If you are born in Narendrapur village of Murshidabad, you’ve to be tough to survive. Even a two-day-old boy knows that. Monirul Mondal lives, defeating the best efforts of two government hospitals, a private nursing home and several doctors to kill him. Anarul and Marjina Bibi’s son, born after 10 years of marriage, lives, beating the heavy odds on his death over a 279km passage, partly in a trekker and the...

-PTI Twenty-two-year-old Dolly now dreams of doing her Ph.D and leaving behind bitter memories of her childhood when she was forced to sit on a separate bench after her teachers found that she was a manual scavenger. Along with 200 women who used to work as manual scavenger, performing the symbolic religious ablution in the holy Ganga, Dolly entered the Kashi Vishwanath temple here as part of Sulabh International's endeavour to...

-The Hindustan Times   Female foeticide, infanticide and human trafficking make India the world's 4th most dangerous country for women, with Afghanistan's violence and poverty taking it to the top spot, followed by Congo due to horrific levels of rape, a Thomson Reuters Foundation expert poll said on Wednesday. Pakistan and Somalia ranked third and fifth, respectively, in the global survey of perceptions of threats ranging from domestic abuse and economic discrimination...

Survey shows Congo, Pakistan and Somalia also fail females, with rape, poverty and infanticide rife Targeted violence against female public officials, dismal healthcare and desperate poverty make Afghanistan the world's most dangerous country in which to be born a woman, according to a global survey released on Wednesday. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Pakistan, India and Somalia feature in descending order after Afghanistan in the list of the five worst...

South Asia may boast a number of women leaders and be home to cultures that revere motherhood and worship female deities, but many women live with the threat of appalling violence and without many basic rights. From forced marriages in Afghanistan and "honor killings" in Pakistan to foeticide in India and trafficking in Nepal, South Asian women face a barrage of dangers, experts say, but add growing awareness, better laws and...