यहां होता है पहली माहवारी पर जश्न सुशीला सिंह बीबीसी संवाददाता

असम के बोगांइगांव ज़िले के सोलमारी में एक अनोखी शादी हो रही है. अनोखी इस मायने में कि असम की परंपरा के अनुसार यहां दुल्हन तो होती है लेकिन दूल्हा एक केले का पौधा है. ये मौक़ा है तोलिनी ब्याह का.

शादी की तरह भोज दिया जाता है. जिसमें मांस, मछली, सब्ज़ी, चटनी और चावल बनाया जाता है.

ये वो मौका होता है जब बेटी बचपन की उम्र पार कर किशोरावस्था में चली जाती है. ये तब मनाया जाता है जब पहली बार किसी लड़की को महावारी होती है. असम के सोलमारी गांव के ओनियो रॉय के घर उसी की तैयारी चल रही है और सब की नज़र उनकी बेटी गीतूमनी पर है जिसका नवोई तोलिनी ब्याह है.

बाहर शोर गुल है, गाना बजाना है तो 13 साल की गीतूमनी रॉय एक कमरे में ज़मीन पर चुपचाप बैठी है. तीन दिन बाद वो स्नान करेगी और कपड़े बदलेगी. उसे दुल्हन की तरह सजाया जाएगा. गीतूमनी की मां भखंत रॉय का कहना था कि ऐसा अवसर उनके जीवन में भी आया था. लेकिन पहले उत्सव के साथ-साथ पाबंदियां भी ज़्यादा थीं.

लड़की को चौथे दिन नहला कर खाना दिया जाता है. तीन दिन तक उसे फल और कच्चा दूध दिया जाता है.

वे कहती हैं, ''मुझे पहले दिन तो केवल पानी दिया गया गया था, ज़मीन पर सुलाया गया और उन दिनों में खुद खाना पकाना पड़ता था. काफी छुआछूत होती थी, काफ़ी एहतियात बरतना पड़ता था लेकिन मैं अपनी बेटी के साथ ऐसा नहीं कर सकती. वो स्कूल जाती है तो कैसे खाना पकाएगी. अगर मैं उसे हमेशा महावारी के दौरान नीचे सुलाउंगी तो उसे दुख होगा. मैं अपनी बेटी का साथ दूंगी.''

'तीन दिन तक खाना नहीं'

तोलिनी ब्याह की शुरुआत होती है लड़की की पहली माहवारी के पहले दिन से. उसे सूर्य की रोशनी से बचाया जाता है. महावारी के दौरान खाने के लिए फल, कच्चा दूध और पीठा दिया जाता है. वो पका हुआ खाना नहीं खा सकती. उसे ज़मीन पर सोना होता है और जब तक रस्म पूरी नहीं हो जाती, कोई पुरुष लड़की का चेहरा नहीं देख सकता .

लड़की की मामी उसे तीसरे दिन नहलाती है.

गीतूमनी के पिता ओनियो रॉय कहते हैं, ''मैं खुश हूँ लेकिन मेरी बेटी ने तीन दिन से कुछ नहीं खाया. मैं कैसे खा सकता हूं. तीन दिन से वो इस सर्दी में ज़मीन पर सो रही है, माना नियम तो नियम होता है लेकिन दुख भी होता है. लेकिन एक तसल्ली है कि उसे महावारी हो गई. नहीं होती तो हम तनाव में आ जाते. अब मेरी बेटी बड़ी हो गई है.''

इस बीच परंपरा के मुताबिक गीतूमनी को उसकी मामी कंधे पर लादकर नहलाने ले गईं. इस रस्म के दौरान केवल महिला और लड़कियां शामिल होती हैं. इसके बाद, आंगन में गीतूमनी के सोने और चांदी के जेवर पहनाए गए, पेरौं में पायल और फिर पारंपरिक मेखला चादर पहनाई गई.

लड़की की मामी केले के पौधे की पूजा करती है जिसे दुल्हा समझा जाता है. साथ ही लड़की के लिए गहने और कपड़े लेकर आती है.

गीतूमनी का दुल्हन की तरह श्रृंगार करने के बाद उसकी मांग में सिंदूर भरा गया. उसने आंगन में केले के पत्तों पर रखी पूजा सामग्री के सामने प्रणाम किया. हालांकि दूल्हा बना केले का पेड़ यहां नहीं होता. शादी के बाद पूजा सामग्री में से तांबुल, पान का पत्ता पारंपरिक गमछे में बांधा जाता है और इसे बच्चा समझकर उत्सव में शामिल महिलाओं को खेलने के लिए दिया जाता है.

