On average, women are better at remembering tight-knit social networks, where most people know each other, according to research from NEOMA Business School.

Around 40 per cent of women over 50 notice some degree of hair thinning, and around 50 per cent experience some degree of hair loss. Yet despite hair changes being common symptoms of the menopause, these aren’t often talked about, and many women struggle in silence.

At 6.30 every morning, Lakshmi steps out of her small tiled house in a sleepy suburb of Mysuru. One hand clutches her tiffin, the other her faded handbag. Until two years ago, her biggest daily worry was not the workload at the private school where she works as an assistant, but the bus fare. Some days she walked. Some days she borrowed. Some days she simply skipped work.

In a village in Agra district, Lakshmi's eyes open as soon as morning arrives. Along with the rising sun. First, tea for everyone, then filling water at the handpump, feeding fodder to the buffalo, washing the children's clothes, and cooking for the in-laws. Adjusting the dupatta on her head, she mentally recites the list of chores for the day: work in the fields, lunch, and another day exhausted by evening.

Providing a monthly ‘Universal Basic Salary’ of ₹5,000 to every adult Indian woman who is not a pensioner or an income-tax payer is not just economically feasible, it could become a turning point for social justice, gender equality and grassroots development.

A 24-year-old IT professional, strong, successful, was found hanging from a ceiling fan, still draped in the pink saree that carried the lingering fragrance of turmeric and flowers from her wedding just six months prior. Before her death, she posted a WhatsApp status: "I gave everything, yet it wasn’t enough. Forgive me, Mom..."