title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone has said that her starring role in the 2012 Homi Adajania-directed romantic comedy "Cocktail" marked a significant turning point in her career. Raja Sen of "Rediff.com" opined that she had successfully proved to be a "stunning girl who can also act." Set in London, "Cocktail" tells the story of a man's relationship with two temperamentally different womenan impulsive party girl (Veronica, played by Padukone) and a submissive girl next door (Meera, played by Diana Penty). During the script narration, the producer Dinesh Vijan offered Padukone the choice of which woman to play; she decided on Veronica to expand her horizons as an actress. Portraying the role was a creative and physical challenge for her, and to achieve the physical requirements of her character she exercised extensively and followed a rigorous diet. Critics were divided in their opinion of the film, but particularly praised Padukone's performance; Devesh Sharma of "Filmfare" credited her as the "soul of the film" and wrote that she "excels in every scene, whether as a material girl who enjoys sex, drugs and rock and roll or as the jealousy ridden girl out to destroy herself." "Cocktail" earned Padukone Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies, including Filmfare, Screen, and IIFA. The film also proved to be a box office success.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: In 2013, Padukone had established herself as a leading actress of Hindi cinema by featuring in four of the top-grossing productions of the year. She collaborated with Saif Ali Khan for the fourth time in Abbas–Mustan's "Race 2", an ensemble action thriller that served as a sequel to "Race" (2008). The film received predominantly negative reviews, but grossed a successful worldwide . Ayan Mukerji's romantic comedy "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" was Padukone's next film release. Co-starring opposite Ranbir Kapoor, she was cast as Naina Talwar, a "shy wallflower," which marked a departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for portraying. Raja Sen thought that the film "lacked a good story" but added that Padukone "acts within herself and eschews exaggeration, and the results are impressive ... This may be her most self-aware performance so far". The pairing of Padukone with her former boyfriend was highly anticipated, and the film emerged as a major commercial success. Her next appearance was opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rohit Shetty's action-comedy film "Chennai Express", as a Tamil girl on the run from her father (a local don), which required that she adopt a Tamil accent. Critical opinion on her accent was mixed, but her performance received praise; film critic Aseem Chhabra wrote, "Padukone is delightful in the filmbeautiful, smiling, and often a lot more playful and funny than Khan." "Chennai Express" earned over to emerge as one of the highest-grossing Indian films.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone next played opposite Ranveer Singh in "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela", an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy of "Romeo and Juliet" from director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Her role was Leela, a Gujarati girl based on the character of Juliet. Initially titled "Ram-Leela", the film's title was changed after a court case was registered against Bhansali, Padukone, and Singh for "offending the religious sentiments" of the Hindu community by showcasing sex and violence under a title that referred to the life of Rama. "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" released among protests across several states in India, but was generally well received by critics. Meena Iyer of "The Times of India" mentioned Padukone as "breathtaking", and writing for "Deccan Chronicle", Khalid Mohamed concluded that "it's Deepika Padukone whom the film belongs to. Looking drop dead gorgeous and going at her part with a wallop, she's the prime asset of "Ram-Leela"." Her performances in "Chennai Express" and "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" won her several awards, including the Screen Award for Best Actress for both films and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the latter.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: In 2014, Padukone featured opposite Rajinikanth in the Tamil film "Kochadaiiyaan", a period drama that was shot using motion capture technology. She was paid for two days worth of work in it. In Homi Adajania's praised satire "Finding Fanny", Padukone played a young widow who takes a road trip with her dysfunctional friends (played by Arjun Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia and Pankaj Kapur) in search of a woman named Fanny. The film was screened at the 19th Busan International Film Festival; critic Anuj Kumar of "The Hindu" wrote that Padukone successfully "takes off the fineries of Bollywood and you can sense the freedom from baggage in her performance". Later that year, she starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan for the third time in Farah Khan's renewal of "Happy New Year". She played a bar dancer who trains a group of underachievers for a dance competition. Sanjukta Sharma of "Mint" found her role to be of minimal importance that required her only to be "a pretty thing to be laughed at and pitied", but the film became one of her most successful, earning over worldwide.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Following an appearance in Homi Adajania's online video on feminism, entitled "My Choice", Padukone took on the role of a headstrong Bengali architect who cares for her hypochondriac father (played by Amitabh Bachchan), in Shoojit Sircar's comedy-drama "Piku" (2015). She was drawn to the depiction of a realistic father-daughter bond, which she thought was rare in Hindi cinema. Reviews for the film were positive; Tanmaya Nanda of "Business Standard" praised the film's feminist tone, and wrote that Padukone proves "what she is capable of when given something more to do than look pretty and be the crazy-dance girl at parties". NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee opined that she "holds "Piku" together with a restrained star turn". With a worldwide gross of over , "Piku" was a box office hit, and garnered Padukone several awards, including second Best Actress awards at Filmfare and Screen.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Later in 2015, Padukone played the part of a businessperson who helps Ranbir Kapoor's character overcome his conflicts in Imtiaz Ali's romantic drama "Tamasha". Despite poor financial returns, Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com named Padukone's performance as the best by an actress that year, writing that she "is so potent in "Tamasha", it's almost as if you can hear her heartbeat across the screen". In her final release of 2015, Padukone reunited with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ranveer Singh in "Bajirao Mastani", a historical drama about a tragic extramarital affair. Singh was cast as the maratha general Bajirao I, while Priyanka Chopra and Padukone featured as his first and second wife, respectively. To play the warrior-princess Mastani, Padukone learnt sword-fighting, horse-riding, and the martial art form of kalaripayattu. With a revenue of over , "Bajirao Mastani" proved to be the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year. Anupama Chopra found Padukone "riveting", but Subhash K. Jha thought that she was "way too subtle and silken, and not steely enough". The film was showcased at the International Film Festival of India; at the 61st Filmfare Awards, "Bajirao Mastani" was named Best Film and Padukone received her second Best Actress nomination in that year.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: The action film "" (2017), in which Padukone played the lead female role of Serena Unger, opposite Vin Diesel, marked her first project in Hollywood. Critical reception of the film was mixed. Tirdad Derakhshani of "The Philadelphia Inquirer" termed the film a "repetitious heap of remarkably tedious CGI-enhanced action scenes" and thought that Padukone's talent was wasted in it. Conversely, Frank Scheck of "The Hollywood Reporter" believed that she had successfully "outclassed" Diesel to "practically [steal] the film". The film earned over US$345 million worldwide, a majority of which came from the Chinese box office. Padukone received three nominations at the Teen Choice Awards and followed it with an item number in the romantic drama "Raabta".


title: Deepika Padukone

text: In 2018, Padukone portrayed Rani Padmavati, a Rajput queen who commits "jauhar" (self-immolation) to protect herself from the Muslim invader Alauddin Khilji, in the period drama "Padmaavat"; it marked her third collaboration with Bhansali and Singh. She was challenged by the need to convey her character's courage through silence and considered it to be the most emotionally exhausting role of her career. She read history books on the era and researched the various historical depictions of Padmavati. Right-wing Hindu groups speculated that the film portrayed a romantic liaison between Padmavati and Khilji; they protested violently and placed a bounty to behead Padukone and Bhansali. Following a deferment in release, the film was cleared for exhibition after several modifications were made to it. Anna M. M. Vetticad of "Firstpost" criticised the film's glorification of "jauhar", but credited Padukone for managing to "eke something out of the stereotype-ridden writing". With an estimated budget of , "Padmaavat" is one of the most expensive Hindi films, and with earnings of , it is Padukone's highest-grossing release and one of Indian cinema's biggest grossers. She received another Best Actress nomination at Filmfare.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Following the success of "Padmaavat", Padukone took some time off work to focus on her home and family. In 2018, she formed her own company, named Ka Productions. Her first production venture came with "Chhapaak" (2020), a drama by Meghna Gulzar, in which she starred as an acid attack survivor (based on Laxmi Agarwal). She found it taxing to film in extreme heat wearing prosthetic makeup on her face, and considered it to be the most physically challenging role of her career. Shubhra Gupta of "The Indian Express" credited her for "not just putting the focus on the ravaged-skin-with a missing ear-and-nostril, but reflecting a mix of pain, anger, resignation, and finally, arriving at some kind of resolution". Teo Bugbee of "The New York Times" added that "Padukone is by turns inquisitive, watchful and serene but never maudlin". It did not perform well commercially, but she received another Best Actress nomination at Filmfare.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone's next production venture was "83" (2021), a sports drama about India's victory at the 1983 Cricket World Cup, starring Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev, in which she also took on the role of Dev's wife, Romi. The film was delayed several times chiefly due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Padukone was director Kabir Khan's first choice as he considered casting a real-life couple as an onscreen pair to be a good marketing strategy. Reviews for the film were positive, with Davesh Sharma of "Filmfare" commending Padukone for adding glamour to her supporting part. It failed to perform well commercially. Padukone next took on a leading role in Shakun Batra's "Gehraiyaan" (2022), a drama about infidelity which was released on Amazon Prime Video. In a mixed review for the film, Siddhant Adlakha of IndieWire noted that it allowed Padukone "the room to create something more emotionally complex than the Hindi mainstream" and commended her for making her character's troubles seem "subtle yet palpable".