इस उत्सव में केवल महिलाएं और लड़किया शामिल हो सकती हैं.

ये इस बात को दर्शाता है कि लड़की शादी के लायक है और मां बन सकती है.

गीतूमनी कक्षा आठ में पढ़ती है. वे कहती हैं, ''अच्छा लग रहा है और मैं जानती हूं कि रीति रिवाज़ के अनुसार मुझे खाना नहीं दिया जा रहा वो सब ठीक है लेकिन मैं ज़मीन पर नहीं सोउंगी.''

'खुशी मनाने का मौक़ा'

लड़की को नहला कर पूजा के स्थान पर लाया जाता है.

उधर 60 साल की पूर्णिमा सिंहो अपनी बेटी का कई साल पहले तोलिनी ब्याह कर चुकी है.

यहां उसे दुल्हन की तरह सजाया जाता है. मेखला चादर पहनायी जाती है.

उनका कहना था, ''मेरी बेटी का तोलिनी ब्याह में 30 हज़ार रुपए का ख़र्च आया था. मैंने उसे सोने के गहने भी दिए थे. ये हमारे लिए खुशी मनाने का मौका होता है क्योंकि अगर बच्चा भाग कर शादी कर ले तो कम से कम दिल का अरमान तो अधूरा नहीं रहता.''

ये उत्सव लड़की के सयाने होने पर किया जाता है हालांकि हर इलाके के रीति रिवाज़ो में थोड़ा बहुत अंतर होता है. असम में माना जाता है कि पहले निचली जाति के लोग ही अपनी बेटी की पहली महावारी के बाद इस तरह का जश्न मनाते थे लेकिन अब देखा देखी समाज का हर वर्ग इसे मनाने लगा है.

'लड़की शादी के लिए तैयार'

तेजपुर यूनिवर्सिटी में कल्चरल स्टडीज़ में सहायक प्रोफ़ेसर मंदाकिनी बरुआ पुबर्टी राइट्स पर शोध पत्र भी लिख रही हैं. वे बताती हैं, "पहले ब्राह्मण समाज में इसे छिप कर मनाया जाता था क्योंकि वहां ये रिवाज़ था कि महावारी से पहले लड़की की शादी हो जानी चाहिए लेकिन अब असमिया समाज के हर तबके में इसे मनाया जाने लगा है."

ये उत्सव एक तरह से समाज के खुलेपन को भी दर्शाता है.

वे कहती हैं, "तोलिनी ब्याह का मसकद दरअसल समाज या लड़के वालों को ये बताना होता है कि उनकी लड़की शादी के लिए तैयार हो गई. यहां बिहू उत्सव के दौरान अगर लड़का लड़की एक दूसरे को पसंद कर लेते है तो भाग कर शादी कर लेते हैं. क्योंकि उन्हें डर रहता है कि शायद मां-पिता इससे राज़ी न हो. ऐसे में इसी ब्याह में लड़की के माता-पिता अपनी इच्छाएं पूरी करते है. साथ ही इस बात की खुशी ज़ाहिर की जाती है कि अब वो मां बन सकती है.''

मंदाकिनी बरुआ ये भी बताती हैं कि लड़की को जेवर देकर ये अहसास भी दिलाया जाता है अब वो सयानी हो गई.

पूजा के बाद चावल के आटे से होली खेली जाती है.

उत्तर भारत में जहां अब भी इस विषय पर खुलकर बात नहीं की जाती वहीं असम, तमिलाडु और आंध्र प्रदेश के कुछ इलाक़ों में लड़की की पहली महावारी को शादी की तरह मनाया जाता है.

(बीबीसी हिन्दी के एंड्रॉएड ऐप के लिए यहां क्लिक करें. आप हमें फ़ेसबुक औरट्विटर पर भी फ़ॉलो कर सकते हैं.)http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/india/2014/12/141217_tiloni_bia_menstruation_ss?ocid=socialflow_facebook

10 Female Revolutionaries That You Probably Didn't Learn About In History class

By Kathleen / whizzpast.com

We all know male revolutionaries like Che Guevara, but history often tends to gloss over the contributions of female revolutionaries that have sacrificed their time, efforts, and lives to work towards burgeoning systems and ideologies. Despite misconceptions, there are tons of women that have participated in revolutions throughout history, with many of them playing crucial roles. They may come from different points on the political spectrum, with some armed with weapons and some armed with nothing but a pen, but all fought hard for something that they believed in.

