Articles by Gail Omvedt

Even though south Asia claims some of the most powerful women leaders of the world, the overall political participation by women remains dismal. The obstacles to women's equal participation in governance in these countries are embedded in socio-cultural patterns of living and the intensely competitive nature of politics. This article examines various women empowerment initiatives like community management, local governance and reservations. It also analyses the representation of women in parliaments of these countries and suggests that what is needed is not a retreat from demanding quotas, but a consideration of the most useful forms of such reservations. Along with this, women's representation in the bureaucracy and in the structures of political parties also has to be increased.

Caste and Hinduism GAIL OMVEDT MV Nadkarni

Gender, Myth and Reality From Myths to Markets: Essays on Gender edited by Kumkum Sangari and Uma Chakravarty; Manohar and Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1999; pp xxx + 395,

Rivalry and Brotherhood: Politics in the Life of Farmers in Northern India by Dipankar Gupta; Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1997; pp xi + 218, Rs 450.

In Defence of Smallholding Farmers Gail Omvedt Smallholders, Householders: Farm Families and the Ecology of Intensive, Sustainable Agriculture by Robert McC Netting; Stanford University Press, California, 1993; pp xxi + 389.