The Power of Women's Informal Networks

Book excerpt: Too often, editors Bandana Purkayastha and Mangala Subramaniam have found, marginalized groups in rural or impoverished areas are overlooked by the international economy of knowledge. The Power of Women's Informal Networks describes and evaluates social organization among poor women in South Asia and West Africa as attempts to challenge marginalization. The discerning editors and contributors explicitly consider the situated contexts within which women work together to improve their lives, with a primary focus on international women's agencies.