The right of Muslim women granted by personal law in India is one of the most controversial issues within the framework of human rights. While Indian Constitution formal guarantees to protect the religious rights of members of Muslim communities, whereas the equality rights of Muslim woman have...

If until the repercussions of the event could not be grave one could call the fracas outright stupid. But the protract fracas that has been created by the recent advent of the issue of the women’s reservation bill has caused enough of headache to the major political parties and also in a...

Microfinance programs like the Self Help Bank Linkage Program in India have been increasingly promoted for their positive economic impact and the belief that they empower women. However, only a few studies rigorously examine the link between microfinance and women's empowerment. This paper...

In this paper we study the link between women's responsibility for children and their preferences. We use a large random sample of individuals living in rural India, incentive compatible measures of patience and risk aversion, and detailed survey data. We find more patient choices among women...

The excess female mortality in India and other South Asian countries is no longer contentious. Less known are the reasons for such excess female mortality in the country. In this study, we argue that intra-household gender-discrimination in receipt of medical attention can be one of the most...

In this paper, we study the impact of prenatal sex selection on the well-being of girls by analyzing changes in children's nutritional status and mortality during the years since the diffusion of prenatal sex determination technologies in India. We further examine various channels through which...