"I was dreaming. The bus stopped right at the corner of the small street where I stay. It was on time. So, I could go to the municipal hall for the meeting of the local inhabitants for which I received an invitation on time thanks to the postal services. The children finished their homework - the school doesn’t ever give them much homework. Their grand-father spent the evening with them, so I didn’t have to worry about them. The meeting was very interesting. We learnt a lot on the plans to develop our area: a public library would be constructed and a playground with many trees would be created. We discussed the support that the municipality can offer to the ventures that the inhabitants undertake in the field of ecology and decided on the priorities for the following three years. While returning, I decided to walk down with a friend. The weather was pleasant, the streets were calm and well-lit. From my friend’s place, I continued alone feeling fully secure. We were happy and proud to live in a city where we could have our say".

Was she dreaming? How many men and women have the possibility of being involved in their city which is a place for democratic discussions and also collective life? More often than not, either because they are scared or they don’t have the means or quite simply because they are not asked, women are relegated to their private space - their home - from which they would most certainly like to get out and take part in the social, political and economic life.

As the report on the UN conference Habitat II puts it, "Sociocultural relations between the sexes become evident particularly in the way the city space is organised. They have lot of implications on the policies concerning town planning and the manner in which cities are planned and managed".

Seeing the city through the eyes of a woman helps in paying attention to several important aspects concerning quality: easy mobility for everyone, good housing conditions, safety, public amenities, schools, libraries, playgrounds and parks, meeting halls, relations between generations, the place for children and the aged, etc. In order to highlight all these points, it is necessary to create voluntarily more space for women’s participation.

Just one example will show how such discussions are still not open to women in my city. The municipality decided to create a Committee with representatives from a locality which was judged to be of top priority. People from more than thirty countries live here. It was decided that the delegates should be elected with due care to their cultural diversity and by creating electoral colleges from major cultural groups. These steps led to a well-represented committee. However, amongst the 20 elected, there wasn’t a single woman. Several of them complained to the authorities who only said, "Oh yes indeed! We never thought of it...it didn’t seem to be an important criterion". As a matter of principle, it is bad enough to note that women, who should necessarily be represented too, have no place in the committee. But, it is worse when one sees that many women in the said locality are single parents and the committee might simply not be capable of taking into account the interests and needs of these women and their children in their developmental plans.

To come out of this vicious circle, women should first be made to take part in political discussions. They should be elected and given a chance to exercise power just as men. At the same time, policies concerning town planning, transport, culture and employment should be framed carefully so that a good quality of life is ensured and human rights are respected. Women have been kept out of decision-making for too long a time. They have now come out of their houses and want to share space with their male counterparts in discussions and authority which were till now denied to them. Women will be instrumental in developing a totally new concept for cities.

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