Let’s take a look at 10 of these female revolutionaries from all over the world that you probably won’t ever see plastered across a college student’s T-shirt.

Nadezhda Krupskaya

Many people know Nadezhda Krupskaya simply as Vladimir Lenin’s wife, but Nadezhda was a Bolshevik revolutionary and politician in her own right. She was heavily involved in a variety of political activities, including serving as the Soviet Union’s Deputy Minister of Education from 1929 until her death in 1939, and a number of educational pursuits. Prior to the revolution, she served as secretary of the Iskra group, managing continent-wide correspondence, much of which had to be decoded. After the revolution, she dedicated her life to improving education opportunities for workers and peasants, for example by striving to make libraries available to everyone.

Constance Markievicz

Constance Markievicz (née Gore-Booth) was an Anglo-Irish Countess, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil politician, revolutionary nationalist, suffragette and socialist. She participated in many Irish independence efforts, including the Easter Rising of 1916, in which she had a leadership role. During the Rising, she wounded a British sniper before being forced to retreat and surrender. After, she was the only woman out of 70 to be put into solitary confinement. She was sentenced to death, but was pardoned based on her gender. Interestingly, the prosecuting counsel claimed that she begged “I am only a woman, you cannot shoot a woman”, while court records show she said “I do wish your lot had the decency to shoot me”. Constance was one of the first women in the world to hold a cabinet position (Minister for Labour of the Irish Republic, 1919–1922), and she was also the first woman elected to the British House of Commons (December 1918)—a position which she rejected due to the Sinn Féin abstentionist policy.

Petra Herrera

During the Mexican Revolution, female soldiers known as soldaderaswent into combat along with the men although they often faced abuse. One of the most well-known of the soldaderas was Petra Herrera, who disguised her gender and went by the name “Pedro Herrera”. As Pedro, she established her reputation by demonstrating exemplary leadership (and blowing up bridges) and was able to reveal her gender in time. She participated in the second battle of Torreón on May 30, 1914 along with about 400 other women, even being named by some as being deserving of full credit for the battle. Unfortunately, Pancho Villa was likely unwilling to give credit to a woman and did not promote her to General. In response, Petra left Villa’s forces and formed her own all-woman brigade.

Nwanyeruwa

Nwanyeruwa, an Igbo woman in Nigeria, sparked a short war that is often called the first major challenge to British authority in West Africa during the colonial period. On November 18, 1929, an argument between Nwanyeruwa and a census man named Mark Emereuwa broke out after he told her to “count her goats, sheep and people.” Understanding this to mean she would be taxed (traditionally, women were not charged taxes), she discussed the situation with the other women and protests, deemed the Women’s War, began to occur over the course of two months. About 25,000 women all over the region were involved, protesting both the looming tax changes and the unrestricted power of the Warrant Chiefs. In the end, women’s position were greatly improved, with the British dropping their tax plans, as well as the forced resignation of many Warrant Chiefs.

Lakshmi Sehgal

Lakshmi Sahgal, colloquially known as “Captain Lakshmi”, was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and later, the Minister of Women’s Affairs in the Azad Hind government. In the 40s, she commanded the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, an all-women regiment that aimed to overthrow British Raj in colonial India. The regiment was one of the very few all-female combat regiments of WWII on any side, and was named after another renowned female revolutionary in Indian history, Rani Lakshmibai, who was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Sophie Scholl

German revolutionary Sophie Scholl was a founding member of the non-violent anti-Nazi resistance group The White Rose, which advocated for active resistance to Hitler’s regime through an anonymous leaflet and graffiti campaign. In February of 1943, she and other members were arrested for handing out leaflets at the University of Munich and sentenced to death by guillotine. Copies of the leaflet, retitled The Manifesto of the Students of Munich, were smuggled out of the country and millions were air-dropped over Germany by Allied forces later that year.

