2020 · GS Paper 4 · Q5(a) · 10 marks
What are the main factors responsible for gender inequality in India? Discuss the contribution of Savitribai Phule in this regard.
In short
Gender inequality in India stems from patriarchy and son preference, customary sanction, unpaid care work and thin political voice. Savitribai Phule countered it by opening a girls' school at Pune's Bhide Wada in 1848 and by fighting for widows' dignity.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 290 words
Patriarchy and son preference
Norms that treat daughters as a dowry burden drive sex-selective abortion despite the PCPNDT Act 1994.
Customary sanction
Texts such as the Manusmriti denied women independence, and NFHS-5 still found 23.3% of women aged 20-24 married before 18.
Unpaid care burden
The Time Use Survey 2024 found women doing more than three times as much unpaid domestic work as men, keeping them economically dependent.
Thin political voice
Women won only 74 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, and one-third reservation under the 2023 Act awaits delimitation.
Education as liberation
She opened a girls' school at Bhide Wada, Pune, in 1848 with Jyotirao Phule and taught despite stones and dung thrown by orthodox crowds.
Dignity for widows
She organised a barbers' strike against tonsuring widows and ran a home where pregnant widows could deliver safely.
Reform and service
She led the Satyashodhak Samaj after 1890 and died in 1897 nursing plague patients.
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This chapter in the exam
Human Values — lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators3 questions
Asked in 3 of 14 sittings since 2013
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2020 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.