Samsara - Yes, I think that is unfortunately true in the case of Nepal. I don't have the stats to prove it but it is a good empirical guess based on hearsay and conventional wisdom. Of course, I know quite a few women who think very independently from the men around them, but they are still in the minority by all accounts. We certainly have miles to walk before we can sleep on the issue in Nepal. SNDY - It is heartening to see someone talk from a position of empowerment. If I understood your comments correctly, my own viewpoints on discrimination overall are not too far off from yours. At the risk of inviting the wrath of those who feel strongly about this issue, I don't deny there is discrimination in practice, but I often wonder if there is a huge gap between perceived and real discrimination. When you look at both the intent of the purported discriminator and the feelings of those who feel discriminated you clearly see that there are some genuine instances of discrimination. But at the same time there are a lot of cases of people's sensitivities being ruffled in spite of no bad intentions on the part of the purported discriminator. I suppose discrimination needs to be carefully looked at case by case to separate the wheat from the chaff. I believe empowerment through knowledge and education are the best shots we have at leveling the playing field for all - regardless of gender, ethnicity, caste etc. Perhaps with some carefully controlled and planned version of affirmative action to correct historical imbalances to give such empowerment additional muster. "Men should be empowered, not women..it's their mentality that needs to be changed..so why empower women?" There you go, there's an empowered person speaking right there. :)