Sangeetha Purshothaman. The Empowerment of Women in India— Grassroots Women’s Network and the State. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1998. Hardbound. Indian Rs 450.00. Paperback. Indian Rs 250.00. 384 pages.

This study discusses the impact of the new organisationalstructure emerging in India to improve the status of rural women. Theobjectives of the study are twofold: first, it intends to explore thepossibility of small organisations working together to have an impact atthe local level; the second issue is the sustainability of such anarrangement. The study concentrates on the experience of the SwayamShaikshan Prayog (SSP) in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The basictheme of this organisational set-up is that women know best what theywant and what solutions work for them. The SSP’s networking processallows for an organisation which can bargain, interface with, andtransfer resources from the state to poor women, as well as maintain theflexibility to adapt to statewide policy changes and the localconditions faced by them.