In the recent assembly elections, we were once again inundated with information about how much of a difference the women’s vote made to the outcome.

It was the tragic death by suicide that has laid bare the daily trauma of the three sisters from a landless household married to an affluent family with demands for dowry from impoverished parents.

This paper discusses contraceptive use and discontinuation among women in north Vietnam, in the context of a strong culture preference for sons and a stringent two-child population policy. Among a random sample of 1432 married women aged 15-49 in a rural province in north Vietnam in l994, nearly

Governmental efforts towards fertility reduction often face a dilemma: babies who are planners' worry are also a parent's hope and joy (Mandelbaum 1974:110). The beliefs of the people on this subject and what planners believe ought to be done may on occasion diverge substantially.

Fertility behaviour includes not only biological but also social reproduction, involving a complex network of institutions.

The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987, is an Indian law enacted to prevent and punish the practice of sati, where a widow immolates herself on her husband's funeral pyre.

The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, is an Indian law enacted to prevent the giving or receiving of dowry in marriages.

The National Commission for Women Act, 1990, established the National Commission for Women (NCW) in India to safeguard and promote women's rights and address issues of gender equality.

The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, is an Indian law aimed at prohibiting the indecent portrayal of women through advertisements, publications, writings, paintings, and other visual mediums.