In Pakistan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto convened the first meeting of Muslim women parliamentarians this summer and opened her country's only all-female police station. Women's resolve to fight prejudice is born of frustration certainly, but also of success. Across Asia, nearly all women are healthier and better educated than were their mothers - and many fare as well as their brothers. As a result they can also expect to marry later, have fewer children and live longer. To calculate one benefit of having women participate in the economy, take a closer look at the incomes of middle-class families across Asia.
Retailers already have.
According to law books, at least, gender discrimination is banned in most countries. Now her daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga, is one of eight women leading their countries, and one of three in South Asia. But these generalities also hide some striking inconsistencies. It would be hard to find an Asian woman today who couldn't tell her own version of Hariharan's story. The vegetable vendor might relate her unsuccessful attempts to secure credit from a local bank.