Almost ten years ago, Jyoti Singh’s brutal gangrape and murder in the heart of New Delhi in December 2012 received an inordinate amount of media attention and coverag

The sad truth is that society in general tends to judge the rape victim, not the rapists. It is she who has to hide her face in shame, not the criminals. And those who are shocked by it believe rape is a closet issue best kept locked in the social cupboard.

Sexual abuse of children is an issue shrouded in ignorance and denial in our country. One of the chief reasons for this conspiracy of silence is the high value, almost idealization, of the family.

It is now common practice to infer the social status of women from their demographic characteristics. Yet it is not so easy to read through demographic progress, in terms of declines in mortality and fertility, to make unambiguous judgments about trends in women's social standing.

Status literally means position in relation to others. The status enjoyed by women in any society is an index of the standard of its social organisation.