196 BOOK REVIEWSmaximize economic benefits and hence survival chances. Migration is asurvival strategy that strengthens rather than undermines rural-urbanlinks, which are beneficial to both urban and rural inhabitants.The volume ends with an interesting section on urban agriculture as asurvival strategy for different groups of people. It is a part of the strategyfor meeting basic food needs as shown by Drakakis-Smith in Harare. Thesame themes are repeated in Gutu (Nigeria), Mlozi, Luponga and Mvena(Tanzania). In spite of the many problems the poor face in urban contextsthey are quite innovative and resourceful when it comes to meeting theirfood requirements. On the other hand, Binbangambah (Uganda) arguesthat the ruralization of urban centres through agriculture is a reflection ofthe extent of rural poverty and urban decay.This book is a useful addition to the literature on the rural-urbaninterface in Africa.University of Zimbabwe V. N. MUZVIDZIWAThe Legal Situation of Women in Southern Africa Edited by Julie Stewartand Alice Armstrong. Harare, University of Zimbabwe Publications, 1990,xiv, 241 pp., ISBN 0-908307-15-2 , Z$ll.This book comprises contributions by scholars from Botswana, Lesotho,Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe on the legal situation ofwomen in their respective countries. These six countries are included in aResearch Project on Women and Law in Southern Africa.The book opens with an introduction by Maboreke on the concept ofwomen's law. She points to the need to understand how the law hasperceived women and responded to their lives and to uncover the extentto which the law itself is biased towards a particular view of life. Sheexplains that the distinguishing feature of women's law is its insistenceupon the factual knowledge of the effect of the reality of women's livesupon their access to formal rights.In Botswana, Molokomme touches on laws relating to women's legalcapacity, marriage, inheritance, maintenance, divorce, health and abortion.She argues that the legal situation of women should be studied within thecontext of socio-economic realities and recommends a multi-dimensionalapproach in which lawyers work with sociologists, economists and othersocial scientists in the study of women's law.In Lesotho, Seeiso et al. state that although women are de facto headsof households due to labour migration, they nonetheless continue to besubject to legal disabilities. One such disability is the absolute authoritygiven to the husband to act on behalf of his wife in marriages in communityof property. In such marriages the legal capabilities of wives of migrantsare severely restricted until the husband's return. The writers also presentan overview of other laws affecting women in the area of health,employment, commerce, and education.The Mozambican section by Casimiro et al. focuses in particular onthe role of women within the judicial system. With regard to the overallBOOK REVIEWS 197legal situation of women, they warn against the limitations of colonialresearch. They point out that this research failed to analyse forms ofexploitation, class relations and their transformation. They also highlightthe need for a thorough investigation of the forms of family organizationand the cultural reality.Nhlapo analyses the legal situation of women in Swaziland in thecontext of a duality of cultural institutions, political and civil arrangements,economic spheres and legal institutions. He discusses the importance ofthe family in the perpetuation and well-being of society. He further notesthat women's role in the family makes the issue of women a value-ladentopic and tends to circumscribe the parameters of discussion.In the Zambian case, Himonga et al. also cast the legal situation ofwomen in the context of legal dualism, particularly with regard to marriage,land, and succession. The writers see a need for further research on theevolving customary law in the areas of marriage maintenance andcustomary property rights. They also emphasize the need to study theeffectiveness of rights conferred by general law on Zambian women.On Zimbabwe, Stewart et al. give a comprehensive picture of thelegal position of women as regards citizenship, legal capacity, marriage,divorce, inheritance, delict, health, education and employment. They notethat the legal situation of women is often understood in terms of the law asit is in the books. They emphasize the need for research on the applicationof the law, its relevance, the extent to which women know about theirrights and the issues which the women themselves consider important.The concluding chapter by Gay discusses the range of people whoneed to know about women and the law such as top-level developmentplanners, middle-level development workers, legal aid workers, counsellors,health workers and ordinary citizens both rich and poor. She also examinesresearch needs and emphasizes the necessity to place these within asociological context. An example is given of the recurring need in theprevious chapters to research into the sociology of the legal profession ineach country. Methods of data collection such as case studies, ethnographicstudies, workshops, and documentary research are discussed.The book provides a useful overview of the laws in each of the sixcountries and will be of use to students, scholars and researchers interestedin gaining an overall perspective of the legal situation of women in SouthernAfrica.The book is, however, essentially rooted in the law. It mentions thoughneglects the analysis of other dimensions that have a bearing on women'slives.University of Zimbabwe A. S. TSANGA