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In late 1996, a women's organization working in the shantytowns of Cairo unexpectedly discovered that approximately 10% of its target group, or 16,000 women, officially did not exist; these women held neither a birth certificate (BC) nor an identity card (ID). Consequently, they were deprived of many basic services, such as schooling and access to credit, as well as of the rights and duties of citizenship such as voting. They encountered serious problems in claiming their personal rights, such as the pension of a deceased spouse or assets bestowed through inheritance. Moreover, their needs were not taken into account in national policy planning and budgeting.

Women have made great strides in the political arena, but many of these accomplishments have gone unnoticed in political science because of a lack of nonpartisan & partisan, research. To develop a more complete research agenda, the author proposes additional research be directed toward the following areas: theory gaps -- between women & politics, & interest groups & parties; research gaps on women's organization -- particularly research focusing on leadership, recruitment, power, & organizational culture; & finally, a gap between research & practice. The author notes that "cross disciplinary & innovative research partnerships," can fill those gaps so that the role of women in politics is truly understood. J. Harwell

This article argues that women's organizations are central to legal aid for women in China. Chinese women would benefit if more women's legal aid organizations were developed and supported. There are currently too few such organizations, especially in rural areas. Their work challenges the public legal aid programme to develop a rights-based legal aid agenda to achieve greater gender equality through the protection of women's rights. They bring diverse women's perspectives which counter prevailing traditional patriarchal attitudes and male dominance in Chinese society. The emergence of autonomous women's organizations is also important because it helped to break the monopoly of the All China Women's Federation over women's perspectives, identities and interests in China. The article concludes that the competitive yet collaborative relationship between autonomous women's legal aid organizations and the All China Women's Federation is producing a definite and positive impact on gender equality through legal reform. (J Contemp China/GIGA)