Blanca Canales

Blanca Canales was a Puerto Rican Nationalist who helped organize the Daughters of Freedom, the women’s branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. She was one of the few women in history to have led a revolt against the United States, known as the Jayuya Uprising. In 1948, a severely restricting bill known as the Gag Bill, or Law 53, was introduced that made it a crime to print, publish, sell, or exhibit any material intended to paralyze or destroy the insular government. In response, the Nationalists starting planning armed revolution. On October 30, 1950, Blanca and others took up arms which she had stored in her home and marched into the town of Jayuya, taking over the police station, burning down the post office, cutting the telephone wires, and raising the Puerto Rican flag in defiance of the Gag Law. As a result, the US President declared martial law and ordered Army and Air Force attacks on the town. The Nationalists held on for awhile, but were arrested and sentenced to life in prison after 3 days. Much of Jayuya was destroyed, and the incident was not fairly covered by US media, with the US President even saying it was “an incident between Puerto Ricans.”

Celia Sanchez

Most people know Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, but fewer people have heard of Celia Sanchez, the woman at the heart of the Cuban Revolution who has even been rumored to be the main decision-maker. After the March 10, 1952 coup, Celia joined the struggle against the Batista government. She was a founder of the 26th of July Movement, leader of combat squads throughout the revolution, controlled group resources, and even made the arrangements for theGranma landing, which transported 82 fighters from Mexico to Cuba in order to overthrow Batista. After the revolution, Celia remained with Castro until her death.

Kathleen Neal Cleaver

Kathleen Neal Cleaver was a member of the Black Panther Party and the first female member of the Party’s decision-making body. She served as spokesperson and press secretary and organized the national campaign to free the Party’s minister of defense, Huey Newton, who had been jailed. She and other women, such as Angela Davis, made up around 2/3 of the Party at one point, despite the notion that the BPP was overwhelmingly masculine.

Asmaa Mahfouz

Asmaa Mahfouz is a modern-day revolutionary who is credited with sparking the January 2011 uprising in Egypt through a video blog post encouraging others to join her in protest in Tahrir Square. She is considered one of the leaders of the Egyptian Revolution and is a prominent member of Egypt’s Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution.

These 10 women are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to female revolutionaries. Let us know in the comments who we’ve left out and what you think about the actions of those included on our list!http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/10-female-revolutionaries-that-you-probably-didnt-learn-about-in-history-class/#.VI3Grz2l6Dk.facebook

17 December 2014 Last updated at 11:28 Share this pagePrint ShareFacebookTwitter First female bishop named as the Reverend Libby Lane

First female bishop named as the Reverend Libby Lane

COMMENTS (1140)

Jump media player

Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

Reverend Libby Lane: "I'm conscious that other women will be looking to me"

Continue reading the main story

Women bishops

• The issues behind women bishops vote
• Female bishop 'next year'
• Saying yes to women bishops
• Two views: Women bishops

Reverend Libby Lane has been announced as the first female bishop for the Church of England, just a month after a historic change to canon law.

She will become the new Bishop of Stockport, a post that has been vacant since May.

Mrs Lane has been the vicar at St Peter's Hale and St Elizabeth's Ashley, in the diocese of Chester, since 2007.

The general synod voted to back plans for female bishops in July and formally adopted legislation on 17 November.

The appointment will end centuries of male leadership of the Church and comes 20 years after women became priests.

Mrs Lane was ordained a deacon in 1993 and a priest in 1994, serving her curacy in Blackburn, Lancashire. Since 2010 she has also held the role of Dean of Women in Ministry for the diocese of Chester.

'Unexpected and exciting'

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

This is an historic appointment”

David CameronPrime Minister

Speaking at Stockport town hall the new bishop, whose role was approved by the Queen, said it was a "remarkable day for me and an historic day for the Church".

"This is unexpected and very exciting," she said.

"I'm honoured and thankful to be called to serve as the next Bishop of Stockport and not a little daunted to be entrusted with such a ministry."

Prime Minister David Cameron congratulated Mrs Lane and said: "This is an historic appointment and an important step forward for the Church towards greater equality in its senior positions".

Mrs Lane will be consecrated as the eighth bishop of the town at a ceremony at York Minster on 26 January.

The first women priests were ordained in 1994, but to date women have not been able to take on the Church's most senior roles.

Jump media player

Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

Archbishop Justin Welby is "absolutely delighted" with the Church of England's first female bishop

Legislation to fast track women bishops into the House Of Lords will be introduced to Parliament on Thursday.

But Mrs Lane will not be able to enter the House of Lords, as the post she is taking up is a junior or suffragan appointment within the Diocese of Chester, the BBC's religious correspondent Caroline Wyatt said.

The first women bishop eligible to take up a seat in the Lords is expected to be announced in the new year.

