Every year, as millions of women marry, they dream of starting a family, of having their homes filled with tiny cries and the happy laughter of gurgling babies. In India however, pregnancy is too often followed by the question of
whether the unborn child is a girl or a boy.

The English common law or law created by English judicial decisions treated the wife as the husband's chattel, allowing the husband to do as he pleased in the private domain of his home.

A preference for sons or for more sons than daughters has been documented in several countries in the world.

Domestic violence against women is increasingly recognised as a major health and social problem in India. It is also a concerns for public health.