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After the Supreme Court ruled on June 10 that a <keyword id="20100511" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Muslim-woman" source="keywords">Muslim woman</keyword> is entitled to claim <keyword id="22407616" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="maintenance-after-divorce" source="keywords">maintenance after divorce</keyword>, <keyword id="20066703" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Commission-for-Women" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="National Commission for Women" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="National Commission for Women">National Commission for Women</keyword> (NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma welcomed the decision and stated that all <keyword id="20013419" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="personal-laws" source="keywords">personal laws</keyword> related to women should be equal across all religions. Speaking to ANI, Rekha Sharma said, "I always say that <keyword id="19927138" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="womens-rights" source="keywords">women's rights</keyword> should be universal and not determined based on <keyword id="19969367" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="religion" source="keywords">religion</keyword>. All personal laws related to women should be equal across all religions. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, you get alimony after divorce, so why should a Muslim woman not get it? I welcome what the Supreme Court has said." The Supreme Court on June 10 ruled that a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to seek maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), asserting that any discrimination against Muslim women in matters of alimony under the secular laws of the country would be regressive and against <keyword id="20809677" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gender-justice" source="keywords">gender justice</keyword> and equality. Earlier, the <keyword id="20066702" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NCW-chief" source="keywords">NCW chief</keyword> wholeheartedly welcomed the Supreme Court's landmark ruling, stating that the decision is a significant step towards ensuring <keyword id="20250318" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gender-equality" source="keywords">gender equality</keyword> and justice for all women, regardless of their religion. The NCW Chairperson emphasised that the decision reinforces the principle that no woman should be left without support and protection under the law. The NCW remains committed to advocating for women's rights and ensuring that justice prevails for every woman in India, she emphasised. Rekha Sharma also addressed the "lewd" comment incident that occurred earlier regarding a picture of the widow of Kirti Chakra recipient Captain Anshuman Singh. NCW chief Rekha Sharma said, "It was a very derogatory comment that we saw on social media, and we immediately took suo motu cognizance of it. The police have filed an FIR against this person. However, the individual is most likely from Pakistan." "Many such comments are being made, and we are taking those comments very seriously and urging the police to file FIRs in those cases as well," she added. Delhi Police acknowledged the National Commission for Women's (NCW) letter to the Delhi Commissioner of Police, demanding the arrest of the man and submission of a detailed report to the panel within three days. The police said a complaint was received from the National Commission for Women, alleging that a social media user had made an extremely lewd and derogatory comment on a picture of the widow of a late soldier. Taking cognizance of the complaint and after a preliminary examination of its contents, a case FIR under Sections 79, BNS-2023, and Section 67 of the IT Act 2000 has been registered at the Police Station Special Cell, and an investigation is underway. Captain Anshuman Singh, a doctor, was posted with the 26 Punjab as a medical officer in the Siachen Glacier area. On the night of July 19, 2023, there was a fire incident at an Indian Army ammunition dump at the camp where he was posted. Captain Singh saw a fibreglass hut engulfed in fire and immediately acted to rescue four to five individuals trapped inside. He went inside the medical investigation room, which was also on fire, to retrieve the critical medical aid box but could not make it out due to heavy fire amid strong winds. He was awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously. Captain Singh's wife, Smriti, and his mother received the award from President Droupadi Murmu.

All personal laws related to women should be equal across all religions: NCW chief Rekha Sharma

<ul class="summary-list"><li>More <keyword id="11892913" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="women" source="Orion">women</keyword> in a recent <keyword id="11939355" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="survey" source="Orion">survey</keyword> said their family's financial situation is worse relative to pre-pandemic times instead of better. </li><li>Over half of low-paid women in the survey said their family's financial situation is worse.</li></ul>Fifteen percent of women in a new survey said that their family's financial situation is better than before the pandemic — far less than the 28% of men who said this.That's according to new <a href="https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FINAL-GQR-NWLC-survey-slides-3.29.22.pdf">results</a> from a national survey commissioned by the <keyword id="11798254" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="national-womens-law-center" source="Orion">National Women's Law Center</keyword> (NWLC) and conducted by <a href="https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FINAL-GQR-NWLC-survey-executive-summary-3.29.22.pdf">GQR</a>, shared exclusively with Insider. The NWLC/GQR polling of 3,800 US adults was conducted from February 7 to February 25. The survey results, including how people's families are doing financially, the pandemic's impact on mental health, and changes to employment, are highlighted in a new <a href="https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FINAL-NWLC-Resilient-But-Not-Recovered-3.29.22.pdf">report</a> from the National Women's Law Center titled "Resilient But Not Recovered: After Two Years of the COVID-19 Crisis, Women Are Still Struggling." Julie Vogtman, director of Job Quality and Senior Counsel for the National Women's Law Center and co-author of the report told Insider that things like pay discrimination and "their overrepresentation in low-paying jobs" meant women were "in a precarious position before the pandemic and then really the pandemic ravaged their household <keyword id="11976454" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="finances" source="Orion">finances</keyword>."Vogtman and co-author Jasmine Tucker wrote in the NWLC report that women also faced the gender pay gap prior to the pandemic."Even before the pandemic began, women experienced poverty at higher rates than men, were overrepresented in low-paid jobs, and suffered from racist and sexist wage gaps," the two authors wrote in the report. "These trends continued during the pandemic and have contributed to women's economic insecurity in this crisis."The most common reasons women said they were worse off than before the pandemic were their own or a family member's job loss and used up savings, and women were more likely than men to cite those reasons for financial distress.Tucker, director of research at the National Women's Law Center, told Insider it's not surprising that "women have probably drawn down their savings more than men because they have been out of work longer or they didn't have as many savings to begin with."In the survey, men who lost or quit a job were more likely than women to say they have since found new work; that was similarly the case between fathers and mothers. Some moms left their jobs during the pandemic due to school and childcare closures, and there's still fewer women in the labor force now than in February 2020.The economic impact of the pandemic has been even more severe for low-paid women. Fifty-one percent of low-paid women, defined as those making $15 or less, said their family's financial circumstances are worse. That's three times the share of low-paid workers who said they're doing better (17%). "These women went into the pandemic without adequate savings or other resources to help them weather the storm, and they were more likely to lose their jobs or have their hours cut once the pandemic hit," Tucker said."And even if they are now working full time, it's extremely difficult to build up any kind of financial cushion on $15 an hour or less," Tucker added.Those financial struggles are taking a toll on low-income women, with bills and expenses causing more stress than most other factors:Tucker said low-paid workers who need to find a new job may take a lower-paying one if their previous job isn't around."What are you going to do? You have to put food on the table. You have to pay the rent," Tucker said. "We don't have these eviction moratoriums. We don't have stimulus checks still coming. Even though people still are experiencing financial hardship."Vogtman said government measures like the now-expired advance child tax credit payments, stimulus checks, and extended unemployment benefits "helped women a great deal." "Our survey in fact shows that those benefits were really important in helping women afford the necessities, but it also shows that now is not the time to cut off the child tax credit, for example," Vogtman said.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parents-share-experiences-with-child-tax-credit-payments-2022-1">Parents</a> have previously shared with Insider how the monthly child tax credit payments helped them and their families. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parents-prepare-for-loss-of-child-tax-credit-payments-2021-12">One parent </a>told Insider, "Without these payments, I won't eat so my kids can."The poll asked respondents what policies they support, and 72% said they support ensuring "all families can access the full Child Tax Credit and continue payments that gave families up to $300 per child monthly."