Mrs Lane, who was schooled in Manchester and then the University at Oxford, before training for ministry at Cranmer Hall in Durham, dismissed suggestions her appointment was just a symbolic gesture by a Church still predominantly run by men.

The bishop and her husband, who is also a priest, were one of the first married couples in the Church of England to be ordained together.

Mrs Lane's interests include being a school governor, supporting Manchester United and learning to play the saxophone, according to herchurch's website.

Continue reading the main story

Church of England women priests

7,798

full-time C of E priests

1,781

are women

• 100 male C of E bishops
• 29 Anglican women bishops worldwide
• 20 years since first C of E women priests ordained

Source: Church of England

Getty

The general synod, the Church's law-making body, gave the final seal of approval to the legislation on women bishops after it passed through Parliament in October.

After the change was approved, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said that the Church was entering into a "completely new phase of our existence".

But divisions still remain in the church between Anglicans who feel the change is consistent with their faith and traditionalists who disagree.

One of the first crucial steps towards appointing female bishops came in 1975 when the general synod voted that there was "no fundamental objection" to the ordination of women to the priesthood, but it did not pass a second motion asking for the legal barriers to women's ordination to be removed.

In 1985, a vote allowed women to become deacons, and in 1992 women were officially permitted to be ordained in the priesthood, but the first women priests were not announced until two years later.

In November 2012, the vote to allow female bishops failed by six votes in the House of Laity. But in July 2013, it voted 152 in favour of the motion, with 45 against, and five abstentions.

Gloucester, Oxford and Newcastle are also among the dioceses where new bishops will also soon be appointed, and interviews for the vacancy as bishop for the Southwell and Nottingham diocese took place at the start of December.

Churches in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already allow women as bishops, but haven't appointed one yet.http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30510137

Things Indians believe should be banned to stop rape As soon as Delhi banned Uber and then other web-based taxi firms after a woman was raped, Indians flexed their satirical muscles on social media and compiled lists of other things that should be banned in order to put an end to rape once and for all. BBC Hindi's Parul Agrawal looks at how Indians veered from mockery to despair.

1. Ban neighbours, husbands and boyfriends

"The Delhi government should ban relationships between adult men and adult women. Boyfriends should be banned. Husbands should be banned too to ensure the problem of marital rape is solved," blogs Nitin Pai of The Acorn blog.

Many were keen to make the point that rape might in fact not be a direct consequence of web-based taxi apps but may indeed have broader and more disturbing social and psychological causes.

@SethShruti tweeted: I like how the entire blame is being put on @Uber Because Indian rapists never committed rape before being given a car? #missingthepoint

2. Why stop at Uber? Ban all transport

"Bus, metro and train drivers should be caged into their driving compartments every morning and released only when their shifts are completed," Nitin Pai continues in his satirical vein. By this logic, many argue, the government should have banned buses in the wake of the Delhi bus gang rape in 2012.

Jump media player

Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

BBC Trending looked at women only carriage controversies earlier this year

But there is a serious point too. A working woman in Delhi - and this is something I know from personal experience - is constantly weighing up affordability and safety. Some professional women rely on these cheaper web-based taxi services to get to work and when going out at night a woman feels more at liberty to wear a skirt when she is not on public transport.

Aseem Rastogi ‏tweets in this vein: "So the plan is to ban all web based cab services after the #Uber incident.. WOW.. Now all women will feel so much safer, isn't it? "

3. Uber's not the problem. It's women. Let's ban women

Of course there is a long list of reasons spouted by various figures as to why rape is a problem: from the clothes women wear to what star sign you are.

@gauravkapur tweeted: "Great move to ban Uber. Must also ban offices, colleges, restaurants, cinemas & anywhere else women go. Just ban women leaving the house."

4. Ban that mobile phone and electricity too

There seemed to be almost no end to the possibilities as Indians waxed lyrical on the possibility of living in a darkened room, with no electricity, no modes of transport and no human contact.

5. Ban clothes, pubs, life, but let criminals roam free

It all reminded me of one incident when a group of my friends was advising a visitor to the city how to get around. Each of us gave different pieces of advice: do not take a cab; only travel in the women's metro compartment; do not take a bus. Eventually it dawned on us that the only option we were giving her was to sit in her hotel room.

6. If someone stabs you, stick a plaster on it

Most women online have said the government is missing the point. Rather than making systematic change, the authorities opted for what people see as a knee-jerk reaction and cosmetic change. This is the first time Indians have reacted in such a satirical manner to the announcement. After several big rape cases, people are getting weary of what they see as small moves but no real change on the ground.

