Shobha Somappa Tarvgol, 18, sits in her one-roomed home in Modhur, India. Shobha became a Devadasi sex worker because there are no men in her family and she had little other means of supporting her sister, sick mother and grandmother.

Young girls in south India continue to be “dedicated” to village temples and then forced into prostitution despite laws banning the ancient ritual, researchers said.

The devadasi system, which involves putting a beaded necklace around girls and often leads to a life of sex work and slavery, goes unchecked in Karnataka state, according to two reports released this month.

A growing number of women defy generations of Thai Buddhist tradition by becoming ordained as novice monks at the unrecognised all-female Songdhammakalyani monastery outside Bangkok.

Last month, Boodsabann Chanthawong (below) joined a growing number of women defying generations of Thai Buddhist tradition by becoming ordained as novice monks at an unrecognised all-female monastery outside Bangkok.

THE bad news is, women are almost twice as likely as men are to experience depression. The good news is that it is often treatable.

They say seeing is believing. And this writer witnessed it first-hand, twice – once during a school assembly and then a few years later, in a university dorm.

It was like any other normal Monday morning with students gathering in the assembly hall according to their classes.

© Murali Krishnan

Deepa (who only has one name) is sitting desolate in the corner of the busy Thane railway station in Mumbai. She looks exhausted, weary and frightened after a long train journey that lasted 8 hours …

Elderly women across Russia are often seen selling their hand-knitted wares on pavement corners for a few rubles to supplement meagre pensions.

Now a new Instagram project aims to change the public perception of their homely skills by promoting “granny chic” and help the women sell their knitted mittens, socks and other items online.

Palestinian fashion designer Yasmeen Mjalli speaks while standing in her clothing shop where her label collection “BabyFist” carrying anti-sexual harassment slogans is showcased, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on December 19, 2018.

It’s only three words on a T-shirt or embroidered on a denim jacket in Palestinian designer Yasmeen Mjalli’s collection, but they carry a powerful message: “Not your habibti”, or darling.

She sees the clothes as helping empower Palestinian women facing unwelcome male attention in public.

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