INDIA-SOCIETY-WOMEN

A Indian mother takes a nap on a charpoy (rope bed) as her daughter rests in a makeshift hammock outside her house in Hirmathala village in Mewat district of Haryana state, on the outskirts of New Delhi, on August 29, 2014. Girls are often viewed as a burden in traditional Indian families as they require hefty dowries to be married off. In the past few decades, successive governments have launched an array of schemes to alter the social bias against girls, including offering cash incentives to expectant parents, but they have had little impact. AFP PHOTO/Prakash SINGH (Photo credit should read PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images)