Saturday, 16 May 2020

DICTATION EXERCISE-72


          We develop a mindset about the kind of work that can be associated with each gender. Women are typically seen as the homemakers while men as the breadwinners. In the job scenario, women often are seen as doing the jobs that are considered safe for them. So many women become teachers or nurses, roles that fit with their image of caretaker. Professions that require a scientific or technical knowledge are usually not considered fit for women. Firstly, because of the risks involved and secondly, because of the stereotype attached that women may not be able to handle technical things. As a result of these stereotypes, we find people focusing more on educating the boys for professions such as doctors, engineers and pilots. Girls rarely get the same encouragement and motivation to pursue their dreams and goals. In our society and140 many other societies, people, especially children, face pressure from others.150 Their thinking is influenced by the adult’s thought process.160 For example, boys are trained to earn money while girls are trained in the household jobs. Today, getting an education or going to school is pretty common. Both boys and girls go to school. But what is perceived as common today was not so in the past. In the past, girls and women did not have access to education or schools. Those girls who dared to acquire knowledge were not treated well by the society. However, the socio-religious reformers brought changes in the society and education for girls. Schools became more common and people who had never been to school started sending their children to school. However, education for girls still did not receive the desired results. Women continued struggling for280 their right to be educated.

          Both boys and girls attend schools today. However, this does not mean that there is300 equality in education because the number of boys and girls studying in schools is still disproportionate. The number of girls320 attending schools today is still much less than the desired numbers. The percentage of literate males in 1961 was 40 and in 2011 was nearly 82. The percentage of literate females in 1961 was as low as 15 per cent. Through government efforts, this number has risen to 66 per cent in 2011. Yet many more women remain illiterate. The reasons for inequality are many and varied. Generally, the poor families cannot afford to send their children to school and if they do, they usually send the male child and not the girl child as the male child is considered420 the breadwinner. Another reason is that in rural areas, sometimes the schools are not located nearby which means that the girls have to travel long distances to reach the school. 450 Parents do not consider this safe for girls and hence, they are deprived of schooling. Sometimes the girls are discriminated against in the schools, particularly if they belong to480 the scheduled tribe category, because of the social differences that exist in our society. As a result, a number of girls drop out. Yet another reason for girls not completing their studies is the practice of early marriage or child marriage which is still prevalent in some parts of India.  In recent times, girls and women have been encouraged to exercise their right to education and to take up any profession. Girls today have the right to be educated and are560 participating in almost all spheres of life. This is the result of years of struggle and reforms to uplift women’s legal status, improve their health, end violence against them, provide employment opportunities, etc. Women all over the country have struggled600 individually and collectively to ring about these changes. Several men have also lent their support to the struggles. The movement has acquired a dynamic character through the efforts of a number of people.

          Since ancient times, women in India640 were deprived of equal rights as men and were subjected to follow rigid traditions and had very low status in the society. They faced many social evils such as sati, purdah system, violence, female infanticide, child marriages and so on. This began to change in the nineteenth century when a new consciousness that emphasized on women’s rights spread among the people. 700 During the struggle for Independence, many women came to the forefront to participate in the struggle. It was during this time that many social reforms and movements to uplift the status of women were witnessed. It was a mixture of different social reformers that spearheaded the movements. The fight750 against discrimination and efforts to empower women in all walks of life continues even in today’s times. Through the years, people have adopted different ways to fight the discrimination. These include campaigning, protesting, spreading awareness amongst people to change the mindset of the people. Many initiatives and government policies800 have also been implemented to bring about a change in the way women and girls are treated in the society. Women in general and women activists and women’s rights advocates in particular continue to fight against any violation of women’s rights. If840 an act or law violates their interest, they stand up to protest and raise their voice against it. The women’s movement has had an important role to play in raising awareness on important issues concerning women such as their rights, education and health. The awareness raising campaigns are undertaken in the form of street plays, public meetings, cultural programmes, etc.900 Women activists launch rallies and protests which help to create public awareness and the police and judiciary also take notice of these issues. Although there still is gender inequality prevailing in the society, the opportunities available to women have broadened over the years and their future prospects have improved. We await the day when inequality between the rights960 of men and women will completely fade away.

          Advertisement is a promotional activity where the manufacturer or the trader or the service980 provider is called an advertiser; the message or the information supplied is called advertisement and the media through which such information is supplied are called the media of advertising. On the basis of the purpose served by the advertisements, they can be classified into commercial advertisements, non-commercial advertisements and social advertisements. The aim of the commercial advertisements is to promote certain products and services and persuade people to choose them. 1050 Commercial advertisements help in increasing the demands of a product. Non-commercial advertisements are meant for giving information about different charitable institutions, non-governmental and governmental organizations or political parties and the work done by them. The government also uses media to communicate with general public to give information about its welfare schemes and policies. The purpose of such advertisements is to spread awareness about social issues such as precautions to prevent1120 certain diseases, safety rules to be followed, etc. This is known as social advertising. Advertisements help in creating an image for the brands as they highlight the unique features of the product. Advertising can also help in making a brand appealing to the different concerns of the consumer and hence, build their own brand values. Advertising is essential in getting the people to buy a brand. First of all, the company or the manufacturer decides upon the product1120 that they wish to launch. The company then hires an advertising agency. It is the task of the advertising agency to find out who would be the target consumer and launch a campaign accordingly. The advertising agency carries out a survey across various cities and sections of the society and comes up with a campaign to launch the product successfully in the market. 1260 A marketing strategy is then drawn up by the company and the product is first1280 tested among a small section of the target consumer along with the visuals and advertisements. Once the marketing strategy is considered successful, the advertising campaign is finalized. It is then released through the media along with the launch of the product.

Advertisements have a strong influence on how we choose to buy or consume different items. This in turn impacts our lives and how we perceive things and ourselves. As1350 more and more products and services are advertised on different media, there is an increase in the desire to buy or consume these products and services even though one does not need them. This is known as consumerism. It is another example of the impact that advertising has on people. Advertisements can also be misleading1400 and make false claims about different products and services. This will make consumers choose these products and services even though it may not be beneficial for them. There is also a deep link between democracy1440 and advertisement. Although advertisements are free to creatively express ideas and opinions promoting different products and services, they also exhibit inequality. Making the advertisements and advertising through different media costs a lot of money. Such amount of money can only be invested by big business houses. Therefore, people with small business cannot afford to advertise their products or services which1500 in turn impact their sales. Consumers also get influenced by the advertisements and prefer packaged or branded products over other products manufactured by small producers. Therefore, the sales and income of people with smaller business is adversely affected and this forces them out of the market, reinforcing inequality between people with big business and small business. Though advertising appeals to our personal emotions and have a strong influence on our lifestyles, as citizens of a democratic society, we must make independent choices. We must encourage advertisement with social messages and discourage products that highlight the inequalities in society. 1598