In the first such study of the Constitution, legislation, schemes, policies, etc, vis-à-vis the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has concluded the rights of women remain restricted in all spheres of

“Women hold up half the sky”, the Chinese saying goes. But we need to recognize that it is not an equal world for women, globally and in India.

For the last three decades, India's Family Welfare Programme has pursued the goal of reducing fertility as rapidly as possible. Until recently the means used to achieve this goal were method-specific contraceptive targets and cash incentives for acceptors.