"Feminists argue that if democracy is a government by the people, a democratic state must connote a government run by its men and women alike. Can that definition of democracy be justified in the working of governments even in the ‘democratic’ states of the world ? If not, why not? How and why have women been denied/marginalised in the decision-making processes of the state almost everywhere ? And what can be done to put right a historical wrong? Twelve eminent feminist scholars from three countries, France, India and Russia, address such vital questions and critically examine the relationship between politics and women in their respective states. They pinpoint how the imbalance in political power strengthens gender inequalities in education, labour, and in the fields of art, literature or legal rights. The French contributors show how in France, the birth place of human rights, women’s position is disadvantaged; the French revolution had excluded women from its ‘egalitarian’ politics, and the meaning of the terms ‘equality’, ‘liberty’ and ‘fraternity’ differed for men and women. Indian scholars analyse how hierarchical structures of caste, class religion and identity, have complicated the issue of women’s empowerment in both political and economic arenas. In Russia, where gender inequalities dominated in politics, a small group, ‘Women of Russia’, attempted to create a niche for itself. ‘Parity’, to borrow the term of the French feminists, must be extended in every sphere, and cover the realms of the politics of the private and public spaces. The critical task for the journey ahead, the authors maintain, is to create new opportunities and forums which provide political space for women from diverse backgrounds to promote and fight for equitable gender relations. The aim in the new millennium would be to make ‘democracy’ real for all citizens of the world, regardless of their gender."
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