“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?
Approach · directive: “what”
What it asks · Suggest concrete non-scheme interventions (legal, institutional, cultural, economic and political) that can shift entrenched patriarchal attitudes, keeping education and empowerment schemes aside.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Explain the patriarchal milieu that persists despite women's achievements
- Suggest interventions beyond education and empowerment schemes: legal, economic, political, cultural and community
Open with · Indian women lead in science, sport, business and politics, and NFHS-5 (2019-21) recorded a sex ratio of 1,020; yet son preference, violence and unequal housework show social attitudes lag behind women's ability.
Cover
- Context: NFHS-5 (2019-21) sex ratio of 1,020, yet the Time Use Survey 2019 records 299 minutes of women's unpaid domestic work against 97 for men.
- Root: the Justice Verma Committee (2013) saw sexual violence as an expression of power, not passion, showing norms of control.
- Law and enforcement: firm implementation of the Domestic Violence Act (2005), POSH Act (2013), dowry and sex-selection laws, with sensitised police.
- Men and care: gender-sensitisation in families, schools and workplaces, paternity leave, public childcare and elder care to redistribute unpaid work.
- Economic and political voice: joint land titles, safe workplaces, real leadership in panchayats beyond 'sarpanch-pati' proxies; 106th Amendment (2023) since.
- Media, community and data: responsible portrayal, role models, dialogue with faith leaders against child marriage, gender budgeting and time-use tracking.
Close with · When Article 51A(e)'s duty to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women becomes daily practice in homes, workplaces and panchayats, women's success stops being the exception.
Add value (verified)
- NFHS-5 (2019-21) estimated the population sex ratio at 1,020 females per 1,000 males, the first time a national survey found more women than men.Sex ratio - Ministry of Women and Child Development, Rajya Sabha reply via PIB (17 December 2021) ↗“As per the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (2019-21), the sex ratio of the population (females per 1000 males) for the country was estimated as 1020.”
- Time Use in India 2019 (NSO): among those who do it, women spend 299 minutes a day on unpaid domestic services for household members, against 97 minutes for men (all-India).Press Note on NSS Report: Time Use in India - 2019 - National Statistical Office, MoSPI ↗“Unpaid domestic services for household members 98 301 249 94 293 247 97 299 248”
- The Justice Verma Committee (constituted 23 December 2012, report 23 January 2013) viewed rape and sexual assault as an expression of power rather than crimes of passion.Justice Verma Committee Report Summary - PRS Legislative Research ↗“The Committee was of the view that rape and sexual assault are not merely crimes of passion but an expression of power.”
- Article 51A(e) makes it a fundamental duty of every citizen to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.Article 51A: Fundamental Duties - Constitution of India (constitutionofindia.net) ↗“to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 321words · Minimalist IAS
Indian women lead in science, sport, business and politics, and NFHS-5 (2019-21) even recorded a sex ratio of 1,020 females per 1,000 males. Yet son preference, violence and the unequal load of housework show that social attitudes still lag behind women's ability.
Why the milieu remains patriarchal
| Unpaid domestic work (Time Use Survey 2019) | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes per day, per participant | 97 | 299 |
- Care burden: women carry about three times men's unpaid domestic work, which limits their paid work and public life.
- Power, not passion: the Justice Verma Committee (2013) saw rape and sexual assault as an expression of power, revealing norms of control.
- Proxy leadership: the 'sarpanch-pati' shows elected women still sidelined by husbands.
Interventions beyond education and empowerment schemes
- Enforcement over enactment: firm use of the Domestic Violence Act (2005), the POSH Act (2013) and dowry and sex-selection laws, with fast courts and sensitised police.
- Engaging men and boys: gender-sensitisation in families, schools, sport and workplaces; positive masculinity that makes caring and non-violence the norm.
- Redistributing care: public childcare and elder care, paternity leave and shared housework to narrow the time-use gap.
- Economic power: joint land and property titles, and safe transport and workplaces that reduce dependence.
- Political voice: training for elected women and rules against proxy attendance (since then, the 106th Amendment, 2023, reserves one-third of legislative seats for women).
- Media and culture: responsible portrayal of women in films, advertising and social media; visible role models; community theatre.
- Community norms: dialogue with panchayats and faith leaders against child marriage and 'honour' norms, led by women's collectives.
- Measuring change: gender budgeting, gender audits of workplaces, regular time-use surveys and NFHS attitude data, so norms, not just outputs, are tracked.
The Constitution already asks every citizen, under Article 51A(e), to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women. When that duty becomes daily practice in homes, workplaces and panchayats, women's success will stop being the exception and become the norm.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
