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The International Labour Organization (ILO) initiated a project titled "Training and Information Dissemination on Women Workers' Rights" (WWWR Project) in June 1997. As part of the educational activities of the project in India, an experience, sharing workshop was organised between October 15-16,

India probably is the only nation in the world which exclusively enshrines female deities in artistically built temples. The Meenakshi temple at Madurai, Ambabai temple at Kolhapur and the Shantadurga and Mahalaxmi temples at Goa are ample proof of the Hindu reverence for female deities.

Highlighted by sensational titles such as "The endangered sex" (Miller, 1981) or "More than 100 million women are missing" (Sen, 1992), studies have long drawn attention to the unfavourable life chances of females versus males in various parts of East and South Asia.