According to one United Nations estimate, 113 to 200 million women are “demographically missing” from the world today. That is to say, there should be 113 to 200 million more women walking the earth, who aren’t. By that same estimate, 1.5 to 3 million women and girls lose their lives every year because of gender-based neglect or gender-based violence and Sexual Violence in Conflict. We can point a finger at poverty. But poverty alone does not result in these girls and women’s deaths and suffering; the blame also falls on the social system and attitudes of the societies. India alone accounts for more than 50 million of the women who are “missing” due to female foeticide - the sex-selective abortion of girls, dowry death, gender-based neglect and all forms of violence against women. The decline in the sex ratio and the millions of Missing Women are indicators of the feudal patriarchal resurgence. Violence against women has gone public – whether it is dowry murders, the practice of female genital mutilation, honour killings, sex selective abortions or death sentences awarded to young lovers from different communities by caste councils, rapes and killings in communal and caste violence, it is only women’s and human rights groups who are protesting – the public and institutional response to these trends is very minimal. Most of the values are insufficiently imagined and fundamentally flawed. More than two-thirds of the women’s populations don’t have access to the financial system. Poor women are not considered credit worthy. Every human being should have the “right to credit” because if people have money, they can change their lives. It is true for women. Nearly half the world’s population live in poverty, 70% are women. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Unite To End Violence Against Women! Educate & Empowered Women for a Happy Future !!!!!! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* www.un.org/womenwatch/ www.un.org/women/endviolence/ www.saynotoviolence.org/ www.unaids.org www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ Photo: Firoz Ahmad Firoz

1. SocialGe graphic
Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal
mental capacities. She has the right to participate in
very minutest detail in the activities of man and she
has an equal right of freedom and liberty with him.
----- M K Gandhi, 1933 Women

2. According to one United Nations estimate, 113 to 200 million women are
“demographically missing” from the world today. That is to say, there should be
113 to 200 million more women walking the earth, who aren’t. By that same
estimate, 1.5 to 3 million women and girls lose their lives every year because of
gender-based neglect or gender-based violence and Sexual Violence in Conflict.

3. Still, every day, more than 50,000 people die as a result of extreme poverty
and nearly one billion people go hungry each day, 70% are women and girls.

4. In addition to torture, sexual violence and rape by rebels and occupation
forces, a great number of women and girls are kept locked up in their homes
by a very real fear of abduction and criminal abuse. In war and conflicts, girls
and women have been denied their human right, including the right to health,
education and employment.

5. According to the UNAIDS around
17.3 million, women (almost half of
the total number of HIV-positive)
living with HIV . While HIV is often
driven by poverty, it is also
associated with inequality, gender-
based abuses and economic
transition. The relationship between
abuses of women's rights and their
vulnerability to AIDS is alarming.
Violence and discrimination
prevents women from freely
accessing HIV/AIDS information,
from negotiating condom use, and
from resisting unprotected sex with
an HIV-positive partner, yet most of
the governments have failed to
take any meaningful steps to
prevent and punish such abuse.

6. Millions of young women disappear in their
native land every year. Many of them are found
later being held against their will in other places
and forced into prostitution. According to the
UNICEF, Girls between 13 and 18 years of age
constitute the largest group in the sex industry. It
is estimated that around 500,000 girls below 18
are victims of trafficking each year. The victims
of trafficking and female migrants are
sometimes unfairly blamed for spreading HIV
when the reality is that they are often the victims.

7. United Nations agencies estimated
that every year 3 million girls are at risk
of undergoing the procedure which
involves the partial or total removal of
external female genital organs that
some 140 million women, mostly in
Asia and Africa, have already endured.

8. Millions of women suffer from discrimination in
the world of work. This not only violates a most
basic human right, but has wider social and
economic consequences. Most of the
governments turn a blind eye to illegal
practices and enact and enforce
discriminatory laws. Corporations and private
individuals engage in abusive and
discriminatory practices without fear of legal
system. Sexual harassment and violence in the
workplace are common and constant threats
to working women's lives and livelihoods.

9. More than two-thirds of the
women's populations don't
have access to the financial
system. Poor women are not
considered credit worthy. The
idea of the business is only
maximisation of profit. That is
too narrow an interpretation
of a human being. Every
human being should have
the “right to credit” because
if people have money, they
can change their lives. It is
true for women.

10. Since the late
1970s when
the technology
for sex
determination
first came into
being, sex
selective
abortion has
unleashed a
saga of horror
in India.

11. In some parts of the
country, the sex ratio of
girls to boys has dropped
to less than 800:1,000. It's
alarming that even
liberal states like those in
the northeast have taken
to disposing of girls.

12. Worryingly, the trend is far stronger in
urban rather than rural areas, and
among literate rather than illiterate
women, exploding the myth that
growing affluence and spread of basic
education alone will result in the
erosion of gender bias.

13. Over the years, laws have
been made stricter and the
punishment too is more
stringent now. But since many
people manage to evade
punishment, others too feel
inclined to take the risk. Just
look at the way sex-
determination tests go on
despite a stiff ban on them.
The United Nations has
expressed serious concern
about the situation.

14. India alone accounts for
more than 50 million of the
women who are “missing”
due to female foeticide -
the sex-selective abortion of
girls, dowry death, gender-
based neglect and all forms
of violence against women.
We can point a finger at
poverty. But poverty alone
does not result in these girls
and women’s deaths and
suffering; the blame also
falls on the social system
and attitudes of the
societies.

15. The decline in the sex ratio
and the millions of Missing
Women are indicators of the
feudal patriarchal
resurgence. Violence
against women has gone
public – whether it is dowry
murders, the practice of
female genital mutilation,
honour killings, sex selective
abortions or death
sentences awarded to
young lovers from different
communities by caste
councils, rapes and killings
in communal and caste
violence, it is only women’s
and human rights groups
who are protesting – the
public and institutional
response to these trends is
very minimal.

16. SocialGe graphic
Unite To End Violence Against Women and girls!
Say No To Sex Selection and Female Foeticide!
Educate & Empowered Women for a Happy Future !
Make War and Hunger History!
We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues of humanitarian and ecological
significance. The images on this presentation are not necessarily those of survivors of violence and human rights abuse.
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distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission.
Photo & Design: Firoz Ahmad Firoz