- to reconstruct the family
"When revolutionary governments outlaw institutions such as polygamy,
the bride-price, child marriage, and discrimination against women in
property settlements, they are not doing so only to emancipate women,
but also to hasten the disappearance of the pre-existing social order as a
whole," (p. 272).
The two main policies usually pursued are family reform and the expansion of female
educational opportunities. Although these bring about rapid change, the family remains
a locus of inequality between the sexes - women are still responsible for housework and
childcare, while being expected to participate fully in wage employment and political
life. Women tend to have lower paid jobs too.
As Molyneux says - "legal reforms and Party proclamations will not, in themselves,
suffice to enable women to attain equality with men," (p. 276).
The second article, Gail Kelly's 'Women's access to education in The Third World:
myths and realities', (p. 82-89) is important in that it questions the assumptions that it is
social background, cultural and religious milieu and the level of economic development
in a country that influence women's access to education. Such assumptions lead to the
view that women's access to schooling is independent of government policy towards
women's education and school provision. Kelly argues that the greatest factor
influencing female access to education is whether schooling is made available and
accessible and what type of schooling is offered. These factors are matters of public
policy and "therefore amenable to change," (p. 82).
AFSHAR, Haleh (ed) (1996) Women and Politics in the Third World, Routledge,
London and New York.
The editor of this book is a distinguished academic in the field of gender and
development, and gender studies in general, and it is therefore no surprise to find this
excellent addition to her range of publications. It adds a strong element to the literature
in respect of the contribution of political science to the study of this area of enquiry.
While recognising in the introduction of this book the increased recognition of women's
contribution to other dimensions of the development process, the editor makes a strong
initial case for greater acknowledgment of their increasing role in the political arena at
various levels. The fact that relatively few women even now are evident in positions of
high power and leadership, especially in the West, leads to the generally Western-
centred academic analysis of politics, ignoring women in developing countries and
leaving them on the periphery of the discourse. As Afshar puts it: "Western feminisms