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone will next reunite with Shah Rukh Khan for Yash Raj Films's action film "Pathaan". She will star opposite Prabhas in an as-yet untitled science fiction film from filmmaker Nag Ashwin, and star and produce in a remake of the American comedy film "The Intern" (2015). She will also star in Siddharth Anand's action film "Fighter", alongside Hrithik Roshan, and will portray Draupadi in a retelling of the "Mahabharata" from her character's perspective, which she will also produce. She was a jury member for the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone shares a close bond with her family, and visits them regularly in her hometown of Bangalore. She lives in Prabhadevi, a neighbourhood in Mumbai, and has admitted to missing the presence of her parents there. A practicing Hindu, Padukone considers religion to be an important aspect of her life and makes frequent visits to temples and other religious shrines.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: While filming "Bachna Ae Haseeno" in 2008, Padukone began a romantic relationship with co-star Ranbir Kapoor. She spoke openly about the relationship and sported a tattoo of his initials on the nape of her neck. She has said that the relationship had a profound effect on her, transforming her into a more confident and social person. The couple broke up a year later; she professed in an interview to feeling betrayed for a long time. In a 2010 interview, Padukone accused him of infidelity, and Kapoor later admitted to it. They reconciled their friendship while working on "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani".


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone subsequently became reticent to discuss her personal life, but in 2017, she fondly spoke of her relationship with her frequent co-star Ranveer Singh, whom she began dating in 2012. In November 2018, the couple married in traditional Konkani and Sindhi ceremonies at Lake Como, Italy.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: In addition to acting, Padukone has written opinion columns and has been involved with women's health and fitness magazines. She has also supported charitable organisations, and has performed for stage shows. In 2009, she was hired by "Hindustan Times" to write weekly columns for their lifestyle section; through these columns she interacted with her fans and passed details of her personal and professional life. That year, she participated in the World 10K Bangalore marathon, which raised in support of 81 NGOs. In 2010, Padukone adopted the Maharashtrian village of Ambegaon as part of NDTV's Greenathon Campaign, to provide the village with a regular supply of electricity. She visited Indian "jawans" (troops) in Jammu, for an Independence Day special episode of NDTV's reality show "Jai Jawaan".


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone took part in the opening ceremony of the third season of the Indian Premier League at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Three years later, she performed alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Pitbull for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League. In 2014, she participated in a concert tour across North America, entitled "SLAM! The Tour", in which she performed alongside her co-stars from "Happy New Year". Padukone has also been involved with the Olympic Gold Quest team, established by her father and Geet Sethi to support Indian athletes at the Olympic Games, along with sports personalities such as Leander Paes and Viswanathan Anand and several other actors. In 2013, she launched her own line of clothing for women, in association with the retail chain Van Heusen. Two years later, Padukone collaborated with the fashion portal Myntra to launch another line under her brand "All About You". In 2019, she was appointed as the chairperson of the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image. Through her own company, Ka Enterprises, Padukone invested in Drum Foods International, a fast-moving consumer goods company, and Blu Smart, an electric taxi startup.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone has also been outspoken on issues such as feminism and has said, "New feminism isn't about being aggressive; it's about reaching the top yet being soft. It's about being you – feminine, strong and full of will power." In a 2015 interview, Padukone spoke about her personal experience of overcoming depression, and in October that year she formed a foundation to create awareness on mental health in India, named The Live Love Laugh Foundation. The following year, she launched a campaign named More Than Just Sad to assist general physicians in their treatment of patients suffering from depression or anxiety. Also in 2016, the foundation teamed with Facebook and the AASRA organisation to launch multilingual tools and educational resources in Facebook's networking site to support people with suicidal tendencies. Padukone became the brand ambassador for the NGO Indian Psychiatric Society and on her foundation's first anniversary, the two organisations collaborated to launch the video and poster campaign #DobaraPoocho dedicated to victims and survivors of depression. The World Economic Forum presented her with the Crystal Award in 2020 for creating awareness on mental health.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: In 2020, Padukone attended a protest for students who were brutalised during the 2020 JNU Attack due to their protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party criticised her decision and asked people to boycott her film "Chhapaak". Many others praised her for standing up against a crackdown on dissent, as mainstream Bollywood actors avoid making political statements fearing backlash and consequences on their film.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: The journalist Vir Sanghvi, in 2013, described Padukone as "strong, someone who makes up her own mind, [and] has motivation within herself." She is particularly known in the media as a professional, disciplined performer, whose "work takes precedence over everything else". A reviewer for Rediff.com described her personality as "simple," "grounded," and "accessible," and wrote, "She takes criticism in her stride, acknowledges her limitations and strives to work hard at getting better. She handles praise with equal composure." Ayan Mukerji (the director of "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani") considers her to be "a woman who will flirt with you but you will love to take her home to meet your mom as well". Padukone has maintained a Twitter account since 2010, and launched an official Facebook page in 2013. She is the most followed Asian woman on Twitter.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone is considered among the most popular and high-profile celebrities in India. Analysing her career, Reuters published that after making a successful debut with "Om Shanti Om", she featured in a series of films for which critics labelled her as "wooden" and "mocked her accent". "The Indian Express" added, "Not too long ago after a few unwise script calls and the public blow up of her high profile relationship with Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika was written off. Credit to her much touted professionalism, dedication, discipline and perseverance that she bounced back." Following the success of "Cocktail", "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", and "Chennai Express", several media publications began crediting her as the most successful contemporary actress in India. "India Today" featured her among the nation's 50 most powerful people in 2017 and 2019. The global edition of "Forbes" ranked her as the tenth highest-paid actress in the world in 2016 and in 2018, the magazine ranked her as the highest-earning woman celebrity in India. From 2014 to 2016 and in 2018, she was the highest ranked woman on the Indian edition of "Forbes" "Celebrity 100" list, peaking at the fourth position in 2018 with an estimated annual earning of over . Also in 2018, "Time" magazine named Padukone one of the 100 most influential people in the world; "Variety" magazine featured her in their list of the 50 most impactful women in the world, and the market research firm YouGov named her the world's thirteenth most admired woman. On International Women's Day 2022, "Outlook India" listed her as one of the "Women Redefining Leadership" and "the trailblazers spearheading various domains of the professional world". In 2022, Padukone was awarded the TIME100 Impact Award for her work with mental health advocacy.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone ranks high on various listings of the most attractive Indian celebrities. In 2008, she topped "Indian "Maxim""s "Hot 100" list, and in 2012, she was named "India's Most Beautiful Woman" by the Indian edition of "People" magazine. Padukone has frequently featured in "The Times of India"s listing of the "Most Desirable Woman", topping the list in 2012 and 2013. In 2010 and 2014, she was named the "World's Sexiest Woman" by the Indian edition of "FHM". and she was selected by the UK magazine "Eastern Eye" as the "Sexiest Asian Woman" in 2016 and 2018. Taking note of her dress sense, "Filmfare" credited her as one of the "few actresses who experiments with colours, cuts and silhouettes". In the fitness book "The Four-Week Countdown Diet", Padukone was cited by Namita Jain as "the ultimate role model for a healthy, fit and active lifestyle".


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone is an active endorser for several brands and products, including Tissot, Maybelline, Coca-Cola, and L'Oreal Paris, among others. In 2014, "Business Standard" reported that Padukone earned to per endorsement deal and TAM AdEX named Padukone the most visible face on television in India that year. Duff & Phelps estimated her brand value to be US$102.5 million, in 2018, the second highest of Indian celebrities. In 2020, she became the first Indian actor to campaign for the fashion company Louis Vuitton. In the same year, Padukone was criticised for a TikTok video aimed towards the promotion of her film "Chhapaak", in which she asked users to recreate her "acid-attack survivor look" from the film which was deemed "insensitive" and "disrespectful" to acid-attack victims. Later that year, Padukone was among several Bollywood actors who were criticised for posting Instagram messages showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, despite their previous work advertising skin-lightening products which perpetuate colourism.


title: Deepika Padukone

text: Padukone has been the recipient of three Filmfare Awards: Best Female Debut for "Om Shanti Om" (2007), and two Best Actress awards for "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" (2013) and "Piku" (2015).


title: States and union territories of India

text: India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions.


title: States and union territories of India

text: The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by many different ethnic groups throughout its history, each instituting their own policies of administrative division in the region. The British Raj mostly retained the administrative structure of the preceding Mughal Empire. India was divided into provinces (also called Presidencies), directly governed by the British, and princely states, which were nominally controlled by a local prince or raja loyal to the British Empire, which held "de facto" sovereignty (suzerainty) over the princely states.


title: States and union territories of India

text: Between 1947 and 1950 the territories of the princely states were politically integrated into the Indian union. Most were merged into existing provinces; others were organised into new provinces, such as Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Bharat, and Vindhya Pradesh, made up of multiple princely states; a few, including Mysore, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and Bilaspur, became separate provinces. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, made India a sovereign democratic republic. The new republic was also declared to be a "Union of States". The constitution of 1950 distinguished between three main types of states:


title: States and union territories of India

text: Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State.


title: States and union territories of India

text: The French enclave of Chandernagore was transferred to West Bengal in 1954. In the same year Pondicherry, comprising the former French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karikal, Yanaon and Mahé, was transferred to India; this became a union territory in 1962.


title: States and union territories of India

text: Also in 1954, pro-India forces liberated the Portuguese-held enclaves of Dadrá and Nagar Aveli, declaring the short-lived "de facto" state of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli. In 1961, India annexed it as the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.


title: States and union territories of India

text: The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states.


title: States and union territories of India

text: Bombay State was split into the linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. The former Union Territory of Nagaland achieved statehood on 1 December 1963. The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act also designated Chandigarh as a union territory and the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana.


