In most of the developing countries education among women has been accorded a low priority. The norms of gender behaviour and the perceived domestic and reproductive role of women which was remarkable stable over a period of time have adversely affected the womens education. In addition, forces like negative social attitude, prejudices, restrictions and beliefs also contributed to keep women out of education field. The only goal placed before a woman was to train themselves to be good housewives. After Independence female education gained importance and led to changing traditional attitudes...

The stigma associated with HIV/AIDS is so strong that in spite of funding from international bodies few service providers have volunteered to help them. The problem is complex and multidimensional because HIV/AIDS is a killer which has no cure and is infectious in certain specific behaviours. The myths and misconcepts about it are many and prevent people from volunteering to help the excluded community to be included. From the pathogenesis of the disease, the HIV/AIDS affected people require intensive and extensive care both for physical and mental well-being. NGOs have stepped in here and...

Unlike employment in agriculture, plantations are usually living-cum-working places where the planters have to provide cradle-to-grave welfare schemes which in the normal course are governmental functions. Despite of this fact the plantations are not attractive any more as a place for employment. They are isolated in their plantations, bound by low wages and poor working conditions. Their problems are rarely focused in newspapers or journals nor discussed at workers' forums. Neither the mainstream labour union movement nor the government has given much importance to this section of the...