Considerable evidence exists of discrimination against females in India in terms of entitlements, opportunities, social seclusion, access to food and medical attention. Education can be an important instrument to reduce gender discrimination. Lower investments are made in the education of...

The study described in this paper takes a participatory and positive approach to improving adolescent reproductive health in a rural and urban community in Nepal. It shows that adolescent girls in these communities have dreams and aspirations for a better future and that adults acknowledge and...

In India, most adolescent girls 15-19 years old are married. A study was conducted in 1995-97 in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, India to gain insight into whether and how their reproductive health needs are met, especially for gynaecological problems, family planning and perceived fertility...

A girl's first sexual intercourse is often unplanned and may put her at risk of STDs and HIV infection as well as unwanted pregnancy. The high prevalence of HlV among 15-24 year olds in KwaZulu Natal suggests that sex is initiated at an early age. This paper is based on a 1999 survey in South...

This paper presents evidence that increased earnings opportunities for girls can lower household preference for sons, as measured by the household's average reported ideal number of sons relative to ideal number of children. Using the 1995-96 Nepal Living Standards Survey, I find that reported...

Structural and social inequalities, a harsh political economy and neglect on the part of the state have made married adolescent girls an extremely vulnerable group in the urban slum environment in Bangladesh. The importance placed on newly married girls' fertility results in high fertility rates...

Gender selection, manifested by unusually high percentages of male births, has spread in parts of Asia since the introduction of ultrasound technology. This paper provides the first empirical evidence consistent with the occurrence of gender selection within the United States. Analysis of...

This article models the determinants of pre-school age malnutrition in Africa using the Demographic Health Surveys. By examining the differences in the impact of mother's and father's education on the nutrition of boys and girls, we draw inferences from our reduced-form equations regarding the...

Using a staggered installation of sanitary pad vending machines across schools in the Indian state of Kerala, we study the impacts of free monthly access to sanitary pads on girls’ educational outcomes. We find that the number of dropouts among female students in the 7th-grade decrease by 24...

We explore the relationship between sibling sex composition, gender inequality and girls' locus of control. Among girls aged 10-15 in China, girls with brothers score lower in locus of control than girls with sisters, i.e., they believe that success depends more on external forces than on their...