Men are twice as likely as women to say their family's finances have improved during the pandemic

The counting of votes for <keyword id="65591" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mizoram" source="Orion">Mizoram</keyword> Assembly polls began on Monday morning amid elaborate security arrangements in all 11 districts of the state. Additional Chief Electoral Officer H. Lianzela said that initially, postal ballots are being counted and then, the counting of votes polled through the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) would be taken up. Over 4,000 officials including women are engaged in the counting process. These officials are posted at 40 counting halls under 13 centres in 11 districts to count the votes, the official told IANS. Director General of Police, Anil Shukla said that adequate security measures have been taken for the smooth conduct of the counting process. Adequate contingents of Central Armed Police Forces and Mizoram Armed Police have been deployed across the state to maintain law and order. More than 80% of the 8.57 lakh voters exercised their franchise to decide the electoral fate of 174 candidates, including 16 women. The ruling <keyword id="297846" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="mizo-national-front" source="Orion">Mizo National Front</keyword> (MNF), the main Opposition Zoram People's Movement (<keyword id="746547" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="zpm" source="Orion">ZPM</keyword>) and the Congress have fielded candidates from all 40 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting on four seats. The BJP has fielded candidates on 23 seats with a special focus on linguistic minority inhabited areas, especially where the Reang and Chakma tribal communities are in reasonable numbers in the voters' list. Besides them, 27 independent candidates are also in the fray. The counting of votes was earlier scheduled on Sunday in the Christian-majority state (87%) but after repeated appeals by all political parties, NGOs, Civil Society Organisations, churches, youth and student bodies including the influential Young Mizo Association (<keyword id="549549" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="yma" source="Orion">YMA</keyword>), the Election Commission of India (ECI) rescheduled the counting to Monday. Polling for the 40-member Mizoram assembly was held on November 7.

Counting of votes begins for Mizoram Assembly elections

<ul class="summary-list"><li>UN Women has called for an investigation into reports of violence against Israeli women on October 7.</li><li>Allegations of rape and gender-based violence have emerged in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.</li></ul>UN Women has called for a "rigorous investigation" into reports of gender-based <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-declares-state-of-war-hamas-launches-massive-surprise-attack-2023-10">violence by Hamas against Israeli women on October 7</a>.Reports of rape and sexual assault surfaced quickly in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas massacre. In the weeks since, many more horrific incidents have surfaced through the <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-start-building-oct-7-rape-cases-focusing-on-footage-and-testimonies/">testimony of survivors and witnesses</a> and from the <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/10/israel-womens-groups-warn-of-failure-to-keep-evidence-of-sexual-violence-in-hamas-attacks">footage of body cameras</a> worn by Hamas. Israeli civilians were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hamas-victims-uncover-signs-torture-and-abuse-says-israeli-forensics-2023-10">tortured, raped, and abused by Hamas fighters</a>, according to evidence gathered by forensic teams. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hamas-victims-uncover-signs-torture-and-abuse-says-israeli-forensics-2023-10">Rabbi Israel Weiss, a former army chief rabbi,</a> echoed testimonies of the bodies showing signs of sexual abuse.An investigation by The Washington Post into the use of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/25/israel-hamas-rape-sexual-violence/">rape as a weapon of war </a>on October 7 said one woman, her identity concealed in a video statement to Israeli police, said she witnessed a gang rape at the Nova rave near Re'im, as she pretended to be dead.Her account describes an Hamas militant violently raping a woman and then passing her to a comrade who executed her with a shot to the head."He didn't pick up his pants. He shot her while inside her," the witness said, per The Washington Post.The head of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women also spoke on the conflict at UN headquarters this week.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/speech/2023/11/speech-now-more-than-ever-we-must-seek-peace">UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous told delegates</a> that "women and girls are paying the highest price of conflicts," in a Security Council meeting on "The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question."She said that an estimated 67% of the people killed in Gaza since October 7 are women and children. 67% of the more than 14,000 killed would equal more than 9000 slain women and children."That is two mothers killed every hour and seven women every two hours. We mourn them all," she said.Bahous said she was alarmed by reports of gender-based violence, saying: "Every act of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, is unequivocally condemned, and must be fully investigated with the utmost priority."She told the Council that UN Women had met with and heard from Israeli women about their work to document gender-based atrocities and called for peace and a commitment to both Israeli and Palestinian women.

