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.

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 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.

How does one analytically locate the social phenomenon manifested in India during the last few years since the advent of sex-selection technology in the mid- 70s?

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.