How bad is discrimination against women in India?

There are, of course, strong normative and humanitarian reasons to guarantee full gender equality and sufficient legal protection for women in India, as elsewhere. But the economic and political consequences - the material costs - of gender discrimination are often overlooked. read more

Analysis reveals a kind of polarization regarding the status of women health between northern and southern states in India. Crimes against women . The fear of violence against women often puts a hindrance over women’s educational mobility, employment, skill enhancement or income earning capacity and political participation. read more

And India's labor laws protect existing workers -primarily men - at the expense of aspiring ones, which include most women. Manish Sabharwal, an Indian human resource entrepreneur, says that this may explain why an estimated 97 percent of working women have jobs in the informal sector. read more

Much of the discrimination against women arises from India's dowry tradition, where the bride's family gives the groom's family money and/or gifts. Dowries were made illegal in India in 1961, however the law is almost impossible to enforce, and the practice persists for most marriages. read more