With increasing globalization, India is advancing in technology but is still far behind in terms of equality and women's rights. In 1995, the adult illiteracy rate in India was 48%. Women had 62% illiteracy, while men had 34% (UNDP, 1997). Literacy rates are lower in rural areas than in urban areas (fao.org). These statistics show that inequality exists in terms of education. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen says human capital is important for production potential. Women empowerment is necessary because it will build the human capital of the nation. Women's empowerment and equality will play a significant role in the sustainable development process. The government has implemented some policies to improve women's equality in health, education, employment and politics. However, the patriarchal norms of Indian society tend to keep the status of women in the background. There are some policies that the government has not yet tested that could improve the situation. Gender discrimination is widespread in India. Rural regions suffer the most. Women's lives are controlled by the will and demands of men. Their world does not go beyond the limits of housework. Women cannot easily find ways to gain ground among dominant males. It is traditional for girls to marry when they are under eighteen and have never seen a school. In an article in the New York Times Jim Yardley states: “According to UNICEF, 82% of girls in Rajasthan, where the practice is particularly widespread, are married by age 18; 15% of girls in rural areas of the country are married before the age of 13; and 52% of girls have their first pregnancy between the ages of 15 and 19” (A13 )....... half of the document .......org/sd/WPdirect/WPre0108.htm>.4. Sen, Amartya. Development as freedom. New York: Knopf, 1999.5. "Female Infanticide in India". Relief Projects India. Network. 01 August 2011. .6. Yardley, Jim. “As wealth and literacy increase in India, the report says, so too do sex-selective abortions.” The New York Times. March 24, 2011. Web. .7. Everett, Jane. “Governance reforms and rural women in India: what types of citizen women are produced by the desire for empowerment?” Oxford Journals | Social sciences | Social policy. Network. 01 August 2011. .8. "SD: People: Asian women in agriculture, environment and rural production: INDIA."FAO: FAO Home. Network. 01 August. 2011. .