One of the most irrational and unfounded accusations thrown at feminists in the developing world is that 'Feminism' is a Western construct and that feminists in the developing world are stooges of the West.

How often have we heard the cry that Asian feminists are working hand-in-glove with their powerful Western patrons, or that they are undermining the moral fabric of their own societies? How often have we heard the claim that by demanding equal rights such women are, in fact, challenging and threatening the theological-ideological basis of their religions and cultures?

Yet more often than not these accusations are uttered by the very same defenders of Patriarchy and outdated traditional 'Asian values' that legitimise a systematic politics of dis-empowerment and marginalisation of the subaltern.

The same detractors tend to forget that the downside of their blanket accusations is the somewhat bizarre conclusion that Asians and other non-Europeans do not deserve equal rights and that equality is somehow essentially un-Asian! If that be the case, then what were the anti-colonial and anti-imperialism struggles for, if not to demand equality between nations and races?

The celebration of International Women's Day this week, however, has once again brought to the fore some disturbing realities, not least of which is the growing power differentials between the developed and the developing worlds.

While women in North America and Western Europe continue to struggle for equal rights, salaries and working conditions at home and at work; the women of countries like Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Arab world have much more to complain about: from the increasing levels of violence meted out upon their societies to the on-going exploitation of women by powerful multinational companies.