UN calls for investigation into reports that Israeli women were raped by Hamas fighters on October 7

<ul class="summary-list"><li>J. Marion Sims has gone down in history as the "Father of Modern Gynecology."</li><li>Many of his medical achievements came at the cost of the health and well-being of enslaved Black women.</li></ul>In 2018, after a series of protests, New York City's Public Design Commission <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/historical-signs/listings?id=13315">voted</a> unanimously to remove a statue of J. Marion Sims from Central Park.Sims has gone down in history as the "Father of Modern Gynecology." He <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29474277/">developed</a> a surgical technique for the repair of vesicovaginal fistula, a severe complication of obstructed childbirth. He also invented the Sims speculum, a surgical instrument used for examining the vagina and cervix, the Sims sigmoid catheter, a thin tube used to aid the removal of uterine tissue among other functions, and the Sims position, a posture used for rectal examination, treatments, enemas, and examining women for vaginal wall prolapse.But many of his achievements came at the cost of the health and well-being of Black women. In recent years, his troubling history of medical experimentation on enslaved Black women has come into question.<div type="image" title="A statue of J. Marion Sims is loaded onto a Parks Department truck after being taken down from its pedestal at Central Park and East 103rd Street on April 17, 2018 in New York City." height="2000" width="3000" msid="106840114" hostid="261" sizebytes="900444"></div><h2>Procedures performed without anesthesia</h2>While Sims occasionally conducted experimental surgery on white women, his main subjects were a group of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2563360/">enslaved Black women with fistulas</a> (an opening between the vagina and the bladder or rectum) who were offered by their slave owners under intentionally loose contracts in the 1840s.These procedures were performed without anesthesia, often repeated several times, and never involved consent from the patients — stripping these women of any freedom to govern their own bodies. One subject, a woman by the name of Anarcha, was <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33249851/">operated on 30 times</a> before the repair of her fistulas was declared a success.During some occasions, <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17082217/">Sims would administer opium</a> to his enslaved subjects after their surgical procedures to immobilize them and keep them from resisting, which may have been seen as an acceptable therapeutic practice at the time.In the 19th century, many men of medicine held the <a target="_blank" href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/02/17/historian-uncovers-gynecologys-brutal-roots-in-slavery">racist belief</a> that Black people held a higher pain threshold than white people. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.history.com/news/the-father-of-modern-gynecology-performed-shocking-experiments-on-slaves">Some believe</a> that may have been the basis for Sims' experimentation on enslaved Black women, however others point out that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1376165/pdf/jmedeth00286-0030.pdf">Sims was aware</a> that his patients were in pain. When recounting one of his procedures on Lucy, an enslaved Black woman who was operated on without anesthesia, Sims wrote in his autobiography, "I thought she was going to die … it took Lucy two or three months to recover entirely." Historian Julia Axelrod <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1376165/pdf/jmedeth00286-0030.pdf">wrote</a>, "'Sims failed utterly to recognise his patients as autonomous persons."<h2>A history of unequal reproductive medical care</h2>Race-based physiological myths have long influenced medical practice. In fact, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1516047113">2016 study</a> involving 222 white medical students and residents found that half held false physiological beliefs about African American patients. Nearly 60% thought their skin was thicker, and 12% thought their nerve endings were less sensitive than those of white people. Another <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2576060/#:~:text=In%20both%20the%20bivariate%20and,to%20all%20other%20ethnicities%20combined.">2007 study</a> found that relative to other racial groups, physicians are twice as likely to underestimate Black patients' pain. Perhaps as a consequence, Black patients receive <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17187552">less pain treatment</a> than their white counterparts.Sims' influence on modern gynecology has contributed to a history of unequal reproductive medical care for Black women. After his death, researchers used the cervical cancer cells of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henrietta-lacks">Henrietta Lacks</a> without permission or compensation. In 1961, a doctor performed a hysterectomy, known then as a "Mississippi appendectomy," on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/fannie-lou-hamer">Fannie Lou Hamer</a>, sterilizing her without her knowledge or consent.A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8170721/">2021 Health Equity study</a> found that Black women in the US are more than three times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death than white women, even when controlling for education and income – a stat that has remained consistent since national tracking for maternal mortality began.Black women also have higher rates of preterm birth, Black infants have a mortality rate two times that of white infants, and Black women suffer disproportionately more morbidity and mortality rates from cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers with worse overall survival in all major gynecological malignancies compared with their white counterparts.<h2>Black women were experimented on to improve health care for white women</h2>Societal, institutional, and systemic racism has endangered the lives of Black women for centuries. The implications of racist experimentations, like those conducted by Sims, continue to be felt by victims of medical racism today. In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/respectful-maternity-care/index.html#:~:text=Mistreatment%20by%20maternity%20care%20providers,discrimination%20while%20receiving%20maternity%20care.">2023 CDC study</a>, Black women reported experiences of mistreatment during maternity care at the highest rate of women surveyed. Another <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4843483/">study</a> found that three out of four Black participants believe there is bias in how their pain is diagnosed.Prior to Sims' exploration, the study of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2586862/">gynecology did not exist</a>. Medical students were not instructed on pregnancy, childbirth, or gynecological diseases, and resident doctors were often trained to deliver babies using dummies. Sims recognized an untapped area in treating vesicovaginal fistulas, a condition that had been attempted by several previous generations of surgeons without significant success.As enslaved Black women were considered to be the property pf their owners, and therefore did not have their own rights of refusal, Sims' experimented on Black women in order to improve gynecological outcomes for white women.In his personal memoir, "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.loc.gov/item/13017881/">The Story of My Life</a>," Sims wrote that without the ability to perfect his techniques on Black women, whom he describes as being "the very bottom," he could not have later ascended his practice to the aristocratic families, "the upper crust," of Montgomery.Black women created opportunities for Sims, granting him access to a higher class of clientele, solidifying his medical reputation, and opening the door to career opportunities in the field of medicine. Yet the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-crossing-state-lines-give-birth-black-maternal-mortality-crisis-2023-9">health</a> and well-being of Black women continues to be systematically <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/problem-unconscious-bias-analysis-black-women-maternal-mortality-2023-12">neglected</a>, today just as it was then.

