NEW DELHI: Authorities in a deeply conservative Indian state were accused Wednesday of reinforcing entrenched gender discrimination after describing veiled women as the “pride” of the region. The advertisement sponsored by the government of northern Haryana state featured the image of a woman, her face shrouded by a traditional scarf, with a tagline saying “the veil is Haryana’s pride”. Women are often kept behind closed doors and treated as second-class citizens in largely-rural Haryana, where male-dominated councils issue diktats aimed at upholding conservative traditions — in some cases, banning girls from wearing jeans or using mobile phones. The state, which borders the capital New Delhi, has the lowest ratio of female to male births in the country, with the selective abortion of girls resulting in 877 women for every 1000 men, according to the last official census in 2011. But women in Haryana have increasingly been challenging gender stereotypes, pursuing successful careers in traditionally male sports like boxing and wrestling. Published in Daily Times, June 29th, 2017.