title: States and union territories of India

text: Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969. The north-eastern states of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura were formed on 21 January 1972. Mysore State was renamed Karnataka in 1973. On 16 May 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union and the state's monarchy was abolished. In 1987, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram became states on 20 February, followed by Goa on 30 May, while erstwhile union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu's northern exclaves Damão and Diu became a separate union territory as Daman and Diu.


title: States and union territories of India

text: Pondicherry was renamed Puducherry in 2007 and Orissa was renamed Odisha in 2011. Telangana was created on 2 June 2014 from ten former districts of north-western Andhra Pradesh.


title: States and union territories of India

text: In August 2019, the Parliament of India passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which contains provisions to reorganise the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories; Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, effective from 31 October 2019. Later that year in November, the Government of India introduced legislation to merge the union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli into a single union territory to be known as Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, effective from 26 January 2020.


title: States and union territories of India

text: The Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State.


title: Anal sex

text: Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure. Other forms of anal sex include fingering, the use of sex toys for anal penetration, oral sex performed on the anus (anilingus), and pegging. Although "anal sex" most commonly means penileanal penetration, sources sometimes use "anal intercourse" to exclusively denote penileanal penetration, and "anal sex" to denote any form of anal sexual activity, especially between pairings as opposed to anal masturbation.


title: Anal sex

text: While anal sex is commonly associated with male homosexuality, research shows that not all gay men engage in anal sex and that it is not uncommon in heterosexual relationships. Types of anal sex can also be a part of lesbian sexual practices. People may experience pleasure from anal sex by stimulation of the anal nerve endings, and orgasm may be achieved through anal penetration – by indirect stimulation of the prostate in men, indirect stimulation of the clitoris or an area of the vagina (sometimes called "the G-spot") in women, and other sensory nerves (especially the pudendal nerve). However, people may also find anal sex painful, sometimes extremely so, which may be due to psychological factors in some cases.


title: Anal sex

text: As with most forms of sexual activity, anal sex participants risk contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Anal sex is considered a high-risk sexual practice because of the vulnerability of the anus and rectum. The anal and rectal tissue are delicate and do not provide lubrication like the vagina does, so they can easily tear and permit disease transmission, especially if a personal lubricant is not used. Anal sex without protection of a condom is considered the riskiest form of sexual activity, and therefore health authorities such as the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend safe sex practices for anal sex.


title: Anal sex

text: Strong views are often expressed about anal sex. It is controversial in various cultures, especially with regard to religious prohibitions. This is commonly due to prohibitions against anal sex among males or teachings about the procreative purpose of sexual activity. It may be considered taboo or unnatural, and is a criminal offense in some countries, punishable by corporal or capital punishment. By contrast, anal sex may also be considered a natural and valid form of sexual activity as fulfilling as other desired sexual expressions, and can be an enhancing or primary element of a person's sex life.


title: Anal sex

text: The abundance of nerve endings in the anal region and rectum can make anal sex pleasurable for men or women. The internal and external sphincter muscles control the opening and closing of the anus; these muscles, which are sensitive membranes made up of many nerve endings, facilitate pleasure or pain during anal sex. "Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia" states that "the inner third of the anal canal is less sensitive to touch than the outer two-thirds, but is more sensitive to pressure" and that "the rectum is a curved tube about eight or nine inches long and has the capacity, like the anus, to expand".


title: Anal sex

text: Research indicates that anal sex occurs significantly less frequently than other sexual behaviors, but its association with dominance and submission, as well as taboo, makes it an appealing stimulus to people of all sexual orientations. In addition to sexual penetration by the penis, people may use sex toys such as a dildo, a butt plug or anal beads, engage in fingering, anilingus, pegging, anal masturbation or fisting for anal sexual activity, and different sex positions may also be included. Fisting is the least practiced of the activities, partly because it is uncommon that people can relax enough to accommodate an object as big as a fist being inserted into the anus.


title: Anal sex

text: In a male receptive partner, being anally penetrated can produce a pleasurable sensation due to the object of insertion rubbing or brushing against the prostate through the anal wall. This can result in pleasurable sensations and can lead to an orgasm in some cases. Prostate stimulation can produce a deeper orgasm, sometimes described by men as more widespread and intense, longer-lasting, and allowing for greater feelings of ecstasy than orgasm elicited by penile stimulation only. The prostate is located next to the rectum and is the larger, more developed male homologue (variation) to the female Skene's glands. It is also typical for a man to not reach orgasm as a receptive partner solely from anal sex.


title: Anal sex

text: General statistics indicate that 70–80% of women require direct clitoral stimulation to achieve orgasm. The vaginal walls contain significantly fewer nerve endings than the clitoris (which has many nerve endings specifically intended for orgasm), and therefore intense sexual pleasure, including orgasm, from vaginal sexual stimulation is less likely to occur than from direct clitoral stimulation in the majority of women. The clitoris is composed of more than the externally visible glans (head). The vagina, for example, is flanked on each side by the clitoral crura, the internal legs of the clitoris, which are highly sensitive and become engorged with blood when sexually aroused. Indirect stimulation of the clitoris through anal penetration may be caused by the shared sensory nerves, especially the pudendal nerve, which gives off the inferior anal nerves and divides into the perineal nerve and the dorsal nerve of the clitoris. Although the anus has many nerve endings, their purpose is not specifically for inducing orgasm, and so a woman achieving orgasm solely by anal stimulation is rare.


title: Anal sex

text: The Gräfenberg spot, or G-spot, is a debated area of female anatomy, particularly among doctors and researchers, but it is typically described as being located behind the female pubic bone surrounding the urethra and accessible through the anterior wall of the vagina; it and other areas of the vagina are considered to have tissue and nerves that are related to the clitoris. Direct stimulation of the clitoris, a G-spot area, or both, while engaging in anal sex can help some women enjoy the activity and reach orgasm during it.


title: Anal sex

text: Stimulation from anal sex can additionally be affected by popular perception or portrayals of the activity, such as erotica or pornography. In pornography, anal sex is commonly portrayed as a desirable, painless routine that does not require personal lubricant; this can result in couples performing anal sex without care, and men and women believing that it is unusual for women, as receptive partners, to find discomfort or pain instead of pleasure from the activity. By contrast, each person's sphincter muscles react to penetration differently, the anal sphincters have tissues that are more prone to tearing, and the anus and rectum do not provide lubrication for sexual penetration like the vagina does. Researchers say adequate application of a personal lubricant, relaxation, and communication between sexual partners are crucial to avoid pain or damage to the anus or rectum. Additionally, ensuring that the anal area is clean and the bowel is empty, for both aesthetics and practicality, may be desired by participants.


title: Anal sex

text: The anal sphincters are usually tighter than the pelvic muscles of the vagina, which can enhance the sexual pleasure for the inserting male during male-to-female anal intercourse because of the pressure applied to the penis. Men may also enjoy the penetrative role during anal sex because of its association with dominance, because it is made more alluring by a female partner or society in general insisting that it is forbidden, or because it presents an additional option for penetration.


title: Anal sex

text: While some women find being a receptive partner during anal intercourse painful or uncomfortable, or only engage in the act to please a male sexual partner, other women find the activity pleasurable or prefer it to vaginal intercourse.


title: Anal sex

text: In a 2010 clinical review article of heterosexual anal sex, "anal intercourse" is used to specifically denote penile-anal penetration, and "anal sex" is used to denote any form of anal sexual activity. The review suggests that anal sex is exotic among the sexual practices of some heterosexuals and that "for a certain number of heterosexuals, anal intercourse is pleasurable, exciting, and perhaps considered more intimate than vaginal sex".


title: Anal sex

text: Anal intercourse is sometimes used as a substitute for vaginal intercourse during menstruation. The likelihood of pregnancy occurring during anal sex is greatly reduced, as anal sex alone cannot lead to pregnancy unless sperm is somehow transported to the vaginal opening. Because of this, some couples practice anal intercourse as a form of contraception, often in the absence of a condom.


title: Anal sex

text: Male-to-female anal sex is commonly viewed as a way of preserving female virginity because it is non-procreative and does not tear the hymen; a person, especially a teenage girl or woman, who engages in anal sex or other sexual activity with no history of having engaged in vaginal intercourse is often regarded among heterosexuals and researchers as not having yet experienced virginity loss. This is sometimes called "technical virginity." Heterosexuals may view anal sex as "fooling around" or as foreplay; scholar Laura M. Carpenter stated that this view "dates to the late 1600s, with explicit 'rules' appearing around the turn of the twentieth century, as in marriage manuals defining petting as 'literally every caress known to married couples but does not include complete sexual intercourse.'"


title: Anal sex

text: Because most research on anal intercourse addresses men who have sex with men, little data exists on the prevalence of anal intercourse among heterosexual couples. In Kimberly R. McBride's 2010 clinical review on heterosexual anal intercourse and other forms of anal sexual activity, it is suggested that changing norms may affect the frequency of heterosexual anal sex. McBride and her colleagues investigated the prevalence of non-intercourse anal sex behaviors among a sample of men (n=1,299) and women (n=1,919) compared to anal intercourse experience and found that 51% of men and 43% of women had participated in at least one act of oral–anal sex, manual–anal sex, or anal sex toy use. The report states the majority of men (n=631) and women (n=856) who reported heterosexual anal intercourse in the past 12 months were in exclusive, monogamous relationships: 69% and 73%, respectively. The review added that because "relatively little attention [is] given to anal intercourse and other anal sexual behaviors between heterosexual partners", this means that it is "quite rare" to have research "that specifically differentiates the anus as a sexual organ or addresses anal sexual function or dysfunction as legitimate topics. As a result, we do not know the extent to which anal intercourse differs qualitatively from coitus."


