The study looks at the interrelated factors of transition from a pre-state forest dependent economy to a social system of an agricultural

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

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.

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