'Father of Modern Gynecology' J. Marion Sims performed dangerous 'experiments' on enslaved Black women without the use of anesthesia

India, like many other countries, is in a complete lockdown owing to the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic. Not surprisingly, as anxieties rise outside and families are required to stay indoors, pent-up anger and frustration has found a horrifying outlet: Domestic violence. According to the lastest data released by the <keyword id="6363091" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-commission-for-women">National Commission for Women</keyword>, within a week after the lockdown began on March 24, a total of 257 complaints relating to crime against women, have been received by its Complaint and Investigation Cell. This data, shows a steep rise during the lockdown, compared with the figures available for the week between March 2-8, that stand at a total of 116 complaints. The cases of domestic violence, specifically, rose to 69 from 30. Non governmental organisation (NGO) Sakshi, is a partner with <keyword id="221613" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-Commission">Delhi Commission</keyword> for Women (DCW) in its Mahila Helpline (181) program and are amongst the first responders to calls of distress. The NGO attributes this rise in numbers to the lockdown being akin to captivity for many women. "The restricted movement due to the lockdown has specially hit the victims of domestic violence as they find themselves trapped in their homes with their abusers. Domestic violence cases have increased since the March 24 lockdown with husbands venting their frustration on wives, who have no escape." "Domestic violence is rooted in power and control, and as the lockdown increases a feeling of uncertainty and a lack of control over a man's life. Men who cannot manage the stress will take it out on their victims; women who were already in an abusive situation will likely find themselves facing more extreme violence, as they can no longer escape by going out nor get a respite as the husband too cannot go out of the house. Women are in close quarters with the abuser," <keyword id="9017774" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="dr-mridula-tandon">Dr Mridula Tandon</keyword>, President, Sakshi NGO told IANSlife. In humanitarian situations, there is high chances of increase in Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Violence against Women and Children (VAWC), including domestic violence, sexual violence, physical and psychological abuse, trafficking and child marriage/forced marriage, says <keyword id="9017773" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="radha-chellappa">Radha Chellappa</keyword>, Save the Children Deputy Director - Poverty and Inclusion. She adds, "In the lockdown period, as in the present situation, GBV gets compounded, as the perpetrator and the victim, women and children, may be living under the same roof with no place to go. Thus, the victim may be subjected to violence more, throughout the day, (Sexual, physical and psychological) by her intimate partner/husband and his in-laws. Single women, married or dependent (such as widows, critically ill, with disability) upon family members may also be subject to domestic violence by their family members. It is also seen as women who do not have financial security and are depended upon their partners and family members, with no support may bear GBV silently. Women including victims of violence, in normal circumstances tend to form their own support system, and this may not be available during the lockdown period." Notably, the data made available by NCW does not include physical visits, postal complaints and calls made on the landline - as they are all temporarily not plying due to the lockdown. Despite that, the spike is all-too-visible. As per the NGO Population First, the Jagori women's helpline reported a fall in the number of calls being received probably because of lack of privacy to make a call when the house is full of people. "Reporting is a challenge during the lockdown period. Women and children may not have privacy or have access to telephone and mobiles to seek help and support from police or helpline numbers. Even if they manage to, with services (medical, legal, psycho-social and NGOs) already at its minimum and service providers themselves under lockdown, it may find be difficult to reach to the victims to provide necessary assistance," Chellappa said. Even children experience added violence during this time. A Save The Children spokesperson said, "Children who already are dealing with stress and social distancing during lockdown, having affected their daily routines, with no access to schools, friends to play or recreation may be growing through immense stress levels. To add, they may further experience immense psychological distress and helplessness seeing their mother or female family members or siblings being subject to violence. Some of the them themselves could be victims of violence. Any form of violence has long-lasting effect on children and their well-being. It may affect their learning ability, confidence, appetite, sense of helplessness, fear, withdrawal symptoms, and lack of sleep." Adding, "Some children may also experience serious psychological problems and difficulty in social adjustment throughout their lives. Their mothers and female family members who themselves may need medical and psycho- social support may not be in position to provide proper care to their children. Children, especially boys when they are accustomed to seeing GBV, may use the same when they become adults. The concern is that children may continue to show signs of distress even after the lockdown is removed and things normalise." How can things be better? Those in the local community, who may be aware of the violent deeds, can call the helplines on the woman's or child's behalf. Helping frontline services for domestic violence to stay afloat and carry on doing their vital lifesaving work will be key to ensuring that a lockdown for national good does not turn into a disaster for the victims of violence. The stakeholders called upon the government to continue to create awareness on GBV through various media. Civil society should remain active. "Online helplines, counseling sessions, neighbourhood support systems need to be created and strengthened to support men and women experiencing stress and depression and for those engaging in aggressive behaviours. The disruption in regular health services to pregnant and lactating mothers and children below 6 years should be minimized," concludes A L Sharada, Director, Population First. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/coronavirus">Coronavirus News and Updates</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/how-to-check-coronavirus-symptoms-at-home/articleshow/74960334.cms">What are the Coronavirus symptoms and how to check for them at home</a>

Pent-up anger and frustration during lockdown has a horrifying outlet - domestic violence

