1. The literacy rate among women is only 54 per cent compared with 76 per cent among men. Similarly, a smaller proportion of girl students go for higher studies. Many of them are drop puts because parents prefer to spend their resources for the education of their boys rather than equally on both boys and girls. 2. The proportion of women among highly paid and valued jobs is still very small. On an average, an Indian woman works one hour more than an average man every day. Yet much of her work is not paid and therefore not valued. 3. Although, the Equal Wages Act provides that equal wages should be paid for equal work. However, in most areas, from sports and cinema to factories and fields, women are paid less than men, even when both do exactly the same work. 4. In many parts of India, parents prefer to have sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted before she is born. Such sexselective abortion has led to a significant decline in the child sex-ratio (no. of girl children per thousand boys) in the country to merely 927. 5. There are reports of various kinds of harassment, exploitation, and violence against women. They are not even safe within their own homes from beating, harassment and other forms of domestic violence.