Social Science · Class 10

Active learning ideas

Gender and Politics: Division of Labour

Active learning works for this topic because students need to feel, not just think, about the invisible walls of gendered expectations. When they act out daily routines or analyse real survey data, the abstract concepts of public and private spheres become tangible and personal. These embodied and data-driven experiences help students question norms they might otherwise accept without noticing their effects.

• CBSE Learning Outcomes
• CBSE: Gender, Religion and Caste - Class 10

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 35 min · Pairs

Role Play: Gendered Daily Routine

Pair students: one follows a woman's routine with chores and a mock political meeting, the other a man's. Switch roles after 10 minutes. Groups discuss time left for politics and share insights in class debrief.

Analyze how the sexual division of labor affects women's political roles and opportunities.

Facilitation Tip

During Role Play: Gendered Daily Routine, assign roles without warning to mimic how unplanned domestic tasks often fall to women, making the routine visible to students.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How does the time spent on domestic chores by women in your own families or communities affect their ability to engage in local politics?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to share observations respectfully and connect them to the concepts of public and private spheres.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Formal Debate
• 40 min · Whole Class

Formal Debate: Feminism in Indian Politics

Divide class into two teams to debate if feminism has improved women's political roles, using examples like panchayat reservations. Provide 5 minutes prep, 10 minutes debate, followed by vote and reflection.

Explain the concept of feminism and its objectives.

Facilitation Tip

For Debate: Feminism in Indian Politics, provide each team with two concrete case studies of women politicians facing backlash to ground arguments in evidence.

What to look for

Ask students to write down two specific ways the division of labour hinders women's political participation and one objective of feminism. Collect these at the end of the lesson to gauge understanding of key concepts.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Philosophical Chairs
• 45 min · Small Groups

Survey: Household Labour Division

Small groups create a 5-question survey on family chores by gender, administer to 10 classmates or family members, tally results into charts, and present findings on political implications.

Evaluate the challenges women face in achieving equal political representation.

Facilitation Tip

During Survey: Household Labour Division, ask students to interview family members in their native language to capture nuanced responses and reduce social desirability bias.

What to look for

Present students with a short case study of a woman aspiring to enter local politics. Ask them to identify 2-3 challenges she might face due to gendered expectations and suggest one way feminism aims to address such challenges.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Timeline Challenge
• 30 min · Individual

Timeline Challenge: Women Political Leaders

Individuals research 3-5 Indian women leaders like Indira Gandhi or Mamata Banerjee, noting challenges overcome. Share in a class timeline display and discuss division of labour's role.

Analyze how the sexual division of labor affects women's political roles and opportunities.

Facilitation Tip

For Timeline: Women Political Leaders, display a physical timeline on the wall so students can physically move key events to see chronological patterns and gaps.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How does the time spent on domestic chores by women in your own families or communities affect their ability to engage in local politics?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to share observations respectfully and connect them to the concepts of public and private spheres.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by starting with the familiar before introducing the political. Begin with students' own homes and daily rhythms, then gradually zoom out to national policies like the 73rd Amendment. Avoid framing women as victims; instead, highlight their agency and the activism that has already reshaped some norms. Research shows students grasp intersectionality better when they work with local, lived examples rather than abstract global statistics.

Successful learning looks like students shifting from seeing gender roles as natural to recognising them as social rules that can be rewritten. They should connect personal observations to larger political structures, articulate how feminism challenges these barriers, and apply this understanding to real-world examples like panchayat reservations or political campaigns. Their discussions should show empathy without pity, focusing on systems rather than individuals.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role Play: Gendered Daily Routine, watch for students attributing the unequal division to biology or laziness. Redirect them by asking, 'Which tasks felt natural to you in your role, and which felt forced? Why do you think society expects these patterns?'

  During Role Play: Gendered Daily Routine, use the activity's reflection sheet to ask students to list tasks they performed and note if they were interrupted by unexpected demands. This makes the invisible burden of domestic work visible.

• During Debate: Feminism in Indian Politics, watch for students dismissing feminism as Western or irrelevant to India. Redirect by asking, 'How do reservation policies in Indian panchayats reflect feminist goals? Can you find examples where this has worked or failed here?'

  During Debate: Feminism in Indian Politics, provide pre-debate research prompts focused on Indian feminist movements like the Chipko Andolan or the 2012 Delhi protests to ground the discussion in local context.

• During Survey: Household Labour Division, watch for students assuming their family's division is universal. Redirect by asking, 'Compare your results with two other classmates. What differences do you notice, and what might explain them?'

  During Survey: Household Labour Division, use the survey's 'other' category to capture tasks like care for elderly relatives, which are often invisible but critical to understanding time poverty.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Formal Debate
• Philosophical Chairs
• Timeline Challenge