Page 12 - Understanding NCERT Histroy 09th

• Schooling made compulsory for all girls. Marriage was made into a contract entered
into freely and registered under civil law.
• Divorce was made legal.

• They could run small businesses.
Goyal Brothers Prakashan
• During the Reign of Terror, the government closed women’s clubs banning their political
activities.
• After much struggle, women in France in 1946 won the right to vote.

Activity (Page no. 18)

Q. Describe the persons represented in Fig. 12 – their actions, their postures, the objects
they are carrying. Look carefully to see whether all of them come from the same
social group. What symbols has the artist included in the image? What do they
stand for? Do the actions of the women reflect traditional ideas of how women were
expected to behave in public? What do you think: does the artist sympathise with
the women’s activities or is he critical of them? Discuss your views in the class.
Ans. They are all women and belong to the underprivileged social group. The agricultural
implements in their hands symbolizes that they all are peasants. The wearing also depicts
their poverty. The symbol of justice held by one woman depicts that they are striving for
it. The woman on the horse symbolises power and strength. The drum symbolises that
they are proclaiming their march to all concerned.
Here the actions of the women do not reflect the traditional ideas of how women should
behave in public. The artist definitely sympathises with the activities of the women.
Source E (Page no. 19)
The life of a revolutionary woman – Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793)
Olympe de Gouges was one of the most important of the politically active
women in revolutionary France. She protested against the Constitution and
the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen as they excluded women from
basic rights that each human being was entitled to. So, in 1791, she wrote
a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen, which she addressed
to the Queen and to the members of the National Assembly, demanding
that they act upon it. In 1793, Olympe de Gouges criticised the Jacobin
government for forcibly closing down women’s clubs. She was tried by
the National Convention, which charged her with treason. Soon after this
she was executed.

Activity (Page no. 20)

Q. Compare the manifesto drafted by Olympe de Gouges (Source F) with the Declaration
of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Source C).
Ans. They are all women and belong to the underprivileged social group. The agricultural
implements in their hands symbolizes that they all are peasants. The wearing also depicts
their poverty. The symbol of justice held by one woman depicts that they are striving for
it. The woman on the horse symbolises power and strength. The drum symbolises that
they are proclaiming their march to all concerned.
Here the actions of the women do not reflect the traditional ideas of how women should
behave in public. The artist definitely sympathises with the activities of the women.

H-10 History Class IX