title: Anal sex

text: According to a 2010 study from the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB) that was authored by Debby Herbenick et al., although anal intercourse is reported by fewer women than other partnered sex behaviors, partnered women in the age groups between 18 and 49 are significantly more likely to report having anal sex in the past 90 days. Women engaged in anal intercourse less commonly than men. Vaginal intercourse was practiced more than insertive anal intercourse among men, but 13% to 15% of men aged 25 to 49 practiced insertive anal intercourse.


title: Anal sex

text: With regard to adolescents, limited data also exists. This may be because of the taboo nature of anal sex and that teenagers and caregivers subsequently avoid talking to one another about the topic. It is also common for subject review panels and schools to avoid the subject. A 2000 study found that 22.9% of college students who self-identified as non-virgins had anal sex. They used condoms during anal sex 20.9% of the time as compared with 42.9% of the time with vaginal intercourse.


title: Anal sex

text: Anal sex being more common among heterosexuals today than it was previously has been linked to the increase in consumption of anal pornography among men, especially among those who view it on a regular basis. Seidman et al. argued that "cheap, accessible and, especially, interactive media have enabled many more people to produce as well as consume pornography", and that this modern way of producing pornography, in addition to the buttocks and anus having become more eroticized, has led to a significant interest in or obsession with anal sex among men.


title: Anal sex

text: Historically, anal sex has been commonly associated with male homosexuality. However, many gay men and men who have sex with men in general (those who identify as gay, bisexual, heterosexual or have not identified their sexual identity) do not engage in anal sex. Among men who have anal sex with other men, the insertive partner may be referred to as the "top" and the one being penetrated may be referred to as the "bottom". Those who enjoy either role may be referred to as "versatile".


title: Anal sex

text: Gay men who prefer anal sex may view it as their version of intercourse and a natural expression of intimacy that is capable of providing pleasure. The notion that it might resonate with gay men with the same emotional significance that vaginal sex resonates with heterosexuals has also been considered. Some men who have sex with men, however, believe that being a receptive partner during anal sex questions their masculinity.


title: Anal sex

text: Men who have sex with men may also prefer to engage in frot or other forms of mutual masturbation because they find it more pleasurable or more affectionate, to preserve technical virginity, or as safe sex alternatives to anal sex, while other frot advocates denounce anal sex as degrading to the receptive partner and unnecessarily risky.


title: Anal sex

text: Reports regarding the prevalence of anal sex among gay men and other men who have sex with men vary. A survey in "The Advocate" in 1994 indicated that 46% of gay men preferred to penetrate their partners, while 43% preferred to be the receptive partner. Other sources suggest that roughly three-fourths of gay men have had anal sex at one time or another, with an equal percentage participating as tops and bottoms. A 2012 NSSHB sex survey in the U.S. suggests high lifetime participation in anal sex among gay men: 83.3% report ever taking part in anal sex in the insertive position and 90% in the receptive position, even if only between a third and a quarter self-report very recent engagement in the practice, defined as 30 days or less.


title: Anal sex

text: Oral sex and mutual masturbation are more common than anal stimulation among men in sexual relationships with other men. According to Weiten et al., anal intercourse is generally more popular among gay male couples than among heterosexual couples, but "it ranks behind oral sex and mutual masturbation" among both sexual orientations in prevalence. Wellings et al. reported that "the equation of 'homosexual' with 'anal' sex among men is common among lay and health professionals alike" and that "yet an Internet survey of 180,000 MSM across Europe (EMIS, 2011) showed that oral sex was most commonly practised, followed by mutual masturbation, with anal intercourse in third place".


title: Anal sex

text: Women may sexually stimulate a man's anus by fingering the exterior or interior areas of the anus; they may also stimulate the perineum (which, for males, is between the base of the scrotum and the anus), massage the prostate or engage in anilingus. Sex toys, such as a dildo, may also be used. The practice of a woman penetrating a man's anus with a strap-on dildo for sexual activity is called pegging.


title: Anal sex

text: It is common for heterosexual men to reject being receptive partners during anal sex because they believe it is a feminine act, can make them vulnerable, or contradicts their sexual orientation; they may believe being a receptive partner is indicative that they are gay. Reece et al. reported in 2010 that receptive anal intercourse is infrequent among men overall, stating that "an estimated 7% of men 14 to 94 years old reported being a receptive partner during anal intercourse".


title: Anal sex

text: With regard to lesbian sexual practices, anal sex includes fingering, use of a dildo or other sex toys, or anilingus.


title: Anal sex

text: There is less research on anal sexual activity among women who have sex with women compared to couples of other sexual orientations. In 1987, a non-scientific study (Munson) was conducted of more than 100 members of a lesbian social organization in Colorado. When asked what techniques they used in their last ten sexual encounters, lesbians in their 30s were twice as likely as other age groups to engage in anal stimulation (with a finger or dildo). A 2014 study of partnered lesbian women in Canada and the U.S. found that 7% engaged in anal stimulation or penetration at least once a week; about 10% did so monthly and 70% did not at all. Anilingus is also less often practiced among female same-sex couples.


title: Anal sex

text: Anal sex can expose its participants to two principal dangers: infections due to the high number of infectious microorganisms not found elsewhere on the body, and physical damage to the anus and rectum due to their fragility. Unprotected penile-anal penetration, colloquially known as "barebacking", carries a higher risk of passing on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) because the anal sphincter is a delicate, easily torn tissue that can provide an entry for pathogens. Use of condoms, ample lubrication to reduce the risk of tearing, and safer sex practices in general, reduce the risk of STIs. However, a condom can break or otherwise come off during anal sex, and this is more likely to happen with anal sex than with other sex acts because of the tightness of the anal sphincters during friction.


title: Anal sex

text: Unprotected receptive anal sex (with an HIV positive partner) is the sex act most likely to result in HIV transmission. Other infections that can be transmitted by unprotected anal sex are human papillomavirus (HPV) (which can increase risk of anal cancer); typhoid fever; amoebiasis; chlamydia; cryptosporidiosis; "E. coli" infections; giardiasis; gonorrhea; hepatitis A; hepatitis B; hepatitis C; herpes simplex; Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (HHV-8); lymphogranuloma venereum; "Mycoplasma hominis"; "Mycoplasma genitalium"; pubic lice; salmonellosis; shigella; syphilis; tuberculosis; and "Ureaplasma urealyticum".


title: Anal sex

text: As with other sexual practices, people without sound knowledge about the sexual risks involved are susceptible to STIs. Because of the view that anal sex is not "real sex" and therefore does not result in virginity loss, or pregnancy, teenagers and other young people may consider vaginal intercourse riskier than anal intercourse and believe that a STI can only result from vaginal intercourse. It may be because of these views that condom use with anal sex is often reported to be low and inconsistent across all groups in various countries.


title: Anal sex

text: Although anal sex alone does not lead to pregnancy, pregnancy can still occur with anal sex or other forms of sexual activity if the penis is near the vagina (such as during intercrural sex or other genital-genital rubbing) and its sperm is deposited near the vagina's entrance and travels along the vagina's lubricating fluids; the risk of pregnancy can also occur without the penis being near the vagina because sperm may be transported to the vaginal opening by the vagina coming in contact with fingers or other non-genital body parts that have come in contact with semen.


title: Anal sex

text: There are a variety of factors that make male-to-female anal intercourse riskier than vaginal intercourse for women, including the risk of HIV transmission being higher for anal intercourse than for vaginal intercourse. The risk of injury to the woman during anal intercourse is also significantly higher than the risk of injury to her during vaginal intercourse because of the durability of the vaginal tissues compared to the anal tissues. Additionally, if a man moves from anal intercourse immediately to vaginal intercourse without a condom or without changing it, infections can arise in the vagina (or urinary tract) due to bacteria present within the anus; these infections can also result from switching between vaginal sex and anal sex by the use of fingers or sex toys.


title: Anal sex

text: Pain during receptive anal sex among gay men (or men who have sex with men) is formally known as "anodyspareunia." In one study, 61% of gay or bisexual men said they experienced painful receptive anal sex and that it was the most frequent sexual difficulty they had experienced. By contrast, 24% of gay or bisexual men stated that they always experienced some degree of pain during anal sex, and about 12% of gay men find it too painful to pursue receptive anal sex; it was concluded that the perception of anal sex as painful is as likely to be psychologically or emotionally based as it is to be physically based. Factors predictive of pain during anal sex include inadequate lubrication, feeling tense or anxious, lack of stimulation, as well as lack of social ease with being gay and being closeted. Research has found that psychological factors can in fact be the primary contributors to the experience of pain during anal intercourse and that adequate communication between sexual partners can prevent it, countering the notion that pain is always inevitable during anal sex.


title: Anal sex

text: Unprotected anal sex is a risk factor for formation of antisperm antibodies (ASA) in the recipient. In some people, ASA may cause autoimmune infertility. Antisperm antibodies impair fertilization, negatively affect the implantation process and impair growth and development of the embryo.


title: Anal sex

text: Anal sex can exacerbate hemorrhoids and therefore result in bleeding; in other cases, the formation of a hemorrhoid is attributed to anal sex. If bleeding occurs as a result of anal sex, it may also be because of a tear in the anal or rectal tissues (an anal fissure) or perforation (a hole) in the colon, the latter of which being a serious medical issue that should be remedied by immediate medical attention. Because of the rectum's lack of elasticity, the anal mucous membrane being thin, and small blood vessels being present directly beneath the mucous membrane, tiny tears and bleeding in the rectum usually result from penetrative anal sex, though the bleeding is usually minor and therefore usually not visible. By contrast to other anal sexual behaviors, anal fisting poses a more serious danger of damage due to the deliberate stretching of the anal and rectal tissues; anal fisting injuries include anal sphincter lacerations and rectal and sigmoid colon (rectosigmoid) perforation, which might result in death.


