357:, including that of safety and personal choices, which no one, not even the family, can violate… A girl or woman, within the Indian cultural context, is regarded as a family’s property. She does not have the ownership of her own body… And so it is the parents, the husbands, and in-laws who have the prerogative to decide and make the choices regarding a girl or a woman’s being. Whether or not she is allowed to live after birth…Who she can or cannot marry… Her husband is entitled to sex whether she wants it or not. He decides when and how many children he wants and what sex they should be. He and his family can torture her to extort more dowry wealth, or subjugate her to repeated pregnancies and excruciating abortions to rid female progeny as always is the case with female
329:"terms dowry death, femicide are each a method of female homicide that was widely practised, widely accepted, and culturally-specific to India... When a practice acquires a name in a society, it becomes acceptable at the subconscious level of that community's collective thinking. Its premise becomes sacrosanct, and the lines between crime and culture, and what is permissible and reprehensible, become blurred. It is this deep, historically-rooted acculturation of female homicide that is sustaining female genocide in India.
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a direct correlation between the number of educational degrees a woman has and the likelihood that she will eliminate unborn daughters. Banerji also claims that high-income professional women are also victims of dowry violence and murder in India. Their education and wealth is no protection, because they are unable to fight off the family and cultural pressures on them to remain in the marriage, regardless of the violence they are subjected to. Banerji contends that it is not economics or education, but rather a cultural
243:"The data on the systemic and mass-scale violence on Indian women and girls I was gathering for my book was playing out in its stark grotesqueness in my everyday reality. A baby girl is abandoned on the streets in my city, and as residents wait for the police to respond, street dogs kill her and start eating her…I saw the connection and for the first time felt uneasy, ashamed and outraged."
323:,’ and be dealt with in the same manner as other hate crimes based on race, religion or ethnicity. . She explains that this lethal hatred of females is rooted in India’s history, religions and traditions, which over the centuries have created a socially permissive environment for extreme and deadly violence against females. She calls this
361:… yet another constrictive, dictatorial authority that asserts its power over an individual woman’s being in India – that of culture and society. It decides what constitutes the prototype of a "good Indian woman" – and directs everything from her demeanor and costume, to what her roles and goals in society ought to be.
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is most imbalanced in the top 20% of the population of India by wealth and education and that the ratio is closest to the natural norm in the bottom 20% of the same scale. She asserts that increased access to education, health care, jobs and higher earnings lead to more sex-selective abortion drawing
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At the age of 30 Banerji returned to India and began to write on issues of gender equality and women's rights in India. Her writings and photos have been published in a range of journals and magazines in different countries. In 2009 she received the Apex Award of
Excellence for Magazine and Journal
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Banerji says the underlying problem with all three issues is a "virulent patriarchy that is self-indulgent...through multiple partners and irresponsible sex, and it essentially views women as sexual commodities to be used and discarded at will. A woman's only worth is in her production of sons for
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was first published in India in 2008. The book was the result of a five-year social and historical study of sex and sexuality in India. In the book
Banerji examines why current day India is squeamish about sex, despite a historical openness about the subject shown by worship of
347:. She believes it is very important for the women's movement in India to have such a revolution particularly in context of putting the gendercide in perspective for Indian society. As she points out, this is because,
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Anjum
Choudhry Nayyar. Author of Sex and Power, Rita Banerji Talks Marriage, Divorce and Raising Strong Daughters. Masalamommas: An Online Magazine for Today's Moms with a South Asian Connection, 31 October 2011
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and also runs information blogs. It is a zero-fund campaign and runs on community effort and participation. The campaign was a consequence of
Banerji's book Sex and Power. She says,
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Indian women too, and sex-selected abortion is so prevalent, that the Indian communities in certain western countries like the United States, the United
Kingdom, Canada, and
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in the same way as that seen in Europe and North
America, which established each woman's independent and individual rights and choices over her own body and
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237:, collecting thousands of photos of Indian girls and women from over 2400 photographers. Since its launch the campaign has grown and spread to other
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too have sex ratios that are abnormally skewed against females. Banerji asserts that gendercide needs to be recognised as a gender based
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Alam Bains. Interview with Rita
Banerji: Award-winning Author, Photographer, Gender Activist. Youth Ki Awaaz, 9 January 2012.
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that is the prime factor in India's female gendercide. She says this is most evident in how culture specific crimes like
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Fifty
Million Missing Women: Rita Banerji Fights Female Genocide. Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly, 29 August 2008.
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Banerji has argued against the view that education and economic development are the solution to India's female
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233:, an online advocacy campaign to raise awareness of female gendercide in India. The campaign was launched on
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139:. Other awards and recognitions she has received include: Morgan Adams Award in Biology for PhD Research;
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265:, and the "socialized dichotomy" of men from women, and sex from the sacred. In an interview with
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Ciara
Leeming. Author Q and A: Rita Banerji. The Big Issue in the North, 20–26 July 2009.
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Soraya
Nulliah. Interview with Rita Banerji – Part II My He(Art) Full Blog. 13 April 2011
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Soraya Nulliah. Interview with Rita Banerji – Part I. My He(Art) Full Blog. 8 March 2011.
