MP Mahila Supervisor key terms

A central government campaign launched in 2015 to stop sex-selective abortion, improve the survival and nutrition of girls, and ensure their enrolment and completion of schooling through coordinated action across districts.

The number of female births per 1,000 male births in a given period. It reveals whether sex-selective practices are occurring, unlike the overall sex ratio which counts all ages.

The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 bans using ultrasound or other techniques to determine fetal sex and regulates diagnostic clinics, making disclosure of the sex of a fetus a punishable offence.

Civil legislation that defines domestic violence broadly to include physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse, and provides protection orders, residence orders and monetary relief to aggrieved women.

A district-level official appointed under the Domestic Violence Act who helps an aggrieved woman file complaints, forwards them to the magistrate, and assists her in obtaining shelter, medical aid and legal support.

Legislation requiring every workplace with ten or more employees to constitute an Internal Committee to receive and inquire into complaints of sexual harassment, with penalties for employers who fail to comply.

A committee set up inside an organisation under the 2013 workplace harassment law, chaired by a senior woman and including an external member, which investigates complaints and recommends action to the employer.

A district or block-level body constituted under the workplace harassment law to receive complaints from women who are not covered by an Internal Committee, such as domestic workers or informal-sector workers.

A law permitting termination of pregnancy by a registered medical practitioner under specified conditions and gestational limits, amended to widen access for women including unmarried women and survivors of rape.

Legislation entitling women workers to paid maternity leave, now 26 weeks for the first two children, along with nursing breaks and protection from dismissal during absence, applicable to establishments above a size threshold.

The three-tier system of local self-government at village, block and district levels, with reserved seats for women, through which many rural welfare and community development functions are planned and implemented.

A small voluntary group of 10 to 20 members, usually women, who pool small savings, lend to one another, and later access bank credit and government schemes as a collective.

A programme under which banks lend to self-help groups after they demonstrate regular savings and repayment, enabling members to obtain credit without individual collateral and to start small enterprises.

A central scheme that organises rural poor women into self-help groups and federations, providing them training, credit, and livelihood support to reduce poverty and strengthen grassroots institutions.

India's national nutrition mission, which coordinates interventions to reduce stunting, undernutrition, anaemia and low birth weight, using community workers and real-time monitoring of nutrition outcomes at the village level.

A village-level childcare and nutrition centre run by an Anganwadi Worker and helper, delivering supplementary nutrition, pre-school education, immunisation, health check-ups and referral services under the ICDS programme.

A female community-level worker who manages an Anganwadi Centre, conducts growth monitoring, provides pre-school activities, and links pregnant women, lactating mothers and children to health and nutrition services.

A monthly supply of fortified food or food grains given to children and mothers through Anganwadi Centres, especially when centre-based hot cooked meals cannot be served, to maintain nutritional intake.

A flagship programme providing a package of six services to children under six, pregnant women and lactating mothers, including supplementary nutrition, pre-school education, immunisation, health check-ups, referral and nutrition education.

A law dealing with children in conflict with the law and children in need of care and protection, establishing Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards and rules for adoption, foster care and institutional care.

A district-level statutory body of a chairperson and four members, at least one a woman, that decides on the care, protection and rehabilitation of children in need of care and protection.

A criminal law that defines and penalises sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography involving children, mandating child-friendly procedures, recording of evidence and establishment of Special Courts.

A national 24-hour toll-free telephone helpline, now operated as Child Helpline 1098, through which children in distress or adults reporting abuse can reach rescue, shelter and counselling services.

A maternity benefit scheme giving a cash incentive in instalments to pregnant and lactating women for their first living child, partly compensating for wage loss and encouraging early registration and immunisation.

A central scheme providing free LPG connections to women from poor households, aimed at reducing exposure to indoor smoke from firewood and improving health, safety and time savings for women.

A government programme for rural women's education and empowerment that organises women into village sanghas, trains sahayoginis as facilitators, and links literacy with awareness of rights and entitlements.

A facility, commonly called Sakhi Centre, providing integrated support to women affected by violence, including police assistance, medical aid, legal counselling, temporary shelter and referral, all under one roof.

A 24-hour toll-free telephone service, numbered 181, that connects women in distress to police, medical, legal and shelter services and records complaints for follow-up by district authorities.

A process of examining government budgets through a gender lens, tracking allocations that benefit women and girls and reshaping spending so that public resources reduce gender gaps.

The strategy of integrating a gender perspective into the design, implementation and evaluation of all policies and programmes, rather than treating women's concerns as a separate add-on sector.

The process by which individuals or groups gain the confidence, knowledge, skills and access to resources needed to take control of decisions affecting their own lives and influence institutions around them.

A social system in which men hold primary power in family, economy and politics, shaping norms and institutions so that authority and resources are unevenly distributed between men and women.

A primary method of social work in which a worker helps an individual or family, through a planned relationship, to understand and resolve problems of social functioning using available resources.

A social work method that uses guided interaction among members of a small group to bring about individual change and collective action, often applied in adolescent girls' and women's groups.

A social work method of helping people in a locality identify common needs, build organisations and mobilise resources so that they can act collectively on problems affecting the community.

The assembly of all registered voters in a village, which approves plans and social audits and gives ordinary residents, including women, a direct forum to question local governance decisions.

A Hindu marriage ritual in which the bride is given away by her father, often associated with the transfer of authority over the daughter and criticised by reformers as symbolising women's dependence.

A major west-flowing river of Madhya Pradesh rising near Amarkantak, flowing through a long gorge between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges and supporting irrigation and hydroelectric projects in the state.

A town in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh famous for its group of tenth and eleventh century Chandela dynasty temples, noted for intricate stone sculpture and a UNESCO World Heritage listing.