Violence against women is legitimized by social norms, beliefs and institutions.

This monograph is guided by f

Decades of campaigning has led to signiicant changes and reform in the rape law.

Women experience disadvantage and oppression differentially, based on their status, context and location.

Highlighted by sensational titles such as "The endangered sex" (Miller, 1981) or "More than 100 million women are missing" (Sen, 1992), studies have long drawn attention to the unfavourable life chances of females versus males in various parts of East and South Asia.

The drive for a rapid development in the education of women came largely from a perception summed up aptly in .the following statement by Mayhew: "women