the caste system.

Caste-based politics, when overly emphasized, can potentially divert attention from critical issues like poverty, development, and corruption, impacting the overall health of a democracy.