DEVELOPMENT is about protection of human rights of the concerned populations. It pre-supposes active participation of the populace in the decisionmaking processes while social justice remains one of the most important and cherished goals of development.

THE United Nations Commission on the Status of Women defines violence against women to include "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women..." [Economic and Social Council 1992].

Scrutiny and control of women's sexuality and women's reproductive role by the state are well recognized in the history of societies [Sarkar 1993]. Tribal wars over possession of women were rooted in the struggle for survival of the tribe itself.

This report examines the linkages between wife-beating and one health-related consequence for women, their experience of fetal and infant mortality.