7. What Indians do best... ban ban ban

Wit coupled with disgust drove more Indians to social media who seemed dumbstruck by the ability of the Delhi government to ban Uber - a reaction the authorities always resort to, argued these users.

But some spoke up for the ban

Uber was banned on a technicality and few believe the company should get away with what is seen as lax recruitment policies and failing to conduct adequate background checks. Even Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari expressed misgivings about the ban. But there has been some support expressed for it.

The humour may be there in some of these tweets, but it is dark and it reflects a deeper despair with society, governmhttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30391607

Robert Walker Become a fan President, Population Institute Email Laadli and the Vital Importance of Girls in India

India is a country rich in opportunities for growth, but much of its vast potential is linked to the status of the girl child. While many factors will affect India's future economic and social development, few are as important as the promotion of gender equality and the protection of the reproductive health and rights of girls and women. So long as social norms diminish the importance of the girl child, discourage the education of girls, and force girls to marry before reaching adulthood, girls will never realize their full potential. And as long as social norms conspire to deny girls and women in India the ability to space or limit their pregnancies, the economic contribution of girls and women will be limited, and India will be the poorer for it.

Over the past quarter century India has made notable progress in improving standards of living for a rising middle class, but poverty persists. The 2014 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) gave India a Human Development Index (HDI) score of 0.586, and ranked it 135 out of 187 countries.

Since 1980 India's HDI -- which measures life expectancy, per capita incomes, and schooling -- has risen by over 60 percent, but when it comes to women, India is still an underachiever. The latest Gender Inequality Index published by the United Nations Development Programme, scored India very high for gender inequality, ranking it 127 out of 152 countries. India also performed poorly in the 2014 Global Gender Gap report issued by the World Economic Forum. India ranked 114 out of 142 countries, and while it was given a very high score for political empowerment of women, it received very low scores for economic participation, educational attainment, and female health and survival.

Gender inequality, wherever it exists, is usually rooted in social norms. That applies with special urgency to India, where child marriages remain prevalent in many rural areas and where sexual violence is a country-wide problem. In response to rising domestic and international concern about gender inequality in India, including high-publicized cases of sexual violence and brutality, the Indian government has been taking steps to improve the status of girls and women. For the first time in over four decades, the government last year established a High Level Committee on the Status of Women to examine the status of women and assess the impact of policy and legislation on women's equality.

While new laws may help to bridge the gender gap and criminalize 'honor killings' and marital rape, existing bans on child marriage, pre-natal sex selection tests, and dowries are poorly enforced. Moreover, without changes in social norms and the underlying attitudes and behaviors of boys and men, laws promoting gender inequality and outlawing sexual violence against girls and women will have limited practical effect.

At least one organization, however, is committed to changing the gender norms that are at the heart of gender inequality in India. Seven years ago, Population First, a Mumbai-based organization founded by Bobby Sista, created the Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity. At first, the awards were only local in nature, but in 2008, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the awards program went national.

Since then five annual awards events have been held. Nearly 500 awards have been presented across 28 States and 6 Union territories of India, covering 13 languages. More than 200 of the most distinguished names in advertising, film and media have judged the awards, and numerous media icons and artists across India have supported the Laadli campaign through sponsorships and free performances.

The Laadli awards recognize and celebrate the efforts of those in media and advertising who highlight pressing gender concerns and promote gender sensitivity. Dr. AL Sharada, who directs the awards program, says that there is a growing willingness to discuss gender issues in the media. In a recent interview, she was quoted as saying, "There is definitely a positive change in the way issues are being covered, with many publications giving more editorial space to articles on gender issues." She was "very pleasantly surprised to find even the most traditional women's magazines weaving in messages about the importance of women having an identity of their own, pursuing their aspirations and negotiating their space in family and society."

Laadli is a term of special endearment meaning 'cherished daughter' in Hindi. With the objective of making the term "Laadli" synonymous with women empowerment and a celebration of womanhood, Population First recently launched a social media campaign titled, "I am Laadli," and has even started using 'flash mobs' to promote the campaign and raise public awareness of gender issues.

Programs, like Laadli, that help to changing gender norms are vital to India's future. Gender inequality, including gender violence, is not just a violation of human rights; it is a denial of human potential, an obstacle to reducing poverty, and an impediment to national economic development.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-walker/laadli-and-the-vital-impo_b_6290844.html