title: Anal sex

text: Repetitive penetrative anal sex may result in the anal sphincters becoming weakened, which may cause rectal prolapse or affect the ability to hold in feces (a condition known as fecal incontinence). Rectal prolapse is relatively uncommon, however, especially in men, and its causes are not well understood. Kegel exercises have been used to strengthen the anal sphincters and overall pelvic floor, and may help prevent or remedy fecal incontinence.


title: Anal sex

text: Most cases of anal cancer are related to infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV). Anal sex alone does not cause anal cancer; the risk of anal cancer through anal sex is attributed to HPV infection, which is often contracted through unprotected anal sex. Anal cancer is relatively rare, and significantly less common than cancer of the colon or rectum (colorectal cancer); the American Cancer Society states that it affects approximately 7,060 people (4,430 in women and 2,630 in men) and results in approximately 880 deaths (550 in women and 330 in men) in the United States, and that, though anal cancer has been on the rise for many years, it is mainly diagnosed in adults, "with an average age being in the early 60s" and it "affects women somewhat more often than men." Though anal cancer is serious, treatment for it is "often very effective" and most anal cancer patients can be cured of the disease; the American Cancer Society adds that "receptive anal intercourse also increases the risk of anal cancer in both men and women, particularly in those younger than the age of 30. Because of this, men who have sex with men have a high risk of this cancer."


title: Anal sex

text: Different cultures have had different views on anal sex throughout human history, with some cultures more positive about the activity than others. Historically, anal sex has been restricted or condemned, especially with regard to religious beliefs; it has also commonly been used as a form of domination, usually with the active partner (the one who is penetrating) representing masculinity and the passive partner (the one who is being penetrated) representing femininity. A number of cultures have especially recorded the practice of anal sex between males, and anal sex between males has been especially stigmatized or punished. In some societies, if discovered to have engaged in the practice, the individuals involved were put to death, such as by decapitation, burning, or even mutilation.


title: Anal sex

text: Anal sex has been more accepted in modern times; it is often considered a natural, pleasurable form of sexual expression. Some people, men in particular, are only interested in anal sex for sexual satisfaction, which has been partly attributed to the buttocks and anus being more eroticized in modern culture, including via pornography. Engaging in anal sex is still, however, punished in some societies. For example, regarding LGBT rights in Iran, Iran's Penal Code states in Article 109 that "both men involved in same-sex penetrative (anal) or non-penetrative sex will be punished" and "Article 110 states that those convicted of engaging in anal sex will be executed and that the manner of execution is at the discretion of the judge".


title: Anal sex

text: From the earliest records, the ancient Sumerians had very relaxed attitudes toward sex and did not regard anal sex as taboo. priestesses were forbidden from producing offspring and frequently engaged in anal sex as a method of birth control. Anal sex is also obliquely alluded to by a description of an omen in which a man "keeps saying to his wife: 'Bring your backside. Other Sumerian texts refer to homosexual anal intercourse. The , a set of priests who worked in the temples of the goddess Inanna, where they performed elegies and lamentations, were especially known for their homosexual proclivities. The Sumerian sign for was a ligature of the signs for 'penis' and 'anus'. One Sumerian proverb reads: "When the wiped off his ass [he said], 'I must not arouse that which belongs to my mistress [i.e., Inanna].'"


title: Anal sex

text: The term "Greek love" has long been used to refer to anal intercourse, and in modern times, "doing it the Greek way" is sometimes used as slang for anal sex. Male-male anal sex was not a universally accepted practice in Ancient Greece; it was the target of jokes in some Athenian comedies. Aristophanes, for instance, mockingly alludes to the practice, claiming, "Most citizens are ('wide-arsed') now." The terms , , and were used by Greek residents to categorize men who chronically practiced passive anal intercourse. Pederastic practices in ancient Greece (sexual activity between men and adolescent boys), at least in Athens and Sparta, were expected to avoid penetrative sex of any kind. Greek artwork of sexual interaction between men and boys usually depicted fondling or intercrural sex, which was not condemned for violating or feminizing boys, while male-male anal intercourse was usually depicted between males of the same age-group. Intercrural sex was not considered penetrative and two males engaging in it was considered a "clean" act. Some sources explicitly state that anal sex between men and boys was criticized as shameful and seen as a form of hubris. Evidence suggests, however, that the younger partner in pederastic relationships (i.e., the ) did engage in receptive anal intercourse so long as no one accused him of being 'feminine'.


title: Anal sex

text: In later Roman-era Greek poetry, anal sex became a common literary convention, represented as taking place with "eligible" youths: those who had attained the proper age but had not yet become adults. Seducing those not of proper age (for example, non-adolescent children) into the practice was considered very shameful for the adult, and having such relations with a male who was no longer adolescent was considered more shameful for the young male than for the one mounting him. Greek courtesans, or hetaerae, are said to have frequently practiced male-female anal intercourse as a means of preventing pregnancy.


title: Anal sex

text: A male citizen taking the passive (or receptive) role in anal intercourse ( in Latin) was condemned in Rome as an act of ('immodesty' or 'unchastity'); free men, however, could take the active role with a young male slave, known as a or . The latter was allowed because anal intercourse was considered equivalent to vaginal intercourse in this way; men were said to "take it like a woman" ( 'to undergo womanly things') when they were anally penetrated, but when a man performed anal sex on a woman, she was thought of as playing the boy's role. Likewise, women were believed to only be capable of anal sex or other sex acts with women if they possessed an exceptionally large clitoris or a dildo. The passive partner in any of these cases was always considered a woman or a boy because being the one who penetrates was characterized as the only appropriate way for an adult male citizen to engage in sexual activity, and he was therefore considered unmanly if he was the one who was penetrated; slaves could be considered "non-citizen". Although Roman men often availed themselves of their own slaves or others for anal intercourse, Roman comedies and plays presented Greek settings and characters for explicit acts of anal intercourse, and this may be indicative that the Romans thought of anal sex as something specifically "Greek".


title: Anal sex

text: In Japan, records (including detailed shunga) show that some males engaged in penetrative anal intercourse with males. Evidence suggestive of widespread male-female anal intercourse in a pre-modern culture can be found in the erotic vases, or stirrup-spout pots, made by the Moche people of Peru; in a survey, of a collection of these pots, it was found that 31 percent of them depicted male-female anal intercourse significantly more than any other sex act. Moche pottery of this type belonged to the world of the dead, which was believed to be a reversal of life. Therefore, the reverse of common practices was often portrayed. The Larco Museum houses an erotic gallery in which this pottery is showcased.


title: Anal sex

text: In many Western countries, anal sex has generally been taboo since the Middle Ages, when heretical movements were sometimes attacked by accusations that their members practiced anal sex among themselves. At that time, celibate members of the Christian clergy were accused of engaging in "sins against nature", including anal sex.


title: Anal sex

text: The term "buggery" originated in medieval Europe as an insult used to describe the rumored same-sex sexual practices of the heretics from a sect originating in Bulgaria, where its followers were called ; when they spread out of the country, they were called "buggres" (from the ethnonym "Bulgars"). Another term for the practice, more archaic, is "pedicate" from the Latin , with the same meaning.


title: Anal sex

text: The Renaissance poet Pietro Aretino advocated anal sex in his ('Lust Sonnets'). While men who engaged in homosexual relationships were generally suspected of engaging in anal sex, many such individuals did not. Among these, in recent times, have been André Gide, who found it repulsive, and Noël Coward, who had a horror of disease, and asserted when young that "I'd never do anything – well the disgusting thing they do – because I know I could get something wrong with me".


title: Anal sex

text: During the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher questioned the inclusion of "risky sex" in the United Kingdom's AIDS related government advertisements. Thatcher questioned the inclusion of the term "anal sex" in line with the Obscene Publications Act 1959. The term "rectal sex" was agreed upon to be used instead.


title: Anal sex

text: The "Mishneh Torah", a text considered authoritative by Orthodox Jewish sects, states "since a man's wife is permitted to him, he may act with her in any manner whatsoever. He may have intercourse with her whenever he so desires and kiss any organ of her body he wishes, and he may have intercourse with her naturally or unnaturally [traditionally, "unnaturally" refers to anal and oral sex], provided that he does not expend semen to no purpose. Nevertheless, it is an attribute of piety that a man should not act in this matter with levity and that he should sanctify himself at the time of intercourse."


title: Anal sex

text: Christian texts may sometimes euphemistically refer to anal sex as the ('the sin against nature', after Thomas Aquinas) or ('sodomitical lusts', in one of Charlemagne's ordinances), or ('that horrible sin that among Christians is not to be named').


title: Anal sex

text: , or the sin of Lot's people, which has come to be interpreted as referring generally to same-sex sexual activity, is commonly officially prohibited by Islamic sects; there are parts of the Quran which talk about smiting on Sodom and Gomorrah, and this is thought to be a reference to unnatural sex, and so there are hadith and Islamic laws which prohibit it. While, concerning Islamic belief, it is objectionable to use the words and to refer to homosexuality because it is blasphemy toward the prophet of Allah, and therefore the terms "sodomy" and "homosexuality" are preferred, same-sex male practitioners of anal sex are called "luti" or "lutiyin" in plural and are seen as criminals in the same way that a thief is a criminal.


