November last when a young journalist was allegedly sexually assaulted by the editor of Tehelka, a magazine where she worked, an important report on gender bias of Indian laws was launched by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Titled 'The Law and Son Preference in India: A Reality Check' the report claims that most Indian laws -- be it prevention of dowry law, anti sexual assault law or inheritance law--...

-The United Nations Despite significant progress in meeting international development goals for women's Empowerment, gaps in key areas remain, which require a renewed effort from all partners to better integrate gender issues into the overall quest for sustainable development, a United Nations gender equality official said today. "It is ... essential to harness the synergies between gender equality, women's rights and Empowerment with sustainable development in its three dimensions - economic, social,...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Around two in five men in India - nearly 40.7% - were found to hold 'rigid and discriminatory' gender views. This segment believes women to be inferior. Such men are very controlling. They tend to dictate whom the wives can meet and do not allow participation in decision-making. Further, men who hold the most rigid views of masculinity are three times more likely to physically abuse their...

-The Hindu     To be able to deliver appropriate legal services to the rural and tribal communities, we need an alternative delivery system with a different model of legal service providers Delivery of legal services to the rich and the corporate class is organised not through individual lawyers but through a series of networked law firms. These firms employ hundreds of lawyers and domain experts all over the country to provide highly specialised...

-The Business Standard Expenses such as employment guarantees and loan waivers are, in effect, subsidies that are classified differently in government accounts Over the last few years, the government announced many policy initiatives that purportedly help the weaker sections of our society. Schemes initiated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or the distribution of free and affordable food items under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) are examples...