Activity 1 • Division of the gender role • Distribute cards of two colours (3” x 4”) and pens among the participants. Give instructions to the participants who got cards of one colour to write in them the activities done by women in their houses or work places and ask those who received the cards of the other colour to write in them the activities done by men in the aforesaid places. Household activities such as reproduction, nourishing children, activities at home, providing education to children and looking after elders and common activities such as teaching, nursing, clerical work may be presented under the term ‘female’. Household activities such as working as the Chief Occupant, provid ing protection, earning and maintaining the family and common activities such as management, execu tive, military, administrative and business activities may be presented under the term ‘male’. Allow a few participants to present what they have written. Write the activities which have been presented under the terms ‘male’ and ‘female’ separately on a flip chart. Display the aforesaid lists to be seen by the participants and conduct a small discussion posing the following questions to them and making the following comments. o What are the activities that have been assigned to males and females by nature? Can they be changed (Eg. Reproduction, Breast feeding)? o Other household activities (cooking, washing clothes, feeding children, helping children in their learning activities) - can both the male party and the female party do those activities? o Though females engage more in professions such as teaching, clerical work, nursing which are in the common field, can’t males too engage in them? o Explain how females engage in professions such as managers, executives, military personnel and astronauts and how males work at a professional level in child protection centres, nurseries, nursing homes, beauty parlours and restaurants. (Through local and foreign experiences and case studies) o Explain the fact even though reproduction and household activities were assigned to the female party and activities in the common field or outside the household were assigned to the male party in ancient times, it has been difficult to divide household roles and common roles as female roles and male roles in the modern context as a result of the social, political, economic and technologi cal changes that have happened in the world. o Similarly emphasize the fact that due to the fact even the female engages in a job outside the house hold to earn money in the modern world, household activities should be done by the members of the household with co-operation and co-existence. o Explain with examples how the traditional division of roles among the females and males has undergone a change. (Use Slide 1) • • • 26