United Nations: A coalition of non-government organisations from India has demanded strong and effective affirmative policies by the government to mitigate the adverse impact of globalisation on women and 'aggressive neo-liberal' policies being followed by New Delhi.

Stressing that there is a 'vital link' between 'mass poverty' and the low status of women in a society, National Alliance For Women (NAWO) President Ruth Manorama called for tackling the special problems faced by vulnerable sections, including landless women, and counteracting the adverse impact of corporate globalisation on the lives of rural and urban poor.

Manorama was addressing yesterday the Committee on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which is considering Indian country report on the status of women.

Despite efforts by the government, several gaps persisted in elimination of discrimination against women in the public and private life, said Manorama who is leading a 14-member delegation of NGOs.

Sheba George, a social and political activist from Gujarat, emphasised the need for greater state accountability in the context of 'armed conflict' in North East and instances of communal violence whose major victims.

She quoted as an example, 'lack of access' to justice and compensation to the victims of the 2002 'state sponsored communal pogrom' in Gujarat in which, she said, 2,000 people from the minority community were killed.