Facts that stroke me…

· Eve-teasing (Indian ethphemism for sexual harassment) is reported 30 times more often in Delhi than in Mumbai and Kolkata. Rape is reported 10 times more often in Delhi than in Kolkata and Chennai (March 2003).

· Maternity death rate in India is 407 per 100.000 lives. This 100 times more than in developed countries and 10 times more than in developing country. (2001)

· Female literacy in India is 53% (2001)

· Major industries where females are employed are community, social & personal services manufacturing as well as agriculture, hunting forestry & fishing. Comparatively to those, women as a workforce are almost non-existent in wholesale & retail trade & restaurants and hotels. Go to a local market – you barely see any women selling. This is division of labour: women produce, men make money.

· Common forms of violence against Indian women include, female feticide (selective abortion based on the fetus gender or sex selection of child), domestic violence, dowry death or harassment, mental and physical torture, sexual trafficking, and public humiliation.

· There are an estimated 130 million women in the world who have suffered genital excision; every year nearly two million more women are subjected to this custom, at a rate of roughly 6,000 per day, or five girls per minute (2001).

· In India, an average of five women are victims of dowry-related burnings every day, and many other cases are never reported.