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A new UN report found that women in Ukraine experience systematic sexual violence by Russian troops.</li><li>Women as old as 83 have been raped while their families were forced to listen to the brutal attacks.</li></ul>As the Russian invasion of Ukraine drags into its 19th month, international watchdogs say they have found continued evidence of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-committed-war-crimes-ukraine-tortured-raped-children-un-investigation-2022-9">systemic sexual violence</a> against women in regions occupied by invading troops.The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-war-has-displaced-more-people-than-since-wwii-2023-3">United Nations' Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine</a> released a report Monday detailing the findings of investigators who verified reports of war crimes after multiple evidence-gathering trips to occupied Ukraine."The Commission has found that in the Kherson region, Russian soldiers raped and committed sexual violence against women of ages ranging from 19 to 83 years, often together with threats or commission of other violations," the latest UN <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coiukraine/20230923-Oral-Update-IICIU-EN.pdf">report</a> reads. "Frequently, family members were kept in an adjacent room, thereby forced to hear the violations taking place."Representatives for Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, the Government of the Russian Federation, and the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.Insider previously reported on the case of a woman who recounted being <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-woman-raped-by-russian-soldiers-sexual-violence-investigation-2022-3">raped by Russian soldiers</a> who killed her husband. The woman ushered her crying 4-year-old son to the next room before the attack, but his cries so angered her attackers that they threatened, with a gun to her head, to "show him his mother's brains spread around the house," she said in an interview with <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/one-soldier-raped-me-then-the-other-as-my-son-cried-7xbqwzdqw">The Times of London</a>."We have reports of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-defector-says-ex-comrades-include-rapists-maniacs-like-killing-2022-12">women being gang-raped</a>. These women are usually the ones who are unable to get out. We are talking about senior citizens," Lesia Vasylenko, a member of Ukraine's parliament, said early last year, not long after the invasion began. "Most of these women have either been executed after the crime of rape or they have taken their own lives."<div type="image" title="A line of women wearing black plastic bags over their heads stand with their hands tied behind their backs in protest of sexual violence against women in Ukraine committed by Russian troops. One woman holds a sign which reads &quot;Putin is a rapist.&quot;" height="4044" width="5392" msid="103944694" hostid="261" sizebytes="1019314"></div>Since Vasylenko's comments last March, reports of widespread sexual violence perpetrated by Russian troops, at times <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-commanders-ordered-sexual-violence-in-ukraine-investigator-2022-11">encouraged by commanding officers</a>, have increased, prompting international investigations into the incidents. Major protests have occurred in England and Poland against the atrocities, which have targeted civilians in occupied regions, including Kherson and Bucha.Though women of all ages are the most frequent targets of sexual violence, Russians use rape as a "deliberate tactic" to dehumanize victims regardless of sex, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-soldiers-supplied-with-viagra-to-rape-ukrainians-un-official-2022-10">Insider previously reported</a>."When women are held for days and raped, when you start to rape little boys and men, when you see a series of genital mutilations, when you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it's clearly a military strategy," Pramila Patten, the UN's special representative on sexual violence in conflict, told AFP, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221014-rape-used-in-ukraine-as-a-russian-military-strategy-un" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">per France 24.</a><h2>Rape as a weapon of war</h2>While the reports of the rapes are no doubt troubling, sexual violence is frequently documented during wartime. <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf">The Rome Statute</a> of the International Criminal Court classifies rape and sexual violence, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-officers-used-female-medics-as-sex-slaves-solider-says-2023-3">sexual slavery</a>, forced prostitution, and sterilization, as a type of war crime and a crime against humanity, depending on the context under which the crimes are committed."Rape committed during war is often intended to terrorize the population, break up families, destroy communities, and, in some instances, change the ethnic make-up of the next generation," reads a 2014 UN <a href="https://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/assets/pdf/Backgrounder%20Sexual%20Violence%202014.pdf">report</a> on sexual violence during war, which highlighted sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide. Between 100,000 and 250,000 women were raped over three months in 1994, according to the report. At least 200,000 women were raped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1998, and hundreds of thousands more during wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the former Yugoslavia, it said."Sometimes it is also used to deliberately infect women with HIV or render women from the targeted community incapable of bearing children," the 2014 report adds.Although international law provides protections against rape and sexual violence, enforcement of the provisions is weak, according to a report by the <a href="https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/devastating-use-sexual-violence-weapon-war">Council on Foreign Relations</a>, a nonpartisan think tank. The International Crime Court has launched an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine, though legal action is unlikely to come for many years — if it comes at all."International law is largely ineffective at preventing rape and sexual violence in conflict," according to the Council on Foreign Relations, which advocates for a pragmatic approach to helping survivors, rather than focusing on the near-impossible task of ending sexual violence during wartime. "Survivor-centered training and aid is the best way to support victims of sexual violence and to help them cope with the trauma, stigma, and the health consequences stemming from conflict-related sexual violence."

Russian troops raped women as old as 83 while their families were forced to listen

<ul><li>The <keyword id="6369097" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ministry-of-defence">Ministry of Defence</keyword> has issued the formal government sanction letter for grant of <keyword id="9629143" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="permanent-commission-to-women-officers">permanent commission to women officers</keyword> in the <keyword id="6354416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Army">Indian Army</keyword>, paving the way for empowering women officers to shoulder larger roles in the organisation.</li><li>The order specifies grant of Permanent Commission to Short Service Commissioned (SSC) Women Officers in all 10 streams of the Indian <keyword id="15350" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Army">Army</keyword> - Army Air Defence (AAD), Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), Army Service Corps (ASC), Army Ordnance Corps (AOC), and Intelligence Corps in addition to the existing streams of Judge and Advocate General (JAG) and Army Educational Corps (AEC). </li><li>The Army Headquarters had set in motion a series of preparatory actions for conduct of the Permanent Commission Selection Board for affected women officers.</li></ul> The Indian Army has started the process to grant permanent commission to short service commissioned women officers in 10 streams, the force said on Thursday. The Ministry of Defence has issued the formal government sanction letter for grant of permanent commission to women officers in the Indian Army, paving the way for empowering women officers to shoulder larger roles in the organisation. The order specifies grant of Permanent Commission to Short Service Commissioned (SSC) Women Officers in all 10 streams of the Indian Army - Army Air Defence (AAD), Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), Army Service Corps (ASC), Army Ordnance Corps (AOC), and Intelligence Corps in addition to the existing streams of Judge and Advocate General (JAG) and Army Educational Corps (AEC). In anticipation, the Army Headquarters had set in motion a series of preparatory actions for conduct of the Permanent Commission Selection Board for affected women officers. The Selection Board will be scheduled as soon as all affected short service commission women officers exercise their option and complete requisite documentation. "The Indian Army is committed to provide equal opportunities to all personnel including Women Officers to serve the nation," the force said in a statement. It was after the Supreme Court ordered the Indian Army in February this year to grant permanent commission to women officers within three months, that the Army started the process to give serving women officers a bigger role. A bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and Ajay Rastogi, said, "Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers, both within the period of fourteen years' service and beyond, should equally be entitled to consideration for the grant of PCs." The court insisted on shaking off typical arguments founded on the physical strengths and weaknesses of men and women and on assumptions about women in the social context of marriage and family that do not constitute a constitutionally valid basis for denying equal opportunity to women officers. "To cast aspersion on their abilities on the ground of gender is an affront not only to their dignity as women but to the dignity of the members of the Indian Army - men and women who serve as equal citizens in a common mission," noted the top court. The Indian Army then had stated that all women officers serving in the force from now on would be considered for permanent commission. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coovid-vaccine-from-oxford-serum-institute-and-astrazeneca-shows-promising-immune-response/articleshow/77069321.cms">The COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford and AstraZeneca shows 'promising' results in early human trials</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/from-intel-and-wipro-to-tcs-and-google-here-are-the-top-job-openings-in-the-multinational-companies/articleshow/77058769.cms">From Intel and Wipro to TCS and Google— Here are the top job openings in the multinational companies</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/checkout-upcoming-affordable-smartphone-oneplus-nord-launch-price-specifications-features/articleshow/77061620.cms">OnePlus Nord launch price, specs and more – Everything we know about the upcoming affordable OnePlus smartphone</a>

