Formulaic policy prescriptions can rarely alter ingrained social prejudice; but there are still a range of options available to policymakers that can alter the terms of engagement in women's favour. Faster economic growth, for instance, will create its own momentum in empowering women, the sheer demands for talent forcing employers to shed gender prejudices. Information technology businesses, with their global linkages, have potently demonstrated these benefits. Societal changes, however, take decades to make an appreciable impact.
In the short run, some practical interventions would help. For one, statistics strongly point to the need to make domestic violence a punishable offence: the Domestic Violence Act of 2006 is a civil law that is primarily aimed at securing protection orders. It is only if these are violated that criminal charges can be brought against the offender. Some succour is available under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (titled "Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty") that carries a punishment of three years imprisonment plus fine - but it can be invoked only in extreme cases, usually when the victim commits suicide or is murdered. The strengthening of rape laws has gone some way towards at least encouraging more victims to report these crimes; the findings of the report suggest that marital rape urgently needs to be included within its ambit. This is vital in a society in which the arranged marriage template uniquely disempowers women. Fast-track courts for domestic violence, as there are for rape, could also partly counter the apathetic approach of most police forces to crimes against women. Admittedly, these are not perfect solutions to a deep-rooted social problem but they have the virtue of being more workable than downright silly initiatives like a bank for women only.