The insurance proposal on a female life has to undergo many strict tests and has to comply with other requirements and formalities which are generally not called for while considering a proposal for insurance on a male life, is their chief complaint. ``If a man needs insurance of any amount up to Rs 10 lakh, he is asked to furnish very few documents. But if it is a woman -- even a working woman -- seeking a policy, she is asked to supply a whole lot of documents,'' Mihir Lokhandwala, zonalsecretary of the NFIFWI, told Express Newsline.

``All this while we did not wish to interfere with the work procedure. But the stringent rules brought us close to each other and the agitation took shape,'' he said. Other leaders like Anand Tyagi, secretary general, Nishikant Tharthare, zonal president and activists of consumer forums and women's organisation are leading the agitation. The discrimination is clear.

For instance LIC requires a businesswoman, who wants to be insured, to furnish her income tax returns for three years. A businessman, however, is not required to do this.

The other charge they level against the LIC is that the women who wish to get insured are required to answer rather ``useless and embarrassing.'' Like, the corporation does not accept a women's statement that she is not pregnant. It requires them to fill in the date of their last menstruation cycle. Rules, for women, are so stringent that if the insurance proposal is not completed within a month -- for lack of somedocument or detail -- they have to fill in the latest date of menstruation as well. LIC actually charges an extra premium from pregnant women. Pregnant women's proposals used to get outrightly rejected earlier.

Now, women who are not more than three months pregnant can hope to get insured. Women are also asked to fill in if they consume alcohol and/or tobacco.

The other hitch lies in the fact that a caesarean section may be the safest mode of delivery for the world, but LIC considers it to be an operation and expects women seeking insurance to give details of this portion of their medical history, if one exists. Sources say that several LIC agents have now stopped asking questions pertaining to women's medical/physical backgrounds since they find it very embarrassing. They complain that very few women are, therefore, keen on an insurance. Foreign companies eager to enter Indian markets are not known to be discriminatory and this will push potential Indian consumers towards them, they say.

Whencontacted, a high ranking LIC official refuted all charges levelled by the development officers. He said: ``The development officers are agitating because they do not wish to commit themselves to the proposals. They have their own vested interests and the agitation is not for any women seeking insurance cover.''