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Colin Todhunter. Where Have They All Gone? The Deccan Herald, 11 October 2008
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632:"Why Education and Economics are not the Solution to India's Female Genocide"
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159:. Many of Banerji's projects had a gender perspective. She worked with the
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Women on Women's Rights: With Rita Banerji Women's Web, 26 September 2012
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658:"Facebook Game 'Angry Brides' Trivializes Grave Human Rights Violations"
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women's grassroots movement in India under the tutelage of eco-feminist
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Colin Todhunter. Delink Wealth and Weddings. Deccan Herald. May 2011.
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Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific, Issue 22
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767:"The Pink Panties Campaign and the Indian Women's Sexual Revolution"
127:. In 1995 she received the Amy Lutz award in Plant Biology from the
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50 Million Missing Campaign. Heart to Heart Talks, 7 December 2011
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Anasuya Basu. Sex Through the Ages. The Telegraph, 15 March 2009.
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Banerji started her career as an environmentalist specializing in
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online campaign to raise awareness of female gendercide in India.
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286:. She states that an analysis of census data indicates that the
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Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context
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the continuation of the patriarchy. So daughters are routinely
741:"Female Genocide in India and The 50 Million Missing Campaign"
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Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges
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India's Silent Gender Cleansing. The Asia Mag! 3 April 2009.
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vary over time and are linked to the social groups in power.
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Grant for research in genetics. She was also listed in
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Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific, Issue 23
715:"Girl Infants face pre-mediated murder under Femicide"
257:. These she concludes are a result of India's deeply
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in temples, and literature on the art and science of
793:"Why Kali Won't Rage: A Critique of Indian Feminism"
555:. The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd. Archived from
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396:Power at Play. The Indian Express, 18 March 2009.
339:According to Banerji, India has not experienced a
109:Sex and Power: Defining History, Shaping Societies
194:Sex and Power:Defining History, Shaping Societies
111:was published in 2008. She is the founder of the
852:The 50 Million Missing campaign at Wordpress.com
143:Scientific Research Society, Associate member;
819:"Slutwalk to Femicide: Making the Connection"
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823:The Women’s International Perspective (WIP)
662:The Women’s International Perspective (WIP)
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249:that India faces in the 21st century, are
131:(AWIS) for her PhD work on the effects of
107:activist from India. Her non-fiction book
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580:"Why We Slept Through A Genocide-Part II"
349:"It is about the recognition of women as
335:A Call for a Feminist Revolution in India
179:Transition to Writing and Gender Activism
16:Indian author, photographer and activist
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325:"the acculturation of female homicide."
261:and conservative approach to women and
524:. Anant Media Pvt. Ltd. Archived from
245:Banerji contends that the three worst
103:(1967) is an author, photographer and
147:'s Young Botanist Recognition Award;
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427:"AWIS Educational Foundation Awards"
151:Fellowship for Research in Ecology;
68:Feminism, Gendercide, Women's rights
872:George Washington University alumni
684:"Indian Girls "Missing" Worldwide"
278:Views on India’s female gendercide
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817:Rita Banerji (2 September 2011).
656:Rita Banerji (22 February 2012).
604:Ciara Leeming (20–26 July 2009).
229:In December 2006 Banerji started
217:. She concludes that a society's
713:Rita Banerji (7 February 2012).
494:. Australian National University
129:Association for Women in Science
887:Indian women's rights activists
225:The 50 Million Missing Campaign
606:"Author Q&A: Rita Banerji"
425:Tooney, Nancy M. (July 1995).
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847:Rita Banerji at Wordpress.com
765:Rita Banerji (January 2010).
739:Rita Banerji (October 2009).
630:Rita Banerji (12 June 2011).
76:Women's rights, Human rights,
897:Mount Holyoke College alumni
682:Rita Banerji (19 May 2011).
253:, an AIDS epidemic, and the
169:Institute for Policy Studies
145:Botanical Society of America
549:"Where have they all gone?"
192:Banerji's non-fiction book
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892:Indian women photographers
719:Women’s News Network (WNN)
610:The Big Issue in the North
267:The Big Issue in the North
518:"How we came to genocide"
488:"Review of Sex and Power"
173:World Resources Institute
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867:Indian feminist writers
584:It's A Girl! Movie Blog
437:(4): 16. Archived from
239:social networking sites
902:Indian women essayists
882:Indian women activists
797:Gender Forum, Issue 38
486:Husson Isozaki, Anna.
274:or soon after birth."
791:Rita Banerji (2012).
636:The Gender Bytes Blog
516:Sengupta, Anandita.
315:against women, what
251:population explosion
125:Conservation Biology
547:Todhunter, Colin.
355:fundamental rights
231:50 Million Missing
113:50 Million Missing
559:on 8 October 2014
467:. 15 January 2010
461:"Published works"
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255:female gendercide
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90:.ritabanerji
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25:Rita Banerji
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912:1967 births
351:individuals
259:patriarchal
211:love-making
57:Citizenship
861:Categories
412:References
367:Interviews
313:hate crime
305:expatriate
284:gendercide
215:Kama Sutra
207:erotic art
52:, activist
45:Occupation
359:feticides
345:sexuality
327:She says,
247:disasters
184:Writing.
133:acid rain
321:Femicide
293:misogyny
141:Sigma Xi
50:feminist
48:Author,
802:30 June
522:Tehelka
81:Website
65:Subject
828:1 June
776:1 June
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667:1 June
641:1 June
309:Norway
303:hound
235:Flickr
199:lingam
161:Chipko
105:gender
615:4 May
589:4 May
563:8 May
532:8 May
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471:8 May
445:7 May
299:and ‘
137:maize
60:India
39:India
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363:. "
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