Women, State, and Ideology

Studies from Africa and Asia

Edited by Haleh Afshar

Subjects: Women's Studies
Paperback : 9780887063947, 245 pages, June 1987
Hardcover : 9780887063930, 245 pages, June 1987

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Table of contents

Acknowledgements

Notes on the Editor and Contributors

Glossary

Introduction
Haleh Afshar

PART I: WOMEN AND THE STATE

1. Women and the State in Nigeria: the Case of the Federal Military Government, 1984-5
Carolyne Dennis

2. Women in Zimbawe: Stated Policy and State Action
Susie M. Jacobs and Tracey Howard

3. The State and the Regulation of Marriage: Sefwi Wiawso (Ghana) 1900-40
Penelope A. Roberts

4. Women, Marriage and the State in Iran
Haleh Afshar

PART II: STATE AND POPULATION POLICIES

5. Family and State in Malaysian Industrialisation: the Case of Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Maila Stivens

6. Gender and Population in the People's Republic of China
Delia Davin

7. Some State Responses to Male and Female Need in British India
Jocelyn Kynch

8. Contaminating States: Midwifery, Childbearing and the State in Rural North India
Patricia Margaret Jeffery, Roger Jeffery and Adrew Lyon

PART III: IDEOLOGIES, WOMEN AND THE LABOUR MARKET

9. Women and Handicraft Production in North India
Ann Weston

10. Front and Rear: the Sexual Division of Labour in the Israeli Army
Nira Yuval-Davis

11. Controlling Women's Access to Political Power: a Case Study in Andhra Pradesh, India
Carol Wolkowitz

12. State, Culture and Gender: Continuity and Change in Women's Position in Rural Vietnam
Christine Pelzer-White

Index

Description

Women, State, and Ideology examines the underlying ideologies that make female subordination a universal experience. It analyzes government policies directed at women in African and Asian countries. It argues, too, that ideologies which oppress women are removed only by prolonged struggle—and then only after fundamental political and social changes have been made.

The authors evaluate different policies aimed at women in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Iran, Malaysia, China, India, Israel, and Vietnam. Despite different political, social, and economic conditions, there exists a general assumption that women should be responsible for domestic duties. Drawing on new research, the authors indicate that these different national contexts require separate emphases and tactics. One common factor is clear, however—that despite many setbacks, a growing consciousness exists among women, as well as increased opposition to oppressive measures.

Haleh Afshar is Lecturer in Economics at the University of Bradford and is currently on assignment at the Centre for Health Economics, University of York.