The Rebirth of Civil Society The Growth of Women’s NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe

ABSTRACT This article examines the development, activities and effectiveness of women’s NGOs in 10 Central and Eastern European countries. It begins by exam-ining the establishment of women’s organizations post-1989, identifying their structure, funding difficulties and the issues on which they focus. It also addresses the tension between the work of NGOs and the wider development of civil society. The article goes on to explore how negative perceptions of feminism have hindered efforts to develop a unified and coherent agenda among women’s NGOs. Finally, it analyses how public attitudes have affected relations between women’s organizations and women politicians as well as how competition and fragmentation have complicated relationships between NGOs. KEY WORDS Central and Eastern Europe ◆ civil society ◆ feminism ◆ women’s NGOs At first glance, the western world saw Communism as a society that encouraged equality between women and men more than the welfare state, a perception actively promoted by Communist leaders at home and abroad. In reality, this was a fiction as the political structures across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) remained male-dominated and decision-making power was not shared between the sexes. The creation of new democratic institutions in the post-1989 transition period offered an opportunity for increasing women’s political representation and main-streaming gender interests, yet women remain underrepresented in decision-making bodies across CEE. While political and academic atten-tion tends to focus on the number of women in parliament as an easily measurable indicator of women’s social force, it is also important to examine women’s activities in civil society. This is particularly necessary in CEE countries because gender is underestimated in formal political spheres and political participation is often unattractive to women give