‘Every man was drinking': how much do bans on alcohol help women in India?


The Bihar, India, state government banned drinking and selling alcohol in 2016 after women in the mostly rural state mounted protests blaming men's alcohol abuse for rampant violence against women. Hundreds of thousands of arrests, carrying severe penalties, resulted from the ban. Previous bans in Bihar and other states failed because of unpopularity and loopholes. This one has some evidence to suggest a 15% decline in drinking, but only a 4% decline in violence, while bootlegging and other crimes have increased. The prohibition protests have spread to other states.

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