Geeta Seshu recalls the women of 2003, whose lives offered hope for improved rights tomorrow, and also reminded us of the failures we live with today.

Men who think of themselves as allies and supporters of women need to break the culture of silence that surrounds rape, says Radhika Chopra.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act must be modified to ensure that women are protected against coercive and sex-selective abortions, says Pavan Nair.

Mental health issues of women are gaining ground in the women’s studies discourse. Vibhuti Patel reports on current developments and advocates progressive directions.

A recent report commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission finds that many children and women listing as 'missing' are in fact trafficked. Malvika Kaul reports.

Activists within the Muslim community are demanding reforms to tackle questions of personal law such as dowry, divorce and polygamy. Ashima Kaul reports.

The fleeting attention that is given to the rape of a girl in school hides the systematic harassment and violence that so many are subjected to - an important reason why girls drop out of the education system around the age of puberty. Deepti Priya Mehrotra reports.

The national meet of the RSS women's wing witnessed an interesting exercise in the forging of a gender discourse that ostensibly moves away from the Sangh's patriarchal stance, but also visibly shies away from recognising the social and political dimensions of gender-related issues. Aparna Pallavi reports.

How is older women's access to the city different from that of their younger counterparts? To our surprise, we found that older women's concerns were overlooked not just by city planners while conceptualizing public places, but also in the feminist and academic discourses on public spaces, writes Sonal Makhija.

Affluent Indians have found a way around the Centre's ban on pre-natal diagnostic tests for sex selection. Since the law only applies in India they simply travel overseas, to the US in particular, for their tests. And fertility clinics in India and the US have greatly streamlined the procedure. Gagandeep Kaur reports.

The eagerness to take up their issues themselves has not automatically led to a smooth start for the All India Muslim Women's Personal Law Board. But clearly, there is now more discussion of the issues that interest them. And that is a significant step in itself. Puja Awasthi reports.

At the receiving end of society's expectations and demands, many women find social work a natural calling. While their engagement of society's deepest problems may begin for very personal reasons, it often transcends these beginnings, and has much larger impacts, writes Puja Awasthi.

A pan-India survey conducted recently by the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) has brought an alarming new phenomenon of premature menopause amongst Indian women to light. Neeta Lal has more.

Qurratulain Hyder did tremendous justice to her craft by giving a powerful expression to the psychological, emotional and social concerns of women. Humayun Zafar Zaidi writes about the Jnanpith award-winning writer who recently passed away.

Things are looking up says a beaming Usha Chaumar, 33, formerly a manual scavenger. "We make pickles, vermicelli and 'papad' (spicy savouries) at home, too, which gets us an additional income of around Rs 2,000 per month." Renu Rakesh has more.

Among the steadily growing voices expressing their angst against discrimination, suppression and abuse of women, those of Indian feminist writers are fast gaining in pitch and range. Abha Sharma captures some of these.

The government's move to regulate the retail sale of acid is a welcome one, but for the many hundreds who have been prey to such heinous acts, life continues to be a daily struggle against physical and social odds. Priyanka Nadgir talks to one such survivor.

At a time when the position of women in India and their struggles in society are at the centre of public attention, it seems apt to invoke the legacy of one who was truly the pioneer of women's studies and activism in the country. Shoma A Chatterji pays tribute to Vina Mazumdar.

A retired diplomat in Bhubaneswar wants more old age homes in India, but why? Rakhi Ghosh narrates the stories of a few elderly people in the city, as she tries to fathom their needs and expectations.

Does inequality engender crime? S Venkatraman presents a graphical exposition of data from a recent WEF report and the NCRB to unravel the many layers of inequality and violence against women in India.

While debates over legalisation of sex work and rehabilitation of women in the trade continue without much tangible impact, sex workers themselves carry on the fight to win legitimacy, safety and social security. Pushpa Achanta brings us some voices from the twilight zone.

Widows in India have lived on the margins of society for decades but the intervention of NGO Sulabh International, led by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, has brought new hope and colour in their lives. Ramesh Menon reports on one of the first celebrations in their new-found lives.

Manjari Singh reports on the opening of the Lucknow branch of Sheroes Hangout, a café run and managed by acid attack survivors under the guidance of the humanitarian organisation “Stop Acid Attacks”

A glimpse into the lives of women waste-pickers in Pune by Suchismita Pai.

