It was a milestone ride to empowerment. A young girl, probably a decade ago, driving a scooter, a little unsteadily, with mom on the pillion. It was the gift of mobility; more significantly, it was a trip to liberation. Now, the girl swings her Scorpio round a dangerous kerb even as mom and a brood of aunt, grandma and nieces squeal in pride. The girl now has a handy tool: her cell phone. Mobility and communication!
Sure, gender cleansing is now a frightening reality. Girls are killed before or at birth, plunging the all-India sex ratio to 927 girls for 1,000 boys. If she survives, the girl cannot assume she'll get a fair share of the family's education budget. Chances are she will drop out; to look after her siblings, to cook at home, to work in the fields, to be married off for money. She might be 'gifted' to a temple. 'Dowry death', a term we gave the English lexicon, is not in danger of fading out. 'The only women likely to keep their daughters are the truly independent-minded, not just the financially independent,' said author Gita Aravamudan. We know of her resilience, ability to raise a family, find happiness somewhere and keep her sanity somehow. All of which is excellent fodder for exploitation.
Out of this tangled mess has emerged the New Woman; a woman 'pushing against the limits society imposed on her'. With an identity no longer defined by domesticity or relationships, she now comes across as a person with a strong sense of self and self worth. A woman taking a tough stand for her rights is no shrew but a woman of substance while a female globetrotter is no adventuress but a woman of spirit. In short, women are going where men fear to tread.
But there are nay-sayers too. "I'm wondering if it is even theoretically possible to define the 'New Woman' in terms of a single set of characteristics. Indian women are so different from each other in terms of their class, caste, regional, linguistic and religious identities that what is 'old' for one is 'new' for the other, and not even on the map for yet another. That said, I think the one thing that has changed is that women are no longer hesitant or apologetic about claiming a share of space and visibility within the family, at work, in public spaces, in the public discourse." said Kalyani Menon Sen of JAGORI. Small concessions to big achievements, she tastes freedom. Her aspirations are taken seriously; count the hailstorm of women-centric TV shows, commercials and food items aimed her way. "It comes with monetary independence," said Usha Srinivasan, HR Consultant.
How is it easier now? Sustained campaigns run by women groups since the national movement. Laws passed to make justice equitable, for corrective surgery of mindsets. Travel, definitely. Her willingness to take up non-traditional workplaces; job opportunities, with IT hiring in bulk. Women began to write and read what other women wrote. And cyberspace, she now blogs and networks, using it for the freedom denied so far to voice her angst, express outrage and disapproval, fulfill the need for acceptance and approval. To speak out.
Start by ruling out meanings that clash with the sentence. The line reads that despite gender cleansing and dowry pressure, the woman still manages to raise a family, find happiness and keep her sanity, so the word must praise her toughness.
The correct choice is option (c), able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.
Look at this from the angle of who imposed the limits. The passage never blames only men; it says the limits came from 'society', a broader force that includes customs, family expectations and tradition together.
The correct answer is option (b), breaking the shackles society set as obligatory.
Instead of hunting for a single quote, weigh how big a claim each option makes about empowerment, since the passage keeps widening its scope from home to work to public life.
The correct answer is option (d), seeking total liberation, since it best sums up the full sweep of change the author describes.
Match each option word for word against the final sentence of that paragraph, since RC questions built on a closing line usually want its near-exact paraphrase.
The correct answer is option (d), since it mirrors the passage's own closing statement.
Rank the four options by how the passage itself ranks them, since it lists dropout, low education spend and temple gifting only after first naming the bigger threat.
The correct answer is option (d), gender cleansing, the reality the passage flags as frightening before anything else.
Test each statement against the passage by flipping it to see if the reverse is what the text actually says, since three of the four options invert the passage's real meaning.
The correct answer is option (b), the only statement that matches the passage without needing to be reversed.
Work backward from the effect to the cause. The passage describes an effect, girls killed before or at birth, and the question asks for the fact the author is really highlighting behind that effect.
The correct answer is option (a), sons are at a premium in India, the cause behind the grim figures the passage cites.
Count how much of the passage each option actually covers, since a central theme question should be answered by the idea that spans the most paragraphs, not just one line.
The correct answer is option (d), since it is the only option that reflects the passage in its entirety rather than a single paragraph.