Gary Singh’s abduction ordeal illustrates the dangers faced by those who rely on smugglers to make their way overseas One day in 2006, 18-year-old Gubachan “Gary” Singh, an illegal immigrant in Manila, Philippines, was on his way to work when he was approached by four stocky Filipinos. One pulled out a gun, pressing the barrel into the small of his back, while another blindfolded him and shoved him into a van....

Endosulfan has started exacting its toll not only in killing the foetus but also in aborting marriage proposals. Parents of brides and grooms insist on blood tests before the marriage to ensure that prospective grooms do not carry endosulfan residues in their blood. A marriage proposal for a girl in Enmakaje grama panchayat from the parents of a groom in Mangalore was aborted as the bride’s party was not prepared to...

The lowest child sex ratio in 50 years revealed by the 2011 census reflects India’s failure to stop selective abortion of female foetuses despite laws against sex selection and campaigns to promote goodwill towards girls, sections of doctors said. The 2011 census released today by the registrar general of India has shown that the ratio of girls to boys up to six years of age has dropped to 914 girls for...

Women's organisations rise up against a petition that seeks an amendment to Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. A PETITION that alleges the misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which has been admitted by the Rajya Sabha Committee on Petitions, has become an object of concern among leading women's organisations in the country. The petition claims that the law, dealing with dowry-related torture and acute domestic...

Striking workers at Foxconn India in Sriperumbudur near Chennai take on the corporate giant, demanding better wages. WORKERS at Foxconn-India in Sriperumbudur in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, have been on strike from September 24 demanding better wages. They also want the reinstatement of 24 suspended colleagues and the withdrawal of an eight-day wage cut slapped on some workers. That they have held out for so long is remarkable, not least...