Since ancient times, women have been celebrated in India. The divinity of women has played an important part in Indian culture, symbolizing fertility and the progenitor of life. Female figures, sculpted from rock and possessing an amazing sensuous quality, display the ideal of the Indian woman – large, rounded breasts, broad hips, a slender waist, and well developed thighs with tapering legs. The carvings of the Khajuraho and Konark temples, 10th and 13th centuries, respectively, and the much earlier sculptures at the Sanchi Stupa, are an open-air museum of the ideal female beauty, exhibiting exquisite feminine grace and alluring charm. With this medieval appreciation of the female form, it is ironic that Indians today treat their women and girls so poorly. The evils of illiteracy, ignorance, dowry, and economic slavery continue to haunt women and girls. With 43 black and white images, this collection of photos remind us of the languishing Indian ideal of the female form and the need to restore respect for women again.