Indian Army starts permanent commission for women officers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"Barbie," in theaters now, features a cameo from Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler.</li><li>Ruth Handler created the first Barbie doll, which went on the market in 1959. </li></ul>In Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" movie, the world's most iconic doll begins malfunctioning, developing dreaded symptoms like flat feet and cellulite. So she goes to the real world, where she meets some humans who help teach her what it means to be alive instead of plastic. One of the people she meets on her journey is Barbie creator Ruth Handler, <a href="https://www.insider.com/barbie-movie-cast-who-they-play-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-2023-4">played by "Cheers" star Rhea Perlman</a>. Here's everything we know about Handler, the real-life woman responsible for starting the Barbie revolution. <h2>Handler was born to Russian-Jewish immigrants</h2><div type="image" title="A portrait of Ruth and Elliott Handler, the couple who introduced the Barbie doll in 1959, holding a Barbie and Ken doll." height="3672" width="2470" msid="102022955" hostid="261" sizebytes="882388"></div>Handler was born Ruth Musko on November 4, 1916, in Denver, Colorado — she was one of ten children, according to the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-28-mn-40473-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Times</a>. She married her high school boyfriend Elliot Handler in 1938. Per the LA Times, Elliot followed Handler to Hollywood after she went on vacation there when she was 19 and never returned to Colorado. <h2>Before the Handlers began inventing toys, they were in the giftware business</h2>Per the LA Times, Handler was a secretary at Paramount Studios before she persuaded Elliot to turn his hobby of creating housewares into a business. Soon, the couple began making giftware like clocks, bowls, and mirrors made of plastic together in their garage.In 1942, they went into business with an industrial designer named Harold Mattson and combined Harold and Elliot's names to create the company we know today as "Mattel." Mattel was a picture-frame manufacturing company that was also making dollhouse furniture with leftover scraps of wood before it became a full-time toy manufacturing company. <h2>Handler was inspired to create Barbie by her daughter, Barbara</h2><div type="image" title="A picture of the Handler family next to the first Barbie doll." height="3286" width="4381" msid="102022957" hostid="261" sizebytes="230196"></div><a href="https://www.insider.com/barbie-movie-cast-who-they-play-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-2023-4">Mattel began having success </a>with dolls like Chatty Cathy in late 1958 when Handler was inspired to create a new doll for little girls after watching her daughter Barbara play with teenage paper dolls. It occurred to her that the only plastic dolls on the market for women were baby dolls, and she wanted to create a toy that would inspire kids to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-28-mn-40473-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"dream dreams of the future."</a>To make the doll appear lifelike, Handler knew she would have to have breasts. She saw <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barbie-history-bild-lilli-mattel-ruth-handler-german-comic-strip-2023-5">a similar doll during a vacation</a> in Germany and was inspired. The first Barbie doll — called "Barbie Teen-Age Fashion Model" debuted at the 1959 American Toy Fair in New York City. She wore a black-and-white striped bathing suit and black open-toed high heels. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, she wore makeup on her face, and she cost $3.Mattel sold 350,00 Barbies the first year she was on the market. "The minute that doll hit the counter, she walked right off," Handler said, per the LA Times. <h2>The Evolution of Barbie</h2><div type="image" title="A surgeon Barbie doll on display with other variations of Barbie in 2017." height="1724" width="2298" msid="102022961" hostid="261" sizebytes="275746"></div>By the early 1960s, Mattel was reportedly worth $100 million, thanks in large part to Barbie — so the company introduced family and friends for her. Ken hit shelves in 1961 and was named after Handler's son, Ken Handler. Midge and Skipper were introduced in 1963 and 1965, respectively.Christie was an African American doll introduced in 1969. She's considered Barbie's first "ethnic friend," per <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-28-mn-40473-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the LA Times</a>. The first Black Barbie doll — meaning, the first doll to be considered a "Barbie" herself rather than a friend — wasn't introduced until 1981. As the feminist movement took hold, Barbie's career soon evolved from being simply a model to being a teacher, an astronaut, a doctor, a vet, and everything in between. But for all their relatively progressive pedrigree, the dolls have perennially been criticised as regressive, too. <a href="https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/column/m-g-lord-barbie-is-a-feminist-just-don-t-ask-her-creators/article_387e4c67-9425-52fe-97cc-f78fec5b1ba1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The National Organization for Women</a> argued that Barbie modeled an unattainable body type for young women, a conversation that persists until today.<h2>Breast cancer and tax troubles</h2>Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1970, <a href="https://people.com/who-is-ruth-handler-all-about-the-barbie-creator-7562140" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per People</a>, and underwent a modified radical mastectomy surgery.After she recovered, she and Elliot were forced out of Mattel in 1975, per the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-28-mn-40473-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LA Times</a>. "I'd been opinionated and outspoken. I had strong leadership skills. I had been running a company making hundreds of millions of dollars a year. We had 15,000 employees. I had a big job. But suddenly I was supposed to whisper about what I'd been through," the newspaper reported her saying. In 1978, Handler was indicted on charges of false reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission and fraud. She pleaded no contest and was fined $57,000 and sentenced to 2,500 hours of community service, per the LA Times. This is why Perlman's Handler makes numerous references to the IRS, a double mastectomy, and tax evasion in "Barbie."<h2>The Nearly Me prosthetic</h2><div type="image" title="Ruth Handler" height="2144" width="2859" msid="102022966" hostid="261" sizebytes="702438"></div>Before her legal troubles began, Handler founded the Ruthton Corporation, with the goal of helping women who needed mastectomies. Per <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/may/02/guardianobituaries.veronicahorwell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Guardian</a>, Handler created the Nearly Me prosthetic as a direct result of being told to stuff her bras with surgical gloves or socks to make it appear like she had breasts. The prosthetic was made out of "liquid silicone in polyurethane with a foam backing." It came as a set of two. "I didn't make a lot of money in it," she said according to the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-28-mn-40473-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LA Times</a>. "It sure rebuilt my self-esteem, and I think I rebuilt the self-esteem of others."<h2>Handler died less than a decade after her son</h2>Handler's son Ken died in 1994 of a brain tumor. Less than a decade later in 2002, Handler died at age 85 from complications following colon surgery, the newspaper reported. At the time, she was survived by her daughter Barbara, her husband Elliot, her brother Aaron Musko, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.Handler is played by Rhea Perlman in the "Barbie" movie, in theaters now.

