How and why do women's contributions matter in peace and security processes? Why should women's activities in this sphere be explored separately from peacebuilding efforts in general? Decisively answering these questions, Sanam Anderlini offers a comprehensive, cross-regional analysis of women's peacebuilding initiatives around the world.   Anderlini also traces the evolution of    More >

Natural disasters push ordinary gender disparities to the extreme—leaving women not only to deal with a catastrophe's aftermath, but also at risk for greater levels of domestic violence, displacement, and other threats to their security and well-being. Elaine Enarson presents a comprehensive assessment, encompassing both theory and practice, of how gender shapes disaster vulnerability    More >

Women around the world are entering commercial agriculture—and often succeeding—despite development policies designed to exclude them. In this comparative volume, case studies reveal that farm women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are rapidly becoming more than “subsistence producers. The authors explore the societal and domestic changes brought about as women move from    More >

Working together across religious, ethnic, and class divisions, African women are helping to formulate legislation and foster democracies more inclusive of womens' interests. Women in African Parliaments explores this phenomenon, examining the impact and experiences of African women as they seek increased representation in national legislatures. The authors' carefully constructed case    More >

Can a recovery program like Alcoholics Anonymous inadvertently discourage women from seeking treatment? Are there ways that it can more effectively contribute to their sobriety? Combining individual personal narratives with statistical data, Jolene Sanders offers valuable insight into how women adapt the twelve-step program and interact with the masculine culture of AA in ways that allow them to    More >

For decades, researchers and policymakers have examined the impact of development programs on women—and evidence of sustained gender discrimination has inspired local, national, and international policy reforms. But has the empowerment movement increased women's control of resources? Has it had the desired effect on gender relations traditionally defined by patriarchal ideology and    More >

Yasmin Husein Al-Jawaheri argues that the explosion of violence against Iraqi women since the removal of Saddam Hussein should not have taken people by surprise. The deterioration of gender relations was in fact, as she vividly demonstrates, a direct result of a decade of international economic sanctions. Al-Jawaheri explores the gender-related impact of those sanctions in the areas of    More >

Study after study of women in the Muslim world has focused primarily on Middle Eastern societies, usually emphasizing the sexual ideology of a reified Islam. This book rounds out that view, exploring the status, roles, and contributions of Muslim women not only in the Middle East, but also in Africa and Asia, including post-Soviet Central Asia. The authors, many of them from the countries they    More >

It is old news that the conditions and policies of women's prisons are different from those of incarcerated men. Less evident, however, is how gender differences shape those policies, and how gender identity and roles shape women's adaptation and resistance to prison culture and control. Women in Prison explores how the gender-based attitudes that women bring to prison frame how they    More >

Fifteen important women writers, interviewed by critics and scholars well-acquainted with their work and thought, are the subjects of this fascinating volume. The interviews are revealing discussions of the individual writers' opinions, their backgrounds, and the people and events that influenced their personal and artistic development. Among the authors included are Maya Angelou, A.S.    More >