Women's Feature Service

Sabita Mondal, 32, Kanchan Sarkar, 28, and Saraswati Halder, 33, from Rangabelia village have become climate refugees ever since cyclone Aila hit the Sunderbans delta.

Mangala Mal and Savitri Murmu are on two opposing sides of the ongoing conflict between the administration and the indigenous adivasi (tribal) population supported by the Maoists in Lalgarh, in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.

Liyamma was born rich but had to wait 76 years to celebrate her first birthday party. Her parents belonged to a generation that probably never baked a cake and her children felt that she didn't need it anyway, certainly not at her age.

They demanded that her father step out or else they would kill Sunita and her two siblings. Fearing for his children's lives, Masa Ram gave himself up. At dawn, his battered body was found in their backyard.

It was then decided that a concerted effort based upon a quota system in support of gender equality would be made to help women who wished to put themselves forward as candidates for the European Parliament.