title: Anal sex

text: As a form of non-reproductive sexual behavior in animals, anal sex has been observed in a few other primates, both in captivity and in the wild.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east. With , Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state by area in mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname, and is the second-least populous sovereign state in South America after Suriname; it is also one of the least densely populated countries on Earth. It has a wide variety of natural habitats and very high biodiversity.


title: Guyana

text: The region known as "the Guianas" consists of the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River known as the "land of many waters". Nine indigenous tribes reside in Guyana: the Wai Wai, Macushi, Patamona, Lokono, Kalina, Wapishana, Pemon, Akawaio and Warao. Historically dominated by the Lokono and Kalina tribes, Guyana was colonised by the Dutch before coming under British control in the late 18th century. It was governed as British Guiana, with a mostly plantation-style economy until the 1950s. It gained independence in 1966, and officially became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. The legacy of British rule is reflected in the country's political administration and diverse population, which includes Indian, African, Indigenous, Chinese, Portuguese, other European, and various multiracial groups. In 2017, 41% of the population of Guyana lived below the poverty line.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana is the only South American nation in which English is the official language. However, the majority of the population speak Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole language, as a first language. Guyana is part of the Anglophone Caribbean. It is part of the mainland Caribbean region maintaining strong cultural, historical, and political ties with other Caribbean countries as well as serving as the headquarters for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In 2008, the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana's economy has been undergoing a transformation since the discovery of crude oil in 2015 and commercial drilling in 2019, being one of the only economies to grow in 2020 despite the pandemic at 49% GDP growth through the year. Due to Guyana's small population and as much as 11 billion barrels in oil reserves, the country is on course to become one of the richest in the world by 2030. The discovery of over 11 billion barrels of oil reserves off the coast of Guyana in the last 5 years is the largest addition to global oil reserves in the last 50 years.


title: Guyana

text: The name "Guyana" derives from "Guiana", the original name for the region that included Guyana (British Guiana), Suriname (Dutch Guiana), French Guiana, and the Guayana Region in Venezuela (Spanish Guyana) and Amapá in Brazil (Portuguese Guiana). According to the "Oxford English Dictionary", "Guyana" comes from an indigenous Amerindian language and means "land of many waters". "The Co‑operative Republic of Guyana" in the official name referred to co-operative socialism.


title: Guyana

text: Nine indigenous tribes reside in Guyana: the Wai Wai; Macushi; Patamona; Lokono; Kalina; Wapishana; Pemon; Akawaio; and Warao.


title: Guyana

text: Although Christopher Columbus was the first European to sight Guyana during his third voyage (in 1498), and Sir Walter Raleigh wrote an account in 1596, the Dutch were the first Europeans to establish colonies: Pomeroon (1581), Essequibo (1616), Berbice (1627), and Demerara (1752). After the British assumed control in 1796, the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814.


title: Guyana

text: In 1831, the united colonies of Demerara-Essequibo and separate colony of Berbice together became a single British colony known as British Guiana.


title: Guyana

text: Since its independence in 1824, Venezuela has claimed the area of land to the west of the Essequibo River. Simón Bolívar wrote to the British government warning against the Berbice and Demerara settlers settling on land which the Venezuelans, as assumed heirs of Spanish claims on the area dating to the 16th century, claimed was theirs. In 1899, an international tribunal ruled that the land belonged to Great Britain. The British territorial claim stemmed from Dutch involvement and colonization of the area also dating to the 16th century, which was ceded to the British.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom as a dominion on 26 May 1966 and became a republic on 23 February 1970, remaining a member of the Commonwealth. Shortly after independence, Venezuela began to take diplomatic, economic and military action against Guyana in order to enforce its territorial claim to the Guayana Esequiba. The US State Department and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), along with the British government, also played a strong role in influencing political control in Guyana during this time. The American government supported Forbes Burnham during the early years of independence because Cheddi Jagan was identified as a Marxist. They provided secret financial support and political campaign advice to Burnham's People's National Congress, to the detriment of the Jagan-led People's Progressive Party, which was mostly supported by Guyanese of Indian background.


title: Guyana

text: In 1978, a total of 918 people died at the Jonestown mass murder-suicide led by cult leader Jim Jones.


title: Guyana

text: In May 2008, President Bharrat Jagdeo was a signatory to the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations. The Guyanese government officially ratified the treaty in 2010.


title: Guyana

text: In March 2020, President David A. Granger narrowly lost the snap elections, following Granger's government loss of a vote of no confidence back in 2018. Granger refused to accept the results, but eventually five months later, Irfaan Ali of the People's Progressive Party/Civic was sworn in as the new president because of allegations of fraud and irregularities.


title: Guyana

text: The territory controlled by Guyana lies between latitudes 1° and 9°N, and longitudes 56° and 62°W; it is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries.


title: Guyana

text: The country can be divided into five natural regions: a narrow and fertile marshy plain along the Atlantic coast (low coastal plain) where most of the population lives; a white sand belt further inland (hilly sand and clay region), containing most of Guyana's mineral deposits; the dense rain forests (Forested Highland Region) in the southern part of the country; the drier savannah areas in the south-west; and the smallest interior lowlands (interior savannah) consisting mostly of mountains that gradually rise to the Brazilian border.


title: Guyana

text: Some of Guyana's highest mountains are Mount Ayanganna (), Monte Caburaí () and Mount Roraima ( – the highest mountain in Guyana) on the Brazil-Guyana-Venezuela tripoint border, part of the Pakaraima range. Mount Roraima and Guyana's table-top mountains (tepuis) are said to have been the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel "The Lost World". There are also many volcanic escarpments and waterfalls, including Kaieteur Falls which is believed to be the largest single-drop waterfall in the world by volume. North of the Rupununi River lies the Rupununi savannah, south of which lie the Kanuku Mountains.


title: Guyana

text: The four longest rivers are the Essequibo at long, the Courentyne River at , the Berbice at , and the Demerara at . The Courentyne river forms the border with Suriname. At the mouth of the Essequibo are several large islands, including the wide Shell Beach along the northwest coast, which is also a major breeding area for sea turtles (mainly leatherbacks) and other wildlife.


title: Guyana

text: The climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, though moderated by northeast trade winds along the coast. There are two rainy seasons, the first from May to mid-August, the second from mid-November to mid-January.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana has one of the largest unspoiled rainforests in South America, some parts of which are almost inaccessible by humans. The rich natural history of Guyana was described by early explorers Sir Walter Raleigh and Charles Waterton and later by naturalists Sir David Attenborough and Gerald Durrell. In 2008, the BBC broadcast a three-part programme called "Lost Land of the Jaguar" which highlighted the huge diversity of wildlife, including undiscovered species and rare species such as the giant otter and harpy eagle.


title: Guyana

text: In 2012, Guyana received a $45 million reward from Norway for its rainforest protection efforts. This stems from a 2009 agreement between the nations for a total of $250 million for protecting and maintaining the natural habitat. Thus far, the country has received $115 million of the total grant.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana is home to more than 900 species of birds; 225 species of mammals; 880 species of reptiles and more than 6,500 different species of plants. Among these wildlife categories the most notably famous are the Arapaima, which is the world's largest scaled freshwater fish; the giant anteater, the largest anteater; the giant otter, the world's largest and rarest river otter; and the cock-of-the-rock ("Rupicola rupicola").


title: Guyana

text: The following habitats have been categorised for Guyana: coastal, marine, littoral, estuarine palustrine, mangrove, riverine, lacustrine, swamp, savanna, white sand forest, brown sand forest, montane, cloud forest, moist lowland and dry evergreen scrub forests (NBAP, 1999). About 14 areas of biological interest have been identified as possible hotspots for a National Protected Area System.


title: Guyana

text: More than 80% of Guyana is still covered by forests, which also contain the world's rarest orchids, ranging from dry evergreen and seasonal forests to montane and lowland evergreen rain forests. These forests are home to more than a thousand species of trees. Guyana's tropical climate, unique geology, and relatively undisturbed ecosystems support extensive areas of species-rich rain forests and natural habitats with high levels of endemism. There are about 8000 species of plants in Guyana, half of which are found nowhere else.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. With 1,168 vertebrate species and 814 bird species, it boasts one of the richest mammalian fauna assemblages of any comparably sized area in the world. Guyana is home to six ecoregions: Guayanan Highlands moist forests, Guianan moist forests, Orinoco Delta swamp forests, Tepuis, Guianan savanna, and Guianan mangroves. The Guiana Shield region is little known and extremely rich biologically. Unlike other areas of South America, over 70% of the natural habitat remains pristine. Guyana ranks third in the world with a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 9.58/10.


title: Guyana

text: The rich natural history of British Guiana was described by early explorers Sir Walter Raleigh and Charles Waterton and later by naturalists Sir David Attenborough and Gerald Durrell.


title: Guyana

text: Southern Guyana is host to some of the most pristine expanses of evergreen forests in the northern part of South America. Most of the forests found are tall, evergreen hill-land and lower montane forests, with large expanses of flooded forest along major rivers. Thanks to the very low human population density of the area, most of these forests are still intact. The Smithsonian Institution has identified nearly 2,700 species of plants from this region, representing 239 distinct families, and there are certainly additional species still to be recorded. The diversity of plants supports diverse animal life, recently documented by a biological survey organised by Conservation International. The reportedly clean, unpolluted waters of the Essequibo watershed support a remarkable diversity of fish and aquatic invertebrates, and are home to giant otters, capybaras, and several species of caimans.


title: Guyana

text: On land, large mammals, such as jaguars, tapirs, bush dogs, giant anteaters, and saki monkeys are still common. Over 400 species of birds have been reported from the region, and the reptile and amphibian faunas are similarly rich.


