Discrimination and violence against women is prevalent, and sexual harassment at the workplace and lack of education continue to be identified as major problems.
Some men's advocacy groups have complained that the government discriminates against men through the use of overly aggressive laws designed to protect women, and by other socio-economic methods that favour females, such as lower taxes and higher benefits. These benefits are argued to be necessary to redress the historic and continuing wealth imbalance between the genders. The constitution of India contains a clause guaranteeing the right of equality and freedom from sexual discrimination.
Gender Inequality
The devaluation of women and social domination of men still continues to prevail in India. Women are usually viewed as dowry burdens, the weaker gender, and worthy of a lower social status compared to men. This has led to social and economic problems.
One of the main concerns is that the declining sex ratio, which was brought to attention in 2001, as the sex ratio hit as low as 927 to 1000 men. Other issues can include abuse of women's human rights and unequal opportunities given in education, employments or the rights to be born.
The key factor driving gender inequality is the preference for boys. This is because boys are deemed to be more useful than girls. Boys are given the exclusive rights to inherit the family name and properties and they are viewed as additional status for their family. Not only that, they are also believed to have a higher economic utility as they can provide additional labor in agriculture. Another factor is that of religious practices, which can only be performed by males for their parents' afterlife. All these factors make sons more attractive. Moreover, expensive dowry of