Sangeetha Purushothaman. The Empowerment of Women in India: Grassroots Women's Networks and the State.

Malik, Afia

Sangeetha Purushothaman. The Empowerment of Women in India: Grassroots Women's Networks and the State. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1997. 384 pages. Hardbound, Indian Rs 425.00.

This study attempts to explain how and why women at the lowest rung of society in India mobilise. This is done with the help of a case study of a decentralised, informal, loosely structured network of non-governmental organisation and a women's collectives, Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) in the state of Maharashtra, India.

The study analyses the implications of the form and the nature of organisations for changing power relations and promoting women's autonomy. It also highlights the need for and effectiveness of feasible forms of organisation in mobilising resources for poor women and for facilitating their participation in the development process. Further, it demonstrates that these decentralised networks of organisations, as compared to the social movement theory which emphasises centralised organisational forms, increase the visibility and participation of poor women, and also enable them to bargain for resources and change of state policy while protecting the autonomy of the organisation involved.

By Afia Malik, Research Economist, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad.