Health and nutrition awareness
Even after 60 years of Independence, one in three children in India is malnourished, especially in rural areas. Malnutrition in early childhood leads to mental and physical impairment which often leads to an early death and very poor quality of life. 50% of the girls are more likely to die than boys. Due to ignorance, superstition and non-consumption of proper nutritious food, especially young women especially suffer from greater health disorders. 73% of the rural young women suffer from deficiency of vitamin A. 75% of the women are suffering from iron deficiency and anaemia. In rural areas, where the fruits and the vegetables are being cultivated, consumption of them is ironically 'low'.

Yet another attitude, which is also largely adopted from the movies and television, is the need to remain fair (white skin) and thin (skinny) – much money is spent on ‘fairness’ creams (as being dark is a big handicap, especially for girls), and in many homes girls do not eat because they are afraid of gaining weight (and being fat is a handicap for girls, as they will be rejected by the boy’s family). In the context of people not even having not only adequate food to eat, but also poor quality of food (and life), the attitudes of parents and the girls themselves just deepen a societal discrimination.

A poor access to health care and education because of ignorance and discrimination leads to continuing patterns of discrimination. Because of a lack of access to local water sources, and the poor condition of the houses they are living in, there is a lack of sanitation and hygiene. Also there is a high level of taboo to discuss matters concerning health, especially reproductive health, amongst uneducated women. Further, the tendency to negate one’s own health and illness, in the context of other family concerns, is a very common phenomenon and particularly more when the women are still young (teenagers) and do not have any voice in their family.

Another attitudinal problem that also comes from a lack of awareness, in the context of food availability at home, amongst not just the mothers alone, but also of the girls, is the belief that their brother has to be fed first and also with the best food available because he is the future of the family and is the hard-working