MAIDEN VOICES: THE YOUNG WOMEN OF INDIA     In India the population of young adults (18-24) is growing at the rate of 1.6 per cent a year. This is the age group that will determine the way the country moves ahead, socially, politically and economically. The fertility patterns of this segment will determine population trends; this age group is most vulnerable to global pandemics like HIV/AIDS. And this is the age group, which stands at the crossroads of life, seeking more answers than they get for the way adults lead their lives. It is important to hear them out on various issues to get an idea of the future we are heading towards. Among young adults, the ratio of women to men is on the decline. According to the 2001 Census, the female-male child sex ratio (0-6) is declining more drastically in the ‘developed states’ like Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat – despite higher literacy and education. What perspective do our young adults have on this testimony of son preference springing from an inferior status of women in Indian society? In what way will their attitudes shape the socio-political and economic destiny of the country and its people? This is the larger context within which the young adults of today are becoming conscious individuals, whose actions collectively shape the contours of society. Though a robust women’s movement has chipped away at many gender-inimical practices such as dowry in the last four decades, the counter-movement of conservatism that has gripped a ‘liberalising’ Indian society has placed new burdens on young girls and women. Gory accounts of young lovers being killed by their families because they belong to different castes, tell their own tale. New job opportunities have arisen for young women in the form of jobs in call centres, the hospitality industry, and the software industry. Are these jobs spawning a new woman yearning to become an independent woman and a crack professional, or is she acquiring ‘marketable, skills to contribute to the household kitty or to be more eligible in the marriage market? A mile can separate a universe. From a girl living in a middle-middle class home in T- Nagar to a girl living in an upper middle class home in Adyar. Yet patriarchy can bridge the gulf between the two. Even for those middle class young women who are brought up in the same way as their brothers, it is commonplace to encounter discrimination in their dealings with society. How do young women make sense of these jumbled signals from society.? Where do they voice their doubts, anxieties, hopes, expectations? Who gives them the opportunity or the space to express themselves? They have a greater sense of balancing exhilarating thoughts of choices and freedoms, with maintaining some part of their customs and traditions. But how much and what do young women want to discard, and what do they want to keep?           THEMES FOR A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS IN CHENNAI, BANGALORE, MUMBAI, DELHI AND KOLKATA