Women labourers work at the construction site of a road in Kolkata January 8, 2015. Across towns and cities in India, it is not uncommon to see women cleaning building sites, carrying bricks and or shoveling gravel – helping construct the infrastructure necessary for the country's economic and social development. They help build roads, railway tracks, airports, and offices. They lay pipes for clean water supplies, cables for telecommunications, and dig the drains for sewage systems. But although women make up at least 20 percent of India's 40 million construction workers, they are less recognized than male workers with lower pay and often prone to safety hazards and sexual harassment. They are often unaware of their rights or scared to complain, say activists now trying to campaign for better treatment of women in the construction industry. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Maharashtrian women dressed in traditional costumes attend celebrations to mark the Gudi Padwa festival in Mumbai March 21, 2015. The festival marks the beginning of the new year for Maharashtrians and is celebrated widely in Maharashtra and in the Konkan region. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

Indian Army Jawan (soldiers) of the “ASC Tornadoes” daredevil bike team perform during Independence Day celebrations in Bangalore, India, 15 August 2024. India celebrated its 78th Independence Day on 15 August. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA)

Childrens play in the waterlogged streets following heavy rain in Bangalore, India, 21 October 2024. India Meteorological Department (IMD), weather department issued an orange alert amid intermittent rain. Due to heavy rains in Bangalore, schools are shut down today, and private offices have asked their employees to work from home, and several trees are uprooted. This comes owing to a well-marked low-pressure area over central parts of the south Bay of Bengal. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA)

Devotees of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) celebrate Holi, the Hindu spring festival of colours, at a temple on the outskirts of Amritsar on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

Men carry a dog on an inflated tube as they wade through floodwaters at Kongba in Imphal East on June 3, 2025. Flash floods and landslides after torrential monsoon rain over the last two days killed at least 30 people in India's northeast, officials said on June 1. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

Indian girl, Amrita Bannerjee, gets dressed as the Goddess Durga, during Kumari Puja ritual as part of the Durga Puja festival at Shidaspur village, far north of Kolkata, India, 30 September 2025. During the Kumari Puja, devotees worship a girl aged between six and twelve, symbolizing the Kanya Kumari (virgin) form of the Goddess Durga Devi. Hindu devotees believe that Kanya is a living embodiment of the goddess Durga. (Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA)

A girl waits for a devotee to apply a tilak on her forehead during the annual Jhiri Fair at Kanachack village on the outskirts of Jammu, India, Wednesday, November 5, 2025. (Photo by Channi Anand/AP Photo)