The shocking images of a woman forced to walk semi-nude on the streets to get justice and unkept promises of bringing laws to reserve seats for women in the legislature and protect them from sexual harassment at the workplace marked the year 2007.

22-year-old Pooja created a stir by taking the desperate measure of walking semi-nude on the streets of Rajkot in Gujarat, protesting against police inaction on her complaints against her husband and in-laws.

The incident put the administrative machinery into action and forced the government to take note of her grievances.

And it was the same old tale with the proposal for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, with no progress on evolving the ever-elusive consensus on the issue.

Women's groups again demanded at the start of the recently-concluded winter session of Parliament that the bill seeking reservation for women in the legislature be introduced and any differences between various political parties be thrashed out on the floor of the House.

But the government said it was making an effort to build a consensus on the proposed legislation before bringing it to Parliament.

Holding out hope for the much-delayed bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] recently said: "We are committed to providing similar representation (as in Panchayats) to women in our state assemblies and Parliament. We are working for a broad consensus on this matter.

"We firmly believe that the participation of a critical mass of women in politics at the highest level will bring about a revolutionary change in ensuring good governance," he said.

The bill against sexual harassment at the workplace, in the making for a few years now, also failed to see the light of day during the year.

For several years now, in the absence of a law specifically to deal with sexual harassment at the workplace, the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court judgment have been referred to while dealing with such cases.

As India looks forward to becoming a world superpower, it is also grappling with the age-old practice of 'Sati'. To deal with it, the government has proposed changes in the law to fight the social evil.

A proposed amendment to the anti-Sati law includes several new clauses that would provide for the woman who commits Sati to be seen as a victim rather than someone who is guilty of attempting suicide, while relatives and community members will face stricter punishment.