title: Guyana

text: In February 2004, the Government of Guyana issued a title to more than of land in the Konashen Indigenous District as the Kanashen Community-Owned Conservation Area, managed by the Wai Wai, and the world's largest community-owned conservation Area. The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development was also created for the protection and sustainable use of the Iwokrama forest area.


title: Guyana

text: The main economic activities in Guyana are agriculture (rice and Demerara sugar), bauxite and gold mining, timber, shrimp fishing and minerals.


title: Guyana

text: The discovery of major crude oil reserves off the Atlantic coast has since made a large impact on Guyana's GDP since drilling began in 2019. GDP grew sharply (43%) through the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020, and is anticipated to continue at a high level in 2021 (estimated at 20%). The non-oil sectors contracted as public health measures were in place to control the virus spread; the growth of GDP rests on the oil sector for these two years.


title: Guyana

text: Preservation of Guyana's pristine forests has been a key component for receiving international aid through REDD programs.


title: Guyana

text: The earliest residents of Guyana, the Amerindians of various tribes, employed a variety of agricultural practices for subsistence living but also had extensive networks of trade, dealing in items such as blow pipes, curare, cassava graters, and other essentials. These trade networks were important even at the time of the earliest European contact, and Dutch traders were inclined to gift the local peoples in order to maintain successful settlements.


title: Guyana

text: After the initial rush to find gold in the New World waned, the Dutch found the climate to be suitable for growing sugar cane, converting large tracts of the Guyanese coast into plantations and supplying with labour from the Atlantic slave trade. The country and economy were run by a small European planter elite which continued on when the colonies of the territory were merged and the land was given over to the British Empire in 1814. Upon emancipation in 1838, almost all of the former slaves abandoned the plantations, and Indians were brought to the country under indenture contracts from 1838 until the end of the system in 1917.


title: Guyana

text: The production of balatá (natural latex) was once a big business in Guyana. Most of the balata bleeding in Guyana took place in the foothills of the Kanuku Mountains in the Rupununi savannah. Early exploitation also took place in the North West District, but most of the trees in the area were destroyed by illicit bleeding methods that involved cutting down the trees rather than making incisions in them. Uses of balatá included the making of cricket balls, temporary dental fillings, and the crafting of figurines and other decorative items (particularly by the Macushi people).


title: Guyana

text: When the country gained independence from British rule, a policy of nationalization was enacted by Forbes Burnham to address the inequities that were established by plantation-based colonial rule. All large scale industries such as foreign-owned bauxite mining (Reynolds Metals and Rio Tinto's Alcan) and sugar (GuySuCo) operations were taken over by the government. However, the economy under nationalization was plagued by problems; political instability leading to an exodus of skilled labour, inexperienced management, aging infrastructure. Poor international market conditions also expanded the country's debt.


title: Guyana

text: The Guyanese economy rebounded slightly and exhibited moderate economic growth after 1999, due to expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors, a more favourable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support of international organisations. Guyana held huge amounts of debt which have been written off through various international agencies. In 2003 Guyana qualified for US$329 million of debt relief, in addition to the US$256 million from the original World Bank plan for assisting heavily indebted poor countries in 1999. The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative in 2006/7 wrote off about US$611 million of Guyana's debt by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. In 2006, Japan finalised its bilateral debt cancellation agreement, in 2007, US$15 million was written off by China and in 2008, Venezuela cancelled US$12.5 million.


title: Guyana

text: In 2008, the economy witnessed a 3% increase in growth amid the global economic crisis; it grew 5.4% in 2011 and 3.7% in 2012. IMF projected economic growth to be 53% in 2020 following the completion of the first off-shore oil project. Actual growth in GDP in 2020 was 43%; reports in April 2021 anticipate 20% growth for 2021.


title: Guyana

text: The government initiated a major overhaul of the tax code in early 2007. A Value Added Tax (VAT) replaced six different taxes. Prior to the implementation of the VAT, it had been relatively easy to evade sales tax, and many businesses were in violation of tax code. Many businesses opposed VAT introduction because of the extra paperwork required; however, the Government has remained firm on the VAT. Replacing several taxes with one flat tax rate, it will also be easier for government auditors to spot embezzlement. This was prevalent under the former PPP/C government who authorised the VAT to be equal to 50% of the value of the good.


title: Guyana

text: Major private sector organisations include the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI);


title: Guyana

text: The chief majority (about 90%) of Guyana's 744,000 population lives along a narrow coastal strip which ranges from a width of inland and which makes up approximately only 10% of the nation's total land area.


title: Guyana

text: The present population of Guyana is racially and ethnically heterogeneous, with ethnic groups originating from India, Africa, Europe and China, as well as indigenous or aboriginal peoples. Despite their diverse ethnic backgrounds, these groups share two common languages: English and Guyanese English Creole.


title: Guyana

text: The largest ethnic group is the Indo-Guyanese (also known as East Indians), the descendants of indentured labourers from India who make up 43.5% of the population, according to the 2002 census. They are followed by the Afro-Guyanese, the descendants of slaves imported from Africa, who constitute 30.2%. The Guyanese of mixed heritage make up 16.7%, while the indigenous peoples (known locally as Amerindians) make up 9.1%. The indigenous groups include the Arawaks, the Wai Wai, the Caribs, the Akawaio, the Arecuna, the Patamona, the Wapixana, the Macushi, and the Warao. The two largest groups, the Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese, have experienced some racial tension.


title: Guyana

text: Most Indo-Guyanese are descended from indentured labourers who migrated from North India, especially the Bhojpur and Awadh regions of the Hindi Belt in the present day states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. A significant minority of Indo-Guyanese are also descended from indentured migrants who came from the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh; these South Indian descendants are the plurality ancestry in the East Berbice-Corentyne region.


title: Guyana

text: English is the official language of Guyana and is used for education, government, media, and services. The vast majority of the population speaks Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole with slight African, Indian, and Amerindian influences, as their native tongue.


title: Guyana

text: Indigenous Cariban languages (Akawaio, Wai-Wai, and Macushi) are spoken by a small minority of Amerindians.


title: Guyana

text: Guyanese Hindustani is spoken by the older generation of the Indo-Guyanese community, but younger Guyanese use English or Guyanese Creole.


title: Guyana

text: Religion is an important aspect of identity in Guyana and reflects the various external influences of colonialism and immigrant groups. Christianity was considered the prestigious religion, transmitting European culture and representing upward mobility in the colonial society. Missionaries and churches built schools, and until nationalization in the 1970s, nearly all schools were denominational. When Indians were brought to the country as indentured labour, Hinduism and Islam gained prominence, but for some decades neither were acknowledged for legal marriage.


title: Guyana

text: The politics of Guyana takes place in a framework of a Parliamentary representative democratic republic, in which the President of Guyana is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the President and the National Assembly of Guyana. Historically, politics are a source of tension in the country, and violent riots have often broken out during elections. During the 1970s and 1980s, the political landscape was dominated by the People's National Congress.


title: Guyana

text: In 1992, the first constitutional elections were overseen by former United States President Jimmy Carter, and the People's Progressive Party led the country until 2015. The two parties are principally organised along ethnic lines and as a result often clash on issues related to the allocation of resources. In the General Elections held on 28 November 2011, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) retained a majority, and their presidential candidate Donald Ramotar was elected as president.


title: Guyana

text: On 11 May 2015, early general elections were held. A coalition of the A Partnership for National Unity-Alliance for Change (APNU-AFC) parties won 33 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly. On 16 May 2015, retired army general David A. Granger became the eighth President of Guyana. However, on 21 December 2018, a vote of confidence was called for, regarding terms under which the government granted a franchise for offshore oil exploration. Legislator Charrandass Persaud defected from the coalition and the vote failed, requiring new elections. The governing coalition litigated this result for the entire 90 days allowed for new elections. New elections were held on March 2, 2020, and results were declared on August 3, 2020, with the People's Progressive Party/Civic as the winner. Mohamed Irfaan Ali became the ninth President of Guyana.


title: Guyana

text: Public procurement in Guyana is overseen by the Public Procurement Commission, appointed under the Public Procurement Commission Act 2003. Due to lengthy delay in identifying and agreeing commission members, the commission was not appointed until 2016.


title: Guyana

text: Homosexual acts, as well as anal and oral sex, are illegal in Guyana. It is currently the only country in South America that prohibits such acts. Engaging in such acts can warrant life imprisonment, though the prohibition is not enforced. These laws can be difficult to alter, as Guyana's Constitution protects laws inherited from the British Empire from constitutional review. However, cross-dressing has been legal since 2018, when a ban was struck down by Guyana's court of last resort, the Caribbean Court of Justice. President David A. Granger (2015–2020) expressed support for these efforts.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana is in border disputes with both Suriname, which claims the area east of the left bank of the Corentyne River and the New River in southwestern Suriname, and Venezuela which claims the land west of the Essequibo River, once the Dutch colony of Essequibo as part of Venezuela's Guayana Essequiba. The maritime component of the territorial dispute with Suriname was arbitrated by the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, and a ruling was announced on 21 September 2007. The ruling concerning the Caribbean Sea north of both nations found both parties violated treaty obligations and declined to order any compensation to either party.