Who is Ruth Handler? The creator of the Barbie doll dedicated her life to empowering women

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In 2018, RNC said it would continue to take money from casino mogul Steve Wynn after sexual misconduct allegations.</li><li>The chair said his donations would be returned if "any misdoing" was found.</li></ul>In 2018, soon after the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/dozens-of-people-recount-pattern-of-sexual-misconduct-by-las-vegas-mogul-steve-wynn-1516985953">Wall Street Journal published accounts of</a> sexual misconduct committed by casino mogul Steve Wynn against his employees and others, the Republican Governors Association said it'd return the $100,000 Wynn had donated.They weren't the only ones.GOP Sen. Susan Collins similarly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/28/republicans-steve-wynn-donations-sexual-harassment">called</a> on her fellow conservatives to give back any donations from Wynn if they had yet to spend it. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham added that any money from Wynn should be returned by Republicans if the allegations "have merit."Ultimately, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/rebeccaballhaus/status/958350943405342720?s=20">McDaniel said on Fox News </a>the group would continue to accept donations from Wynn — who was the RNC's finance chair from 2017 to January 2018, when the Wall Street Journal released its findings — until he is "found guilty of any wrongdoing."Then, she added, "we will absolutely return 100% of the money."Since McDaniel's 2018 comments, the <a target="_blank" href="https://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=15236">Nevada Gaming Control Board</a> said in a lawsuit that an investigation by its board revealed "numerous instances of unwelcome sexual conduct by Mr. Wynn "including coercing employees into sex with him, exposing himself, and inappropriate comments and touching.Over the years, Wynn and his attorneys have repeatedly maintained he's innocent, not once admitting to any misconduct. Wynn's attorney, Colby Williams, did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.While Wynn has not been found guilty, since the allegations were published in 2018, the casino magnate has paid more than $30 million in settlements related to his alleged misconduct.Wynn has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/2021/10/21/steve-wynn-gop-campaign-donor-contributions">faced scrutiny for past donations</a>.Wynn's former company, Wynn Resorts, has also had to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://fortune.com/2023/09/08/wynn-resorts-settles-lawsuit-casino-firm-no-investigate-claims-female-employees-sexually-harassed-steve-wynn/">pay $75 million</a> in related settlements and fines. In comparison, in 2017 RNC and McDaniel called on Democrats and the Democratic National Committee to refund any donations from Harvey Weinstein, who at the time had been accused of rape and sexual assault but not yet found guilty. (Weinstein had secretly settled with accusers for years prior to public allegations.)"During three decades worth of sexual harassment allegations, Harvey Weinstein lined the pockets of Democrats to the tune of three-quarters of a million dollars," McDaniel said, adding it would be a "no-brainer" for them to return the "dirty money" if they "truly stand up for women like they say they do."The DNC <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/354179-republicans-call-for-dems-to-return-donations-from-harvey-weinstein/">ultimately said</a> it'd donate "over $30,000" in contributions from Weinstein to a group of charities.The scrutiny in 2018 seemed to be enough for Wynn to take a yearlong hiatus from donating to the RNC in 2019. But <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?data_type=processed&amp;contributor_name=WYNN%2C+STEPHEN">Federal Election Commission</a> records show that he's since given the group more than $1.4 million.He's also given the maximum allowed amount of contributions to the campaigns of a slew of conservative Senate and House candidates like Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace.Wynn has also since donated $12.3 million to a GOP super PAC, Our American Century, which appeared to have violated election law in 2020 by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-finance-super-pac-fec-complaint-our-american-century-2020-12">illegally contributing</a> to former President Donald Trump's reelection campaign.A representative from the RNC did not provide Business Insider with a comment at the time of publication.

The Republican National Committee took $1.4 million from a casino magnate accused of sexual misconduct after saying they'd reconsider his money

