This book is about the lives of refugee women in Britain and France. Who are they? Where do they come from? What happens to them when they arrive, while they wait for a decision on their claim for asylum, and after the decision, whether positive or negative? It shows how laws and processes designed to meet the needs of men fleeing political persecution often fail to protect women from persecution in their home countries and fail to meet their needs during and after the decision-making process. It portrays refugee women as resilient, resourceful and potentially active participants in British and French social, political and cultural life. It exposes the obstacles that make active participation difficult. The book is an authoritative and thorough synthesis of all available material on refugee women in Britain and France. The style is accessible and highly readable, making this an ideal book for academics, students and interested readers. -- .

An essential guide to the role of women in the political life of France under the Fifth Republic. It shows that the unique political history of France ensures that it remains an important and exceptional example of women's participation in the politics of a Western European country. Its study is essential in order to have a complete understanding of women and politics today.
This is the first English language study to capture the new enthusiasm engendered by the campaign for parity in 1992 which produced constitutional reform and a record number of deputies and ministers.

This essential guide takes an intellegent look at the role of women in the political life of France under the Fifth Republic. The unique political history of France ensures that it remains an important and exceptional example of women's participation in the politics of a Western European country, and its study is essential in order to have a complete understanding of women and politics today.
. "Women and Politics in France 1958 - 2000" is the first English language study to capture this new enthusiasm, providing useful, new research on women's political participation and covering the latest historical debates.
This book includes discussion on:
- women's participation in traditional organisations - including governments, representative assemblies and - political parties
- * women's participation in non-traditional organisations - including new social and feminist movements
- * definitions of broader political participation and the - theoretical and strategic consequences of such attempts to - redefine it
- * attempts to increase the number of women in political - institutions, including the campaign for parity and the - debates which this has triggered.
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In this text, Gill Allwood explores theories of masculinity emerging from French feminist theories of gender and from French feminist practice concerning violence towards women, highlighting both the commonalities and the specificities of the French case. She discusses the particular concern of French theorists with seduction, their rejection of the term "gender" and the centrality of the difference debate. In the first part of the book, Allwood separately examines feminist theories of gender and sexual difference and the problem of male violence. She goes on to consider the developments which are taking place on the borderline between the two, examining the way in which these developments have contributed to an understanding of masculinity. Readdressing problems and debates that will be familiar to English-speaking readers, the text exposes cultural differences and similarities in the ways in which these problems are approached and it provides a detailed account of the changes in both feminist action and theory in France in recent years. This analysis of feminism in France should be of interest to student and scholars in French studies, European studies, gender studies and cultura