In the first such study of the Constitution, legislation, schemes, policies, etc, vis-à-vis the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has concluded the rights of women remain restricted in all spheres of

“Women hold up half the sky”, the Chinese saying goes. But we need to recognize that it is not an equal world for women, globally and in India.

Gender discrimination in the employment sector is enduring, an overwhelming majority of women working within the boundaries of informal sectors.

Change in the size of a population takes place due to births, deaths and migration.

The high female infant mortality rates (Miller, 1985), the practice of female infanticide (Krishnaswamy, 1988), the neglect of female children with regard to access to health services, nutrition (Sen and Sengupta 1983) and education (Mankekar, 1985), and the sexual abuse of girls (Bhalerao, 1985)