No information on the treatment of women of Indian origin nor whether male escorts are required for safety in public could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Sources Consulted

Africa Confidential

Africa Research Bulletin

Europa

The Indian Ocean Newsletter

Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2000

IRB Databases

Jeune Afrique

LEXIS/NEXIS.

Political Handbook of the World 2000

Resource Centre Country Files: Madagascar.

Southern Africa Report 1997-2000

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sources, including:

Amnesty International Online.

Country Reports.

Fédération Internationale des droits de l'homme (FIDH).

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Online.

International Women's Rights Action Watch

Search engines including:

Alltheweb

AltaVista

Dogpile

Google

Metacrawler