title: Guyana

text: When the British surveyed British Guiana in 1840, they included the entire Cuyuni River basin within the colony. Venezuela did not agree with this as it claimed all lands west of the Essequibo River. In 1898, at Venezuela's request, an international arbitration tribunal was convened, and in 1899 the tribunal issued an award giving about 94% of the disputed territory to British Guiana. The arbitration was concluded, settled and accepted into International law by both Venezuela and the UK. Venezuela brought up again the settled claim, during the 1960s cold war period, and during Guyana's Independence period. This issue is now governed by the Treaty of Geneva of 1966, which was signed by the Governments of Guyana, Great Britain and Venezuela, and Venezuela continues to claim Guayana Esequiba. Venezuela calls this region "Zona en Reclamación" (Reclamation Zone) and Venezuelan maps of the national territory routinely include it, drawing it in with dashed lines.


title: Guyana

text: Specific small disputed areas involving Guyana are Ankoko Island with Venezuela; Corentyne River with Suriname; and Tigri Area or New River Triangle with Suriname. In 1967 a Surinamese survey team was found in the New River Triangle and was forcibly removed. In August 1969 a patrol of the Guyana Defence Force found a survey camp and a partially completed airstrip inside the triangle, and documented evidence of the Surinamese intention to occupy the entire disputed area. After an exchange of gunfire, the Surinamese were driven from the triangle.


title: Guyana

text: With Guyana having many groups of indigenous persons and given the geographical location of the country, the contributions of the Guyanese to the OAS respecting indigenous people may be significant.


title: Guyana

text: The position of the OAS respecting indigenous persons developed over the years. "The "OAS has supported and participated in the organisation of Indigenous Leaders Summits of Americas (ILSA)"


title: Guyana

text: The Draft American Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous Persons appears to be a working document


title: Guyana

text: At a CARICOM Meeting, representatives of Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana respectively signed The Double Taxation Relief (CARICOM) Treaty 1994 on 19 August 1994.


title: Guyana

text: This treaty covered taxes, residence, tax jurisdictions, capital gains, business profits, interest, dividends, royalties and other areas.


title: Guyana

text: On 30 June 2014, Guyana signed a Model 1 agreement with the United States of America in relation to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).


title: Guyana

text: This Model 1 agreement includes a reference to the Tax Information Exchange Agreement (Clause 3) which was signed on 22 July 1992 in Georgetown, Guyana intending to exchange Tax information on an automatic basis.


title: Guyana

text: There are a total of of railway, all dedicated to ore transport. There are of highway, of which are paved. Navigable waterways extend , including the Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers.


title: Guyana

text: There are ports at Georgetown, Port Kaituma, and New Amsterdam. There are two international airports (Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri and Eugene F. Correira International Airport (formerly Ogle Airport); along with about 90 airstrips, nine of which have paved runways. Guyana, Suriname and the Falkland Islands are the only three regions in South America that drive on the left.


title: Guyana

text: The electricity sector in Guyana is dominated by Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the state-owned vertically integrated utility. Although the country has a large potential for hydroelectric and bagasse-fuelled power generation, most of its 226 MW of installed capacity correspond to diesel-engine driven generators.


title: Guyana

text: The PAHO/ WHO Global Health Report 2014 (using statistics of 2012) ranked the country as having the highest suicide rate in the world, with a mortality rate of 44.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. According to 2011 estimates from the WHO, HIV prevalence is 1.2% of the teen/adult population (ages 15–49).


title: Guyana

text: Education in Guyana was primarily introduced and operated by missionizing Christian denominations. The wealthy planter elite often sent their children for education abroad in England, but as schools improved in Guyana, they also modelled after the former British education system. Primary education became compulsory in 1876, although the need for children to assist in agricultural labour kept many children from schooling. In the 1960s, the government took over control of all schools in the country. Fees were removed, new schools were opened in rural areas, and the University of Guyana was established so students no longer were required to go abroad for tertiary education.Guyana's literacy was one of the highest in the Caribbean, by estimated literacy rate of 96 per cent in 1990. In a 2014 UNESCO estimate, literacy is 96.7 in the 15–24 year old age group. However, the functional literacy may be only as high as 70%.


title: Guyana

text: Students are expected to take the NGSA (National Grade Six Assessment) for entrance into high school in grade 7. They take the CXC at the end of high school. Schools have introduced the CAPE exams which all other Caribbean countries have introduced. The A-level system, inherited from the British era, is offered only in a few schools.


title: Guyana

text: Infrastructure challenges impact access to education, especially students in the hinterland. A World Bank assessment showed roughly 50% of teachers were "untrained, operated with inadequate teaching materials, and served children of parents with low levels of adult literacy".


title: Guyana

text: Guyana's culture is very similar to that of the English-speaking Caribbean, and has historically been tied to the English-speaking Caribbean as part of the British Empire when it became a possession in the nineteenth century.


title: Guyana

text: Guyanese culture developed as forced and voluntary immigrants adapted and converged with the dominant British culture. Slavery eradicated much of the distinction between differing African cultures, encouraging the adoption of Christianity and the values of British colonists, which laid the foundations of today's Afro-Guyanese culture. Arriving later and under somewhat more favourable circumstances, Indian immigrants were subjected to less assimilation, and preserved more aspects of Indian culture, such as religion, cuisine, music, festivals, and clothing.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana's geographical location, its sparsely populated rain-forest regions, and its substantial Amerindian population differentiate it from English-speaking Caribbean countries. Its blend of the two dominant Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese cultures gives it similarities to Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, and distinguishes it from other parts of the Americas. Guyana shares similar interests with the islands in the West Indies, such as food, festive events, music, sports, etc.


title: Guyana

text: The major sports in Guyana are cricket (Guyana is part of the West Indies cricket team for international cricket purposes), basketball, football and volleyball. Minor sports include softball cricket (beach cricket), field hockey, netball, rounders, lawn tennis, table tennis, boxing, squash, rugby, horse racing and a few others.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana played host to international cricket matches as part of the 2007 Cricket World Cup (CWC 2007). The new 15,000-seat Providence Stadium, also referred to as Guyana National Stadium, was built in time for the World Cup and was ready for the beginning of play on 28 March. At the first international game of CWC 2007 at the stadium, Lasith Malinga of the Sri Lankan team took four wickets in four consecutive deliveries.


title: Guyana

text: Guyana's national basketball team has traditionally been one of the top contenders at the CaribeBasket, the top international basketball tournament for countries in the Caribbean.


title: Guyana

text: For international football purposes, Guyana is part of CONCACAF. The highest league in their club system is the GFF Elite League. Guyana's national football team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, however they qualified for the Caribbean Cup in 1991, finishing fourth, and 2007. In 2019, they qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the first time, after finishing seventh in the qualifiers. They finished third in Group D, having lost two matches and drawn one.


title: Jack the Ripper

text: Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was called the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron.


title: Jack the Ripper

text: Attacks ascribed to Jack the Ripper typically involved female prostitutes who lived and worked in the slums of the East End of London. Their throats were cut prior to abdominal mutilations. The removal of internal organs from at least three of the victims led to proposals that their killer had some anatomical or surgical knowledge. Rumours that the murders were connected intensified in September and October 1888, and numerous letters were received by media outlets and Scotland Yard from individuals purporting to be the murderer.


title: Jack the Ripper

text: The name "Jack the Ripper" originated in a letter written by an individual claiming to be the murderer that was disseminated in the media. The letter is widely believed to have been a hoax and may have been written by journalists to heighten interest in the story and increase their newspapers' circulation. The "From Hell" letter received by George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee came with half of a preserved human kidney, purportedly taken from one of the victims. The public came increasingly to believe in a single serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, mainly because of both the extraordinarily brutal nature of the murders and media coverage of the crimes.


title: Jack the Ripper

text: Extensive newspaper coverage bestowed widespread and enduring international notoriety on the Ripper, and the legend solidified. A police investigation into a series of eleven brutal murders committed in Whitechapel and Spitalfields between 1888 and 1891 was unable to connect all the killings conclusively to the murders of 1888. Five victims—Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—are known as the "canonical five" and their murders between 31 August and 9 November 1888 are often considered the most likely to be linked. The murders were never solved, and the legends surrounding these crimes became a combination of historical research, folklore, and pseudohistory, capturing public imagination to the present day.


title: Jack the Ripper

text: In the mid-19th century, England experienced an influx of Irish immigrants who swelled the populations of the major cities, including the East End of London. From 1882, Jewish refugees fleeing pogroms in Tsarist Russia and other areas of Eastern Europe emigrated into the same area. The parish of Whitechapel in the East End became increasingly overcrowded, with the population increasing to approximately 80,000 inhabitants by 1888. Work and housing conditions worsened, and a significant economic underclass developed. Fifty-five percent of children born in the East End died before they were five years old. Robbery, violence, and alcohol dependency were commonplace, and the endemic poverty drove many women to prostitution to survive on a daily basis.


title: Jack the Ripper

text: In October 1888, London's Metropolitan Police Service estimated that there were 62 brothels and 1,200 women working as prostitutes in Whitechapel, with approximately 8,500 people residing in the 233 common lodging-houses within Whitechapel every night, with the nightly price for a single bed being fourpence and the cost of sleeping upon a "lean-to" ("hang-over") rope stretched across the dormitory being two pence per person.


title: Jack the Ripper

text: The economic problems in Whitechapel were accompanied by a steady rise in social tensions. Between 1886 and 1889, frequent demonstrations led to police intervention and public unrest, such as Bloody Sunday (1887). Anti-semitism, crime, nativism, racism, social disturbance, and severe deprivation influenced public perceptions that Whitechapel was a notorious den of immorality. Such perceptions were strengthened in the autumn of 1888 when the series of vicious and grotesque murders attributed to "Jack the Ripper" received unprecedented coverage in the media.