Violence constitutes a major form of oppressing women. Rooted in the practical experiences of rural Indian women, Countering Gender Violence explores those facets of social, cultural and economic life that otherwise appear to have little bearing on gender violence and hence are rarely examined. This book studies the phenomenon of violence which, while being meted out to individual women, is systematically rooted in the social pattern of gender relations. Addressing gender violence requires challenging the means by which gender roles and power relations are defined and articulated in society. T.