using residence as the dependent variable, rural residence proved to be the variable underpinning the possession of “high social capital”. The findings support the more general picture about social capital: the association between social capital and interest and participation is positive. The most interesting finding is that Social Capital, as we have defined it, is a property of the rural areas and rural women. This replicates other studies on active citizenship. It is good to bear in mind, however, that the components of Social Capital here may well reflect aspects of rural life that are not necessarily voluntary. Attending a community meeting, belonging to a community group, and not being careful what you say in public could also be associated with some of the compulsory aspects of rural life, and may also be associated with political party affiliation or participation in coerced political activity. It is worth noting that not all urban women will live in low Social Capital environments, neither will all rural women live in high Social Capital environments. Overall, it seems safe to conclude that Social Capital leads to greater participation, but there must be reservations about the finding that this will be necessarily greater in rural rather than urban women. It also seems the case that there are too easy assumptions about the possibilities for engaging urban women in the collective life of the country. On these findings, urban women seem to have less agency than their rural counterparts, and hence any attempt to foster their agency will need to understand more carefully their inhibitions and the barriers. 4