Direction: Women (142) up half the world’s population and yet represent a staggering 70% of the world’s poor. We live in a world in which women living in poverty face gross (143) and injustice from birth to death. From poor education to poor nutrition to (144) and low pay employment, the sequence of discrimination that a woman may suffer during her entire life is unacceptable but all too common. Millennium Development Goal 3 is to promote gender equality and empower women. This MDG is critical for (145) poverty and improving prospects for women. But how can women break gender based stereotypes to minimise discrimination and (146) gender based violence when they are trapped in societies with socio-cultural practices which routinely discriminate them from having equal opportunities in education, health and livelihood? These women are invisible and the (147) in their way prevent them from accessing the most basic human rights and needs. The outlook is bleak. Women make up 70% of the world’s working hours and (148) only 10% of the world’s income and half of what men earn. This leads to greater poverty, slower economic growth and a (149) standard of living. In developing countries, millions of women also die each year as a result of gender-based (150). This deeprooted gender discrimination creates a bleak outlook for women in developing countries. For millions of girls living in poverty, it is often those closest to them who work against the child’s interests and their immediate environment is often (151) and sometimes, down-right harmful. Parents arrange marriages when you are a child. Neighbours say, if you are a girl, you must limit your activities to your home. Friends say, it is OK not to go to school.