Women in 65 villages of Karnal  district, Haryana, have transformed their lives through self-help groups and microcredit schemes The infant mortality and maternal mortality rates have both come down substantially 94 per cent of the women now have ante- and post-pregnancy checks Institutional deliveries rising; anaemia in pregnant women down. No girl is married off before she’s 18 Taravanti clearly remembers the time, 19 years ago, when she got married...

Rattled by the spate of honour killings in northern states, the UPA government is preparing a legislative route to amend Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provide a deterrent punishment against khap panchayats, which order death penalty to young couples who marry defying caste barrier. "We are seriously considering amending Indian Penal Code to make honour killing a separate and distinct offence and provide deterrent punishment," a top home ministry source...

CSES says almost all of them in northern districts  Marriage below the age of 15 not reported Data show teenage Marriages coming down KOCHI: Despite the rapid strides made by women in Kerala in social development, education and a host of reproductive health indicators, teenage Marriage of girls continues to survive in the State, mainly in the Malabar region. One out of every 15 women in Kerala marries before attaining the legal minimum age...

Boa Senior had been lonely the last few years of her life. When she died last week, she was no longer alone — she took her tribe and language with her. The 85-year-old, who had survived the December 2004 tsunami, was the last member of the Bo tribe and the last speaker of the Bo language, one of the 10 Great Andamanese languages. With her death, her tribe has become extinct and...

It is equally practised among Dalits, says survey carried out in 1,589 villages  98 forms of untouchability practised by caste Hindus and 99 forms by Dalits Inter-caste Marriage strictly prohibited by Dalits in 99.1 % villages Despite tall talk of progress and development, the practice of untouchability is still prevalent in rural areas of Gujarat. This was found in a survey by the Navsarjan Trust and the Robert F. Kennedy Centre for...