A parliamentary panel in its report tabled on Monday has recommended allowing LGBTQ community members to adopt a child, apart from asserting the need for a uniform and comprehensive legislation on adoption which is more transparent, accountable, verifiable, less bureaucratic and applicable to all

Polygyny or the practice of having more than one wife is legal in India only for Muslims, but National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data shows it is almost as prevalent in other communities, though on the decline in all.

Sex ratio is perhaps one of the most important sociodemographic indices which reflect the socio-economic and cultural ethos of a country, more so with reference to the status of its women.

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)

The magnitude of reproductive and sexual health problems in South Asia is daunting. However, an enabling policy environment provides an opportunity to address unmet needs. Neglected reproductive health problems can be effectively addressed through a life-cycle approach.

While a couple, and more specifically women must have access to knowledge and services to regulate fertility, this right is distinctly different from the objectives of the policies of population control.

We live in an era of paradoxes and contradictions - the reality was never so multifaceted, the issues never so complex. Everything around us seems to be melting and unfortunately the new forms acquired by the congealing of the molten mass leaves us little to rejoice at.

A crucial contributing factor to the Western development of the women's movement in the west has been what has sometimes been termed as the "sexual revolution" of the post-war period, i.e. acceptance of pre-marital sex and change of sex partners as a fairly normal part of life.