<ul><li>The National Alliance of Women’s Organisation has suggested all the political parties to ensure 33% representation of women in all internal committee. </li><li>The activist group while launching “Womanifesto” suggested having 30% of the annual budget for growth and development dedicated to women. </li><li>“All houses should be registered in the name of husband and wife and marital rape should be criminalised.” said the manifesto. </li></ul>A women’s rights group in India has strongly suggested barring all the political parties in the country from the upcoming elections if they have very few women on their tickets. The National Alliance of Women’s Organisations, an activist group, launched their "Womanifesto" on Wednesday demanding call-for-action to improve women’s representation in politics. "The Election Commission must make some rules that unless you have at least 33 percent (female) members, you cannot qualify (for elections)," Ranjana Kumari, director of the Delhi-based Centre for Social Research (CSR) <a href="http://news.trust.org/item/20190306180518-is1rq/">told Reuters</a>. The manifesto pitched for having 33% reservations for women in all internal committees of political parties and to have 30% of the annual budget for growth and development of women. It also asked to provide free sanitary napkins to girls in schools and free treatment for acid and rape attack victims in all the hospitals, <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/international-womens-day-2019-womanifesto-released-ahead-of-lok-sabha-polls-2003730?&amp;tb_cb=1">reported</a> NDTV. As per the manifesto, “all houses should be registered in the name of husband and wife and marital rape should be criminalised.” Women in India accounts for approximately half the voters in India as per <keyword id="65281" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Election-Commission-of-India">Election Commission of India</keyword>. Moreover, a recent state poll has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/2019-lok-sabha-polls-women-participation-may-be-higher-than-men-says-report/articleshow/68264184.cms">revealed</a> that women will have a key role to play in the upcoming elections with women voters increasing faster than men. However, women continue to face a high rate of crime, low level of representation in workforce and politics. The manifesto further <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/international-womens-day-2019-womanifesto-released-ahead-of-lok-sabha-polls-2003730?&amp;tb_cb=1">stated</a> “ The Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and home departments of all state governments should constitute peace committees and ensure that at least 50% of the members are women". See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/2019-lok-sabha-polls-women-participation-may-be-higher-than-men-says-report/articleshow/68264184.cms">Women participation may be higher than men in India's upcoming elections, says report</a>

India should bar political parties with low women representation, demands activist group

<ul><li>At 6:49 pm, the voter turnout was 56.70%. </li><li>The fall in voter turnout in 2020 is a break in a rising trend seen in the last few elections.</li><li>The recent voter surveys showing a decisive victory for AAP may be a factor but a low turnout can be a factor in determining the lead for the winning party.</li><li>Check out the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/news/delhi-elections-2020-voting-day-news-and-highlights/articleshow/74019928.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">voting day news and highlights</a> here and some interesting trivia about the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/news/interesting-facts-about-delhi-election-2020/articleshow/74020815.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Delhi assembly election</a>. </li></ul>The 2020 assembly election in Delhi seems set to see a lower voter turnout, at least as per early indications. At 6:49pm, the voter turnout was 56.70% surging from morning's underwehelming performance. The polling percentage at 3 pm was 29.89%, according to the Election Commission. At 1 pm, the percentage was a mere 18.23%, whereas in 2015 nearly 20% of the voters had cast their ballot by the same time. The fall in voter turnout in 2020 is a break in a rising trend seen in the last few elections. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 The recent opinion polls showing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/news/delhi-election-opinion-polls-predict-an-aam-aadmi-party-aap-win/articleshow/73982756.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">a decisive victory for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)</a>, led by incumbent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, may be a factor keeping people away from the polling booths. However, the change in turnout can be a factor in determining the lead for the winning party. 
	
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="image (5)" msid="74023598" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;AAP, led by Kejriwal, is hoping to repeat its stellar performance of the last assembly polls when it won 67 of the 70 seats in Delhi assembly. The BJP bagged all seven seats in Delhi in the 2019 Parliamentary election, is looking to dislodge the Kejriwal government.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>























 Within the overall turnout, the number of women who come out to vote is also a significant figure. There are over 81 lakh male voters, 66.80 lakh female voters, and 869 third-gender voters, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh said earlier. a fact that all political parties seem to have acknowledged. The rise in number women voters has been a developing trend in recent years. “In 1962, women’s turnout was 15% lower than men’s turnout; but by 2014 women’s turnout had almost reached parity with men, short by only 1.5%,” <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/lok-sabha-elections-2019-more-women-may-vote-says-prannoy-roy-and-dorab-sopariwalas-new-book-the-verdict/articleshow/68403649.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">according to book called ‘The Verdict’</a>, authored by veteran Indian journalist Prannoy Roy and psephologist Dorab Sopariwala. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Arvind Kejriwal even made a special appeal to the women of Delhi on the voting day, asking them to discuss their preference with their spouses. 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="ArvindKejriwal" handlename="Arvind Kejriwal" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/945853608389574656/REH_LpUJ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="20847" retweetcount="4026" status="वोट डालने ज़रूर जाइये सभी महिलाओं से ख़ास अपील - जैसे आप घर की ज़िम्मेदारी उठाती हैं, वैसे ही मुल्क और दिल्ली की… https://t.co/Y7bBRUx2TW" createdat="1581128507000" id="1225967935228768256"></div>























 As the number of women voters rise, the percentage of women contesting the Delhi Assembly polls has reached double digits, at 11.8%, for the first time but no credit to any party as most of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/news/delhi-election-2020-only-79-women-are-contesting-and-most-of-them-are-independents/articleshow/73889710.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">women candidates are independents</a>. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia with AAP leader Atishi Mar..." msid="74020945" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia with AAP leader Atishi Marlena during a press conference, in New Delhi.Photo/Vijay Verma)(&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>






















 Here's how the turnout of women voters can affect elections. Roy and Sopariwala⁠ analysed data from the 2014 elections to arrive at a conclusion. In 2014, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party had a lead of 9% among women voters, compared to a lead of 19% among men. Therefore, if only women had voted in 2014 elections— without changing the parties they voted for— the winning NDA would have ended up with 265 seats, seven short of majority. And if only men had voted, the NDA would have swept the election with 376 seats. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 While the hypothesis and the conclusion may be too simplistic, there is a case to be made that how women cast their vote may be different from how men do. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/news/interesting-facts-about-delhi-election-2020/articleshow/74020815.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Interesting facts about Delhi election 2020⁠— voter turnout, gender representation, migrant voters and a lot more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/news/delhi-elections-2020-voting-day-news-and-highlights/articleshow/74019928.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Delhi Elections 2020: Voting day news and highlights</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/news/systematic-voters-education-and-electoral-participation-programs-by-ec/articleshow/73954801.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation Programs By EC</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/news/how-can-i-check-my-name-in-the-voter-list/articleshow/73999763.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Here's how to check your name in the voting list</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/news/delhi-election-2020-dont-have-voter-id-carry-these-documents-to-the-polling-booth/articleshow/73999876.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Don’t have voter ID? Carry these documents to the polling booth</a>

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