Described are civil society initiatives that have intervened in governance and brought about changes in institutional practice. Includes: decentralization process and women: the case of Kerala, India / By Aleyamma Vijayan: Engendering institutions in Pakistan / by Naeem Mirza: Customary law reform in the new South Africa / by Catherine Albertyn and Likhapha Mbatha: A case study of the 50/50 campaign in Namibia, focussing on women's grass-roots participation / by Liz Frank and Elizabeth Khaxas.