October is domestic violence awareness month. Pushpa Achanta shares stories of victims of domestic violence to point out why the dilution of IPC Section 498A by the Supreme Court is a blow to the fight against domestic violence.

Unequal distribution of resources has resulted in a shortage of land available for grazing. Anthra develops sustainable alternatives in consultation with affected groups.

Last year's poor monsoon is only the most proximate reason for the drought-related suffering; failures in many aspects of governance led inevitably to misery, say Manu Mathai and Ashwin Mahesh.

Despite lack of support from policy-makers, potato farmers continue to deploy indigenously developed production and storage techniques, says Virendar Khatana.

The National Seeds Bill was recently studied by a parliamentary standing committee after being introduced in the Rajya Sabha late last year. The bill has provoked controversy because it is seen as seeking to shift control of seeds from farmers to seed firms. Kavitha Kuruganti provides a critique.

A severe drought and acute water and electricity shortage is ending self-sufficient agri-livelihoods in the six districts of Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region. Sachin Kumar Jain and Sumika Rajput ring the warning bells.

A number of factors have combined to keep farmers in the country growing wheat and rice, instead of fruits and vegetables which would fetch much higher returns, writes Richa Govil.

Serious and rampant irregularities exposed by the CAG audit of the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008 hold important cautionary advice for the government as it seeks to launch direct cash transfers. Himanshu Upadhyaya analyses.

The India Together editorial.

The India Together editorial.

For one-and-a-half lakh people, we have a committee of eight people to decide? Ramesh Ramanathan points to the irony of the allegedly empowered, but actually despairing urban citizen.

Ramesh Ramanathan

Ramesh Ramanathan

We cannot implement policies for land reforms without a well-functioning land records system. And If we get this platform in place, we can enable all those interested in reform policy with the tools to ensure that their policy dreams get translated into ground realities, says Ramesh Ramanathan.

Why is the struggle for women representatives so much harder at the national level? Is every effort merely a pretense, a concession to the few highly educated and aware women voters that ultimately means nothing to the great majority of others? Vaijayanti Gupta notes yet another opportunity thwarted.

Winning the elections to the 15th Lok Sabha elections in India was easier than chalking down and executing what the new United Progressive Alliance has to do in terms of governance. Ramesh Menon looks at some of the challenges ahead.

There are four ideas for a Lokpal and a 'Sense of the House' resolution of Parliament itself before the standing committee whic begins work shortly. The battle for Lokpal is far from over, writes Mathew Prasad Idiculla.

The idea of interlinking rivers is appealing because it is so grand. But this is also the reason it is nothing more than a distraction from the business at hand, writes Sunita Narain.

In a country where the need for collective and institutional engagement in social improvement is stark, Shankar Jaganathan explores the role and contours of individual responsibility - both towards self and society - as a necessary precondition for the former.

Corruption in India has attained humongous proportions despite continual but largely erratic movements since independence to tackle this menace. Shankar Jaganathan ponders on whether the recent betting scandal in cricket could catalyse an effective outcome in the fight against political corruption.

Political differences notwithstanding, given the shared socio-cultural fabric, it makes sense for India to collaborate with her South Asian neighbours and look to them for solutions to common problems, writes Sakuntala Narasimhan.

Baba Rampal is the most recent in a long line of Indian religious gurus who have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Revathi Siva Kumar looks at a long list of Indian ‘godmen’ over the ages and tries to explain the influence they exert on a mesmerised flock.

Responding to reports of high stress among students and parents, the state proposes to revise the grading system used in Class X. Sreedevi Jacob reports on the hopes and fears it has raised.

The Suryanelli case involved a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually harassed and assaulted continuously for 40 days by 42 men in 1996. A special court convicted 36 accused during 2000-2, but the High Court of Kerala surprisingly overturned that verdict in January this year. M Suchitra reports.

With a long history of support for public education, Kerala has led the nation's movement towards universal literacy. But now, with the early challenges conquered, there are tough new lessons to be learned, to provide equitable, quality education. Deepa A reports.

With crop prices rising 30-fold, thousands of farmers in the hills of the south abandoned their traditional crops and switched to vanilla, with bank loans and rumours fueling their already unrealistic hopes even higher. But of course it was all too good to be true for very long. N P Chekkutty reports.