India, Women | featured news

The rape and murder of a young woman in New Delhi in December followed by two attacks on foreign female travelers has altered how tourists view India and led to a sharp fall in the numbers of foreign tourists, especially women, a study said....

An Indian government panel recommended Wednesday the strict enforcement of sexual assault laws, a commitment for speedy rape trials and changes to the country's antiquated penal code to protect women in the wake of a fatal gang rape in New Delhi last month.

An Indian student who was left critically ill after being gang-raped on a Delhi bus has died, say doctors who were treating her in Singapore. "The patient passed away peacefully at 4:45am on 29 Dec 2012," a statement from the hospital said. The patient's family had been by her side, it added.

...The rape has highlighted the extensive harassment that Indian women face daily in cities and towns, ranging from unwanted hands being placed on them to being blamed for causing the sexual violence. Even rape victims rarely come forward to complain because of the social stigma. Many women say they have structured their entire lives around protecting themselves and their children, and restricting their movements to avoid being molested.

India's rising rape cases -- one every 22 minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau -- betray what is wrong with society. Millions of Indians continue to believe that women invite trouble on themselves by being careless. Mothers often chide daughters for wearing provocative clothing, in most cases a sleeveless garment or a pair of hip-hugging jeans

India, a country best-known for its rising economic might, is the worst place to be a woman among the world’s biggest economies, and Canada the best, according to a survey of experts published Wednesday... “Canada leads the pack with its promotion of women’s access and opportunities across various sectors of society, including education, economic participation and health care,” Sarah Degnan Kambou, president of the International Center for Research on Women in Washington, which took part in the survey, told TrustLaw.

More than 200 Indian girls whose names mean "unwanted" in Hindi are given a fresh start in a renaming ceremony... Statistics show a continuing preference for boys in India. The gender imbalance has widened every decade since independence in 1947.

More than 1,000 followers of an Indian sect pledge to marry female sex workers wanting to escape exploitation.

Indian farmers -- desperate for rain -- have asked their unmarried daughters to plow dry fields naked, in a bid to spark interest from the weather gods, and bring some badly needed monsoon rain.