India’s worst drought in decades is hurting women and lower-caste Dalits disproportionately, with impacts ranging from malnutrition to early marriage to prostitution, activists say. “Abuses against women increase during drought - women forced to become prostitutes, men demanding more dowry to compensate for lower farm incomes, and more dowry deaths if the women cannot conceive because they are malnourished,” said Deshpande. Girls are being pulled from school to help fetch water or to take care of younger siblings while the mother gets water. “She is the first to wake up, she walks the farthest to fetch water, she eats last - and probably the least, and she sleeps last. Read | In times of drought: Overuse of water behind India’s dry days“We are also seeing an increase in child marriage, as parents try to ensure the safety of girls.

Source: Hindustan Times May 23, 2016 10:03 UTC