A powerful new book - 15 years in the making- has exposed the brutal realities faced by millions of women and girls in South Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, where they are still widely treated as property rather than human beings.
Professor Ruth Itzhaki from The Universities of Manchester and Oxford, reveals how for many woman and girls, extreme violence, sexual attacks, killings tied to the honour of a family or clan, and female genital mutilation are a common reality.
A leading neurovirologists who is known for her pioneering research into the role of viruses in Alzheimer's disease, her book is the culmination of years of work published by World Scientific.
She was inspired to turn her hand to global women's rights after reading harrowing news reports- and a shocking TV documentary showing Dalit women in India forced to remove human waste by hand using only straw brushes and pans.
Drawing on authoritative sources from the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and under researched government surveys, she presents a comprehensive and troubling picture of women's rights in low and middle income countries (LMIC).
The book draws on extensive evidence from LMICs where data is available, showing abuses are widespread but nearly always under‑reported.
In some LMICs, even if the crimes are punishable by law, public opinion in general tolerates or even condones the crimes.
Professor Itzhaki said: "For millions of women and girls, their value is frequently measured solely by their ability to produce sons, forcing many into repeated pregnancies regardless of age or health.
"An innocent glance at a man can lead to punishment; dishonour can lead to violent retribution or even death, inflicted by male relatives - sometimes, with the assent of female relatives- who believe they are restoring family pride.
"Girls can be married long before adolescence; their education restricted or banned entirely in some countries.
"Widows can be blamed for their husbands' deaths, accused of witchcraft, dispossessed of their homes, and forbidden to remarry.
"In one country - Afghanistan - women are even banned from speaking audibly in public."
The book also offers practical guidance on how individuals and communities can help combat gender‑based violence and discrimination.
It emphasises the importance of supporting organisations that protect survivors, promote equal rights, and work to end violence against women.
And it urges parents and educators to help shaping children's understanding of equality, respect, and human rights, calling for conversations that help young people reject rigid expectations of how men and women should behave.
She added: "I hope this book will inspire readers to take action, advocate for justice, and support initiatives that empower women through education, healthcare, and economic opportunity.
"It shows these abuses are not isolated incidents but systemic crimes affecting vast numbers of girls and women simply because of their sex.
"But despite that, public awareness remains dangerously low; silence allows these injustices to persist.
"Especially pertinent on international women's day, this book is an attempt to redress that balance."
