Democracy is about competition, competition on an uneven playing field, and if women want to win there is no substitute to building constituencies for gender equality, matched with building women’s economic power. Efforts to level the playing field through affirmative action are essential but have got to be temporary if they are to avoid damaging democracy, for they are too easily subverted or distorted by leaders more interested in flashing their credentials as modernisers than in supporting genuine gender equality. Read more...

The organised abuse